The home study is just what it says...a study of your home. Yes, but what is it? Basically, it's a detailed, written report on your family & home life compiled by a social worker. It includes family background, the neighborhood you live in, your physical health, financial statements, criminal clearances, references, interviews...the list goes on. The amount of information required is rather daunting & you begin to wonder why every parent isn't required to jump through this many hoops before they have kids. On the one hand, it's reassuring that someone is making sure an adopted child is placed in a good home...on the other hand, it seems invasive & unecessary, especially if you already have a child. The home study can take several weeks to several months; while the home visit itself is generally completed quickly, the criminal clearances are what take the most time. Naturally, this is not a free service, either; home studies generally cost between $500-$3,000, althought this is calculated as part of the overall adoption cost of $30k+. And, guess what else? EVERY STATE IS DIFFERENT. Some states allow an independent social worker to perform a home study, while others require a licensed agency. If you're adopting within the state the home study is conducted, no problem. But what happens when you're adopting across state lines...or internationally? That's where it gets complicated. A great, general source I came across is here, (linked to with permission from the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse.) I've been unable to find a site online, however, that lists home study requirements by state, so it's best to consult a licensed adoption attorney before proceeding with the home study.
Showing posts with label adoption costs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adoption costs. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Missed Opportunities
I mentioned in the last post that we had an adoption situation drop suddenly in our laps, but were unable to follow through on it; here is the background on that.
Through one of the adoption support groups we've discovered, I received an email detailing an adoption situation that required immediate action. The birthmom was already on the way to the hospital to give birth, and the birthparents wanted the prospective adoptive parents to be at the hospital as the baby was born. Talk about short notice! I'm not sure if this couple decided literally last minute to give their child up for adoption, or if they had a failed placement, but it sure didn't leave much time. At first I was thrilled to think that this might be our child, but as I read further into the email, & discovered just how unprepared we were, I got very discouraged as I realized we would not be the adoptive parents waiting at the hospital, this time. First off, we have not yet completed a homestudy, due to the fact that they are only good for one year. Our thought being that there's no point completeing a homestudy when we know we won't have the money to adopt within that time frame, thereby wasting money that could have been put toward the adoption. This brings us to the second hurdle, money. The adoption costs for this particular case were listed as $33,500...we had approximately $12,500 saved at the time (just a slight gap in the funding there), and I knew there was no way we could bridge that $21,000 gap overnight. It was a bittersweet moment, realizing this was not the situation for us, after all. On the one hand, we wouldn't be able to adopt that baby...but on the other hand, excited to discover that at any moment an adoption situation could just drop in our laps. It really can happen that quickly, if we're prepared. And it brought up an intriguing question...maybe we should go ahead with the homestudy, after all. Since the homestudy takes so long, perhaps it's worth the "maintenance fee" to update it until we adopt. There would still be the gap in funding to come up with last minute, of course, but maybe that would be easier/take less time than waiting on background checks (for example, if we were able to take out a loan). I brought this issue up to an adoption professional, and her suggestion was to just do the background check section of the homestudy for now, since that is the time consuming part; the actual home visit could be completed very quickly. We would still have to update that in a year if we hadn't adopted by then, but the "maintenance fee" wouldn't be as much. Excellent advice, and something we are definitely considering...we'd hate to miss out on another adoption situation because we weren't prepared.
Through one of the adoption support groups we've discovered, I received an email detailing an adoption situation that required immediate action. The birthmom was already on the way to the hospital to give birth, and the birthparents wanted the prospective adoptive parents to be at the hospital as the baby was born. Talk about short notice! I'm not sure if this couple decided literally last minute to give their child up for adoption, or if they had a failed placement, but it sure didn't leave much time. At first I was thrilled to think that this might be our child, but as I read further into the email, & discovered just how unprepared we were, I got very discouraged as I realized we would not be the adoptive parents waiting at the hospital, this time. First off, we have not yet completed a homestudy, due to the fact that they are only good for one year. Our thought being that there's no point completeing a homestudy when we know we won't have the money to adopt within that time frame, thereby wasting money that could have been put toward the adoption. This brings us to the second hurdle, money. The adoption costs for this particular case were listed as $33,500...we had approximately $12,500 saved at the time (just a slight gap in the funding there), and I knew there was no way we could bridge that $21,000 gap overnight. It was a bittersweet moment, realizing this was not the situation for us, after all. On the one hand, we wouldn't be able to adopt that baby...but on the other hand, excited to discover that at any moment an adoption situation could just drop in our laps. It really can happen that quickly, if we're prepared. And it brought up an intriguing question...maybe we should go ahead with the homestudy, after all. Since the homestudy takes so long, perhaps it's worth the "maintenance fee" to update it until we adopt. There would still be the gap in funding to come up with last minute, of course, but maybe that would be easier/take less time than waiting on background checks (for example, if we were able to take out a loan). I brought this issue up to an adoption professional, and her suggestion was to just do the background check section of the homestudy for now, since that is the time consuming part; the actual home visit could be completed very quickly. We would still have to update that in a year if we hadn't adopted by then, but the "maintenance fee" wouldn't be as much. Excellent advice, and something we are definitely considering...we'd hate to miss out on another adoption situation because we weren't prepared.
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