[Dearonebaby]

Hello,
We did a private homestudy starting January 15th, done may 26th and a state homestudy (changed from private infant to older child) started May and done by July 23rd including the PATH classes.I searched all the surrounding areas for a PATH class that was starting as soon as possible and we were blessed to find one that started with a week of my search and it was an accelorated rate class. We drove an hour both ways to take the class and get it done. I was very fast with my paperwork though. I handed it in both times within a month of it being given to me and I stayed on top of the sw's to insure they didn't forget about us. I was careful not to annoy though. I have heard of it taking much longer in other cases though. Which state do you live in? My friend is doing one in Alabama and she has been going since April and it is still not completed. She had to do CPR classes on top of the regular classes. Alabama has a more estringent regimen for their system though. A homestudy, once completed, in most states lasts a year from the date completed. So, if you are not sure about adopting at what time yet, I would figure out when and then start about a year out from when you want to have the child hopefully in home. The amount of time on the homestudy for us was our preparedness and how well we knew ourselves and eachother. The only thing that kind of slowed us down was the requirements for trans-racial adoption. We had a lot of researching and demographics to supply. If you are planning a trans-racial adoption, I would start researching for support groups, diverse playgroups, camps, and enrichment programs now, also demographics on your area are sometimes helpful.