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My foster care/adoption agency gave me an explanation of why some agencies charge if the homestudy is used out of state and some don't.
In a nutshell, it has to do with whether the state the child comes from is willing to pay "purchase of service" which pays for such things as the homestudy, and whether the cost of the homestudy is more or less than the going rate for it in the state the child comes from, and whether or not the homestudy agency has a branch office in the state the child comes from.
I would *definately* question the missing $50. It could be as simple as a new yearly budget affecting the amount of the subsidy, or as awful as the agency skimming off the top. Probably something in the middle, but you need to know!
I agree with asking for an itemized list of things they charge you for, pertaining to that $2000 charge for the homestudy if you want to take it out of state. You definitely want your charge to be prorated if there are expenses usually included in that charge that have already been paid.
And again I agree, that if you're not comfortable with the agency or its policies, find a different agency. Not telling you about things like play therapy's definition and purpose could be because they themselves don't know, or they're used to uninvolved foster parents, or because they truly don't value the place the foster parent holds in the care of a foster child.
But go with your instnincts, if you're not comfortable now then you KNOW your comfort level isn't going to increase when you're in the middle of an issue that needs their immediate cooperation. Right?
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