[missw005]

[quote=bange]Ok... Do the children's social workers pick strickly from your homestudy... or do you have contact with them? It seems like your HS would have to be pretty unique to stand out among all the others.
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They do pick from the homestudies. They can get 30. 50. 100, 200 - just depends on the CW. Some will stop after 50 studies, some will set a date that they will stop accepting studies, some never set limits.

Here's how I've been told it works:
There's a 2 y.o. AA child...........

So let's say they have 100 studies. They pick some parameters to weed them down - ie, only families with children, only families with at least 1 AA parent, only families who live in a diverse neighborhood/city, etc.

That gets them down to 50. Then they add more parameters: only families with 2 AA parents, only families with children over 7 (so the new child will be the youngest by a few years), families with no pets (child is allergic), etc.

That gets them down to 15. They add more parameters, on the child's disabilities/health issues (asthma, ADD, etc.)

Then they're down to 5. Now they usually do contact the families, to let them know they're in the top 5, to ask them any questions they may have, to get more info about the family and the city/neighborhood they live in, etc. I've had some states ask for more than that - a photo album of our family, or info/brochures on our area where we live; recommendation letters from friends or people from our city, etc. Then they have a staffing, where they look at the 5 families. In Oregon, we were represented by a worker who "presented" our family to the staffing committee, showed the stuff we brought, said why she thought we'd be the best choice for Q. After all the presentations, the workers discuss and decide who the best placement will be for that child. (We were chosen for Q!!!) Then they call the family to tell them, and shortly afterward they call the other families (or their worker) to let them know they weren't chosen.

Every state does it differently. If you've read my posts, I've been to the final selection committee four times in the last month - and have been #2 or #3 every time. (they usually pick a 2nd choice in case the first family decides they're not interested or something changes their minds) And the rejection is HARD. Especially knowing you were #2. I've really struggled dealing with it - no matter how many times people on this board have reminded me that MY child is still out there waiting for me, and the child I wasn't chosen for obviously wasn't meant for me.
Still sucks though.

Hope that answers your questions. Feel free to PM me anytime!

Sandy