[tripleamom]

Hi everyone, another newbie question? How did you pick your homestudy agency? I think I'm going with an out-of-state agency for the adoption but really don't know where to find a local homestudy agency. I live in a really small rural area (upstate New York in the Adirondacks). Is it beneficial to research several of them. I hear some take longer than others, or am I just wasting time researching for homestudy agencies. Thx. Kim

[pb86]

Kim,

You really should research home study agencies... they are not all created equal. Prices, the number of international home studies they perform, compatability, etc. does vary from agency to agency. I suggest that you request a list of homestudy agencies that your out-of-state placing agency is comfortable working with... this will give you a starting point for comparison. Then, contact a couple of the better ones to decide which is best for you. Typically a home study agency has representatives throughout the state, so it shouldn't matter that you are in a rural area. Good luck!

[Teekay74]

We were reffered to our agency from an adoption lawyer. They all turned out to be great. If you have no personal references you couls start w/ the phone book, but be prepared w/ a lot of questions. Cuz- there really does seem to be a lot of differences.Your international agency may be able to refer you to an agency they have worked w/ in the past from your area. good Luck! Have fun, and try not to stress.

[sansa]

The out state adoption agency your using can referr you.
I have talked to several agencies and I ask them if they have any recommendations. I would ask them first if you have not already.

[drmalcolm]

The adoption agency we are using--which is in another state--held an informational seminar in our state. When we attended that, a social worker from a local adoption agency happened to be present to answer some questions about the home-study as well as her agency's services in that capacity.

We did not feel pressured to use this home-study agency (which also does China adoptions), but it is relatively close by our home and was apparently familiar with our adoption agency's way of doing things, so we just went with them. We really didn't' shop around much--the fact that this home study agency was familiar with China adoptions set our mind at ease enough that we were fine with just using them.

Kim, if I remember, I think you PM'd me for my agency. I know that mine, as sansa pointed out, will point families in the right direction to a home-study agency in your area.

Best of luck!

Christina

[thundrrds]

A few months back this was talked about... here is my response from then...

If you're planning to use an adoption agency that's out of state I'd ask the homestudy agency questions like:

How many China adoptions do you assist with annually. Can we network with other families?
How many appts will we need with you (China requires 4 visits however some social workers are 'creative' in how they go about the 4 seperate visits; what are you comfortable with???). The SW may meet with a couple together at the office and then interview the 2 parents seperately while still at the office and that may count as up to 3 visits.....
What support classes / groups do you offer for parents.
What's your knowledge/ role in assisting with the BCIS local office if the need arises (do they have contacts there if you need help with anything).
Do you require parenting classes?
Will you accept the physical form from the 'adoption' agency and those requirements for China; or will the homestudy agency require it's own form to be completed by the doctor.
What are your agency specific requirements for adoption/ are they consistent with China or the China adoption agency?
What's the turn around time between appts for the homestudy and completion of homestudy?
Will you start homstudy appts/ interviews while we are securing the documents you need for the homestudy (there are often state or local requirements which may not necessarily be for China).
Will you accept references that we need for our adoption agency or will we need seperate ones for you as the homestudy agency?
How long is the homestudy good for in our state?
What do you charge if we need a homestudy amendment/ update?
What do you charge for the follow up visits post adoption?
What do you charge if we need to readopt in our state?
How do we communicate with you throughout the process? Are you available thru phone/ email/ what's the expected turnaround time when we call with questions?
How do you want us to communicate with you when we're waiting for referral/ get our referral etc?
How many post placement visits do you require (vs what is required by China).

We've adopted twice and switched home study agencies after we were home with our 1st daughter.....

good luck! Also your local FCC can have suggestions.

Joanne