[amykirouac]

My husband and I are just starting the process. We have been wanting to do this for awhile now and then we were approached by 2 ladies that we go to church with. They work at a daycare where this little boy goes. He was abandoned by his birth mother and her parental rights were terminated as of Dec. 29, 2006. He is legally free to adopt and the foster family can't do it due to financial reason, but they do love him. So we have met with his social worker (who is great) and started all the paper work. He said our apartment looks great, he just did a quick view of it because he said the homestudy will do it. He is going to try to get us pre-adoption placement, but I am sure that won't be until we are approved. I am sure he will probably be 1 years old before he comes to us.
My question is: How do I prepare for the homestudy?
Should I buy things now, like a crib?
We don't have any children so we are not fully sure at what he will need, we know the basics just not the little things like how many undershirts, pajamas, toys.......
I guess I just want to be prepared for when they come check things out.

BTW I live in central Massachusetts...

[Jennifriend]

Congratulations!

As far as your homestudy goes, they don't expect you to have a room ready yet. The purpose of the homestudy is to make sure that your home is safe for a child. Since you'll be adopting a young child you'll need to have all the appropriate baby safety supplies. That includes outlet covers, window locks, etc. You'll also need a fire extinguisher. You might want to check with your social worker first though because I remeber that it had to at least a certain size. Also, you'll need to have all medications locked up.

I also recommend some cabinet locks. We used the ones that come with a magnet lock. You can find them at Home Depot. They are alot more tamper-proof then the other kind and you can just attach the key to the top of the fridge. I wish you all the best as you begin your journey...