[coopspa]

So back when we first got started in Fost-adopt(it was always fost-adopt, never foster care) we had a homestudy done--for fost-adopt. Now that we have moved into the adopt part of fost-adopt (TPR granted last week ) I hear that we have to do another homestudy. So what does this home study involve? Home inspection, questions about our personal life, just paperwork? Anyone know? We are in L.A. county, California.

[zebramom]

Has it been more than a year since your first home study was done? Many of them need to be updated annually if there is an adoption involved.

[coopspa]

Let's see... Depends on what is considered a homestudy. Here in CA there are two parts of approval. The first is the "adopt" section. We answered questions, fingerprinted, interviews with our bio kids, references. Then, because here kids are placed as "foster" until the TPR goes through, we are approved by foster care. They checked out our house (smoke detectors, meds locked up, CPR cert etc) and the such. They happened at the same time two years ago. The foster part (home inspection, CPR update) was renewed in 8 mo ago.

So what want to know is what, if any, parts are repeated? Home inspection? Paperwork? Or something completely different?

[zebramom]

Here (Wisconsin) adoption paperwork is health checks, reference checks, employer checks, criminal checks. We have to renew those annually, even if no child has been placed during that time.

Home requirements should be the same as foster home.

[stevenstwin]

Ours were pretty much the same thing - but for different purposes. they had to to it once to approve us as a foster family (we passed that one easily), and then separately (but using much of the same material) to see if we were approved for adoption (that one we didn't exaclty "pass" - they had three conditions put on it, so basically some extra training we had to take due to my son's particular issues).

[swanzie]

I have the same problem...I don't understand what it all involves either. When I did my homestudy with DSS they said it was foster/Adopt and that is what my license says...

The kids we have now have been with us the whole year - tpr happened back in May - so they are legally free - we get a pack (the same one we formally filled out!!) to do our adoption homestudy....I keep looking at it saying WHAT'S UP WITH THAT!!?? And it just sits there on the top of my desk...I just don't get it..Wasn't going thru TPR enough stress??!!

I guess here they have a contracted company come in and do the adoption homestudy. Weird that they can live here this long and I have to be approved for them to change their name!!

[vernellinnj]

I am in NJ. I updated my homestudy from Foster to adopt and an update to my HS was required. I met with the SW - completed a "child that I could parent" questionnaire. The SW did an addendum to my original HS - it took 2 months for the homestudy to be updated and forwarded to the adoption unit. Also had to send a current photo of myself...

[zebramom]

Remember, you're dealing with government agencies. It's not supposed to make SENSE!!!

We adopted our son 7 years ago. 3 years later we were talking about the possibility of adopting another child. Our social worker called us the next day to see if we were interested in a child. We hadn't even told her that we were considering adopting again. We had our informational meeting and took custody of him before our home study was barely started, much less completed. 6 weeks after he was placed, the social workers were out for their routine visit, and asked us if we were interested in taking the baby that his birth mother was expecting in 6 weeks. Our home study STILL wasn't finished, and we had 2 more kids in our home.

Does this make sense to anyone??

[Yash]

It's the home inspection part. They want to make sure those knives are still locked away. You don't have any bleach randomly sitting on the laundry room floor for the children to drink and play in.

Yash

[coopspa]

AHHHH $%&$$%%!!!! That was the most stressful week of my life. My husband kept saying things like, "The vegetable peeler does not need to be locked up!" You just never know . Then it lasted like 15 min (we have a small house). Still you hear horror stories about the crazy inspector that makes you dispose of the paint on the top shelf of the unattached, locked garage!!

So Yash, how long after TPR did that happen?

[texastanya]

For our "adoption" homestudy, our agency just updated the initial homestudy. It has been almost 2 years, so they had to document the job changes, salary increases, and the move to our new house which is 20 miles south of our old one. We didn't have to "do" anything else.

[Yash]

Coopspa,

I think they did it before TPR and placement papers. Everyone was like 99% sure that I would be able to adopt my son. Plus my SW was moving and trying to close up all her cases. And like yours, it took like 15 minutes or less.

With the new baby, I'm getting ready to go through it all again. SW is coming out Saturday morning. She is much more of a stickler than my son's SW was so I'm even putting up the vegetable peeler.

Yash