[jf5505]

Hello,

Just wanted to see who else was starting the domestic adoption journey soon? I have started my home study (its not bad at all, not too much paperwork yet) but we have not picked an agency yet, I just am worried I will be unhappy with my decision. Does anyone know of any agencies that do not charge money up front, if you can PM me that would be great.

Just thought it may be nice to keep in touch with anyone new to this process..b/c I know I am overwhelmed by it.

Take care,

Jackie

[CourtneynCarl]

Hi Jackie!

Have you narrowed down your selection of agencies yet? If I were you, I would check with each of them to make sure that they will accept your homestudy. Many agencies want to do it themselves, or will at least charge you a fee to "review" yours. Their policy might influence your decision! Best of luck, and if anyone sends you info on agencies that require little or no money up front - please forward it on! thanks!

Courtney

[jf5505]

Hi..yeah I have to get my own homestudy done b/c I don't want to adopt in my state, I have narrowed my search down to two agencies, one in NJ one in FL. I can't decide for the life of me what to do. I guess NJ is closer so I am leaning towards that one a bit.

How about you, how is the Home study, I have my home visit on May 8th...then it should be done by the end of June.

[CourtneynCarl]

FL or NJ, huh? As long as the agency you list with has approved your homestudy provider, I am sure you will be fine. What agencies are you considering? PM is you are more comfortable.

Our is moving right along. Our SW is writing the homestudy right now, in fact! I should have our profile books tomorrow, and she will start presenting us if we match to anyone's preferences. Very exciting!

[Celesyee]

Jackie--I PM-ed you!

[Dallas_Mommy]

We are waiting to be approved so our profile can be shown

our SW forwarded our HS to the agency Monday, and got a response that they are swamped but will review it within a couple of days.

our fingerprints, child abuse, and criminal background checks are all back, and all I need to gather up now are vet records for the pets and a floorplan of our home.

it's pretty exciting!

[Amber76]

I'd love to hear if you get info about agencies that don't charge fees up-front. We're several thousand dollars lighter in the wallet after our daughter in Guatemala died and the lawyer kept all of the money. We need to pay as little up front as possible this time around to make sure we'll eventually be able to afford an adoption.
Thanks in advance for sharing any info you have!

[Dallas_Mommy]

Originally Posted by Amber76

I'd love to hear if you get info about agencies that don't charge fees up-front. We're several thousand dollars lighter in the wallet after our daughter in Guatemala died and the lawyer kept all of the money. We need to pay as little up front as possible this time around to make sure we'll eventually be able to afford an adoption.
Thanks in advance for sharing any info you have!

Amber-oh my gosh-I am SO sorry to read about sweet Ariana. She was so beautiful, and you looked so happy. My heart is heavy for your family tonight

I *don't* know of an agency that don't charge fees up front. I know ours asks for a percentage up front, with the rest due at the time of your match (or is it placement? I should probably figure that out!).

Best of luck to you guys!!!

[sugarmuffin]

I am in the homestudy phase my application for adoption was 250.00 bucks and there was no way around it. Wish you the best.......

[mdesi]

Congrats! We are in the home study phase, too! Our home study should be sent to the courts for approval by the end of the week. Yippee!!!

After investigating ALL of our options in our state, we decided to go with attorney adoption. The agencies in our area want too much up front, charge a fee when the match fails, and really only see about 35% of the expectant mothers in our state. For us that meant, that we were less likely to have a quick match. This is less of a problem in independent adoption as the attorneys share profiles.

We still get the benefit of making sure that an expectant mother is counseled, and we pay as we go. (We will know how many sessions of counseling she received/used. As far as I'm concerned, the more the better.)

Now, I will freely admit that is the way it is in our state, which might not be the same in your state. My best advice is to interview everyone. Keep your mind open. (I never would have considered an attorney had I not sought out the information. In fact, I entered the meeting with my mind pretty closed to the idea, but the more we learned, the more it fit for us.) Also, you have the benefit of being in the North East where states are geographically tiny, so you can/should investigate neighboring states' agencies/attorneys.

[sarah16]

We are also in the middle of the homestudy process. We have met with our SW once, hope to do fingerprinting next week and then meet with the SW again the last week of April. Our city was giving us the run around so we are going through a private source.

[ljsdo2007]

We just sent in our preliminary application to our agency and have a phone conference next week to go over the official app.

They do the homestudy, which is kind of nice. One less thing to research and plan.

Best of luck to everyone--looking forward to hearing everyone's success stories!

[sugarmuffin]

Just got a call from the agency regarding a background check that needs to be redone because of a misspelling issue. Hopefully it will not take too long since its local and she will resubmit right away.
I am so ready to move on to the next step....... the lady on the phone was like "its good you are so eager I will take care of this right away"

How is it going for everyone else?

[mamabean]

After a year of talking about it, my dh and I have decided to start the process. We are beginning the application process this week. I am so excited that we are going to adopt and yet very nervous at the same time. My biggest concern right now is that the homestudy won't go well. We have two large dogs, one very friendly and the other rather nervous of new people...which he makes known by barking at them everytime they walk into a room. I know he will be fine with a little one, he just needs to have them around him all the time, but will the SW believe that? Has anyone else had any trouble with the homestudy due to pets? I know our agency said it is fine to have dogs, sometimes even helpful, but I still worry.

[CourtneynCarl]

Mamabean - don't worry about the dogs. For all you know, your SW will have two dogs! Ours did! There are several threads on here suggesting options for dealing. I would recommend a ton of exercise that day, and maybe a little benedryl is they are still wound up? My vet suggested it for our dog that has major anxiety when people come over.(obviously, you should check with your vet!) I equate it to a glass of wine to "take the edge off"! Best of luck!