[momtosljns]

I have a question, I was called by my adoption agency that did our homestudy. We used them to do our homestudy for our privet adoption that fell through. Since it fell through We have been looking in the state listings. When I found a child or sibling group that I though would be right for our family I would call so our social worker could talk to them ,since they the social worker for the children won't talk to me. Any way the superviserfor the agency told me since we did an privet adoption or that is what our homestudy was supposed to be for, that we could not repersent us when we wish to find out about the children on the state listings. Un less we go through their classes. My question is , is this a normal practice?I hope someone can help me , I am so ready to pull my hair out!!!!!!!

Susie

[Camera]

If you only paid the agency to do your homestudy, of course that is why they can't represent you with the state placement. They don't work for you and you aren't in their program.

I'm surprised the state s/w (for the children) wouldn't talk with you. There should be someone at the state who can help you.

Good luck.

Camera

[DianeS]

Adopting children from foster care does require the adoptive parents to take preparatory classes from a state-approved agency (or the state directly, in some cases).

Some homestudies are done with particular ages of children in mind. If your agency did your study with the age of the private-adoption child in mind, it may need to be amended to account for the age of the child(ren) you are now looking at.

Not all agencies are licenced for all types of adoption. Make sure the agency that has your homestudy is licenced for state adoptions before you proceed at all.

The upside is that adoptions of children from the state foster care system are usually a LOT cheaper than other adoptions, if they cost anything at all. In fact, if you successfully adopt from the state, you may get reimbursed for the original cost of your homestudy (homestudies for foster care are usually free), because the state would pay the agency cost for the homestudy, because the state would rather have the kids adopted than in foster care. (Note: some agencies charge for state adoptions, so check with your agency and make sure it's not one of those! There ARE almost-free agencies if you're adopting from foster care.)

Good luck!

[JoanneFromNYC]

In order to adopt from the state you have to take classes that teach you how to parent (or re-parent) a child that has been through abuse, neglect and/or abandonment by their birth familes and how to deal with issues of attachment. The classes are a real eye opener and it shows you life through their eyes.

You can do it but it takes some educating yourself. There are many "waiting" children who need families.

[DianeS]

I forgot to mention... It is very typical for the worker representing children in foster care to not talk to anybody but another worker representing potential adoptive parents.

Supposedly, the worker who has the adults' homestudy is more impartial and can consider the pros and cons of a match with the particular children more effectively then can the potential adoptive parents themselves.

It's annoying, but it's a hoop you'll learn how to jump through if you do decide to pursue a waiting child adoption. Good luck!

[littleangel]

Yep, home studies are highly variable in terms of what they cover. If you are going through a state agency now, they will likely at least require the homestudy to be updated to include whatever type of child(ren) you are now looking at adopting/fostering. A home study for foster care is oftena different one than that for adoption (like an international and domestic homestudy are different also). You'll have to jump the hoops!