[cc101]

Can anyone tell me what the cost of a home study is?
On agency we looked at has it built in and another doesn't have it listed.

Also when thinking about travel what would be a good estimate for the budget to China? Just looking for an est. so we can budget.

Thanks
CC

[jasonsmom]

I'm not sure about the homestudy since our agency has it built in. I think it is a couple thousand done separately but I am not sure.

As for a travel budget, we were told 3-6K (probably depending on time of year and number of people). We have 3 people going including our 6 year old but we will be bringing food for him (peanut butter, crackers, tortillas) since he is the pickiest eater and won't touch anything unfamiliar.

Jasonsmom

[najia274]

hi cc

we are paying $1000 for our homestudy (not including fingerprints) through a social service agency in our area

najia

[bekalynn]

We are also paying $1,000. Our post placement costs will run $150/each (separate from the $1k)

I asked the same question (re homestudies) a little bit ago and wastold that homestudy costs vary from $800ish to one I had heard of at $2700 (that was in California)

I can't help you with the China cost question.

Good luck!!

[Lissa]

My homestudy was $1000, but I was lucky and got mine toward the low end of the scale. They can range anywhere between $1000-$3000. You are looking at paying overall around $19,000 for the whole process. I looked at agencies that SAID the adoption would only cost around $13,000-$15,000 but when I did research what I found was they conveniently left out processing costs etc. to make themselves seem more affordable. Travel will vary depending upon how many and when...also if you can find a deal. A lot of airlines will reduce fares for adoption.

[annethcz]

It can vary TREMENDOUSLY from area to area. We're adopting independantly from Haiti, and needed an agency for only the homestudy (not placement services). I asked around, and in my area, the fees ranged from $2150 to $3500. Be sure to ask if there are additional fees for application and post-placement visits/reports. That can add several hundred dollars to the cost. It's also a good idea to ask the agency for references and check them out with the BBB (which you can do online).

Good luck!

[sak9645]

Homestudy costs vary considerably by state. I've seen states where it's not uncommon to get one for under $1,000 and states where fees upwards of $3,000 are not uncommon.

The reasons are obvious. The greatly differing costs of living among the states mean that salaries of social workers differ tremendously. If you live in New York City, the fees are going to be set high so that the social worker can make a living wage, but if you live in Boise, Idaho, the fees needn't be that high, since salaries are lower.

Fees will also vary, depending on whether there is a surplus or deficit of social workers in a state, and depending on whether a social worker is going to have to spend hours of travel time going from one client to the next.

In addition, fees vary because different states have different homestudy requirements. The more hours a social worker must spend with his/her clients, the higher the fees are likely to be.

When shopping for a homestudy agency, don't buy on price alone. Look for an agency that is into thorough parent preparation. The more prepared you are to adopt, the better off you will be.

Sharon

[abod]

In ohio the rate seems to be running between 1100. and 2200. The agency we are looking at is about 1600. The things I've noticed by comparison

1. a lot of agencies outside of the adoption agency charge additional fees like app. fee and travel fees bumping the lower range estimates up.

2. some of these agencies aren't actually licensed they
"run under the supervision of a licensed agency". While the adoption agencies I've spoken with say this is not a bad thing it apparently can cause a problem because sometimes letterhead and address info doesn't match on the paperwork the judge gets. (apparently this is a sticky situation at times?)

3. Some of the adoption agencies seem to be more informed about what is SUPPOSED to be written and HOW it is written for the Russian Judge, possibly preventing wording problems.

I have not been through this process yet but I have been looking into this for 4 years and have done TONS of research on the internet and directly talking to people at the various agencies. I plan to go through the adoption agency because first........it's not that much more expensive and second.....I want less chance of paperwork problems and this seems to be an easy way to prevent a few.

hope this helps.

[hdowns]

We live in California and our's was a flat 3000. The agency fee was only 500 though, so we didn't mind to much.
Of course our agency then "closed", or merged, with another one a year later...

[abod]

bumping thread

[jlcoffey1274]

Hi, I have been trying to find out where to learn about local agencys and saw your post about BBB??? What is this???

[sak9645]

BBB=Better Business Bureau.

Sharon

[jlcoffey1274]

thanks! julie