[greeneyes]

My husband live on the ground floor of a beautiful NYC brownstone. we have a back yard and a beautiful park steps away. Our apartment is a very liveable floor through loft space. We make a seperate room with a 4 panel shoji screen, but otherwose it's wide open. I fear if we have a home study they won't give us a child because he/she won't have their own room with a door. Can someone tell me if this is true. We have enough love to fill a mansion, just no rooms.....ugh...

[leaabc123]

Not sure about international adoption. i am a foster parent and you would be allowed to do short term infant care only.
Older kids need a certain amount of seperate living space, which would include a room with a door.

[amestes]

When you are looking into agencies you might ask them this question also ask the same when scouting out a home study agency. I've heard of people in process with small apartments and it wasn't an issue. I think this would be especially true of infant adoption. We are adopting from Guatemala and we've heard that foster mothers keep the babies in the same room either in a crib or some let them sleep with them. Good luck!

[sak9645]

Each state has its own laws regarding homestudies.

Some states allow young children to come home to a one-bedroom apartment, as long as they have a space -- for example, in an alcove of the living room -- that can be set up to afford some privacy. Other states insist on a separate bedroom for each child.

And while some agencies follow state requirements, however liberal, others are more strict than their states.

The easiest way to find out a state's requirements, and typical agency requirements, is to talk to some homestudy agencies. You can also find out what state agency is involved with the regulation of adoptions and contact it with your question.

In addition, you ought to get involved in an adoptive parent support group, such as the Adoptive Parents Committee (a New York organization) or a group focused on adoption from a particular country. Among the people there who have already adopted, you are bound to find some folks who have dealt with this situation.

I don't live in New York City, but I know of a single woman there who adopted internationally about a decade ago, and brought her daughter home to a large, prewar studio. And I'm fully aware that many New Yorkers raise both biological and adopted children in small apartments.

So my hunch is that you can be approved, but you really need to check your state's requirements.

Sharon