[mamae]

First a whine: I live in the middle of nowhere in NY. There are NO adoption agencies less than 1,5hs from me. (other than county of course... but they don't do homestudy for international adoption).

I would like to start this process as soon as possible because our fingerprintings are going to take longer than usual (once I am from Brazil and the check goes there too. In the between, hubby is citizen so it is not a problem).

Anyway. I called 26 agencies anywhere from 1,5hs to 3hs from here.

4 are not accredited
8 won't travel
2 only have classes starting in the fall so homestudy wont be done until November
3 refused to work with us because they have a program to that country and they only do homestudy for their clientes (BUT would do homestudy for us if we were adopting from a country they didn't have a program in)
I was able to get a positive from 1 who is asking $2000 (we were expecting no more than 1800 on it)
And the other 8 only had voice messages so I have no idea...

I am actually very surprised because when I went online and assembled my list of agencies to call, I was sooo sure I would end my morning with a "winner" but I am afraid that won't be as easy as I thought...

So much to start our homestudy ASAP :S

[Nancycs]

Did you already pick your placement agency? They may be able to suggest you a couple of options close to your location.
I know how difficult is to start the homestudy, and how frustrating could be to get clearance from a foreign country!!!

Hey, this is jut the beginning!!! So it will get worse and better during the entire journey! Just keep a positive attitude!

[cborsa7]

I would suggest selecting your agency first. A lot of agencies will only work with certain approved agencies for their homestudies. We live in Missouri, our agency was in Texas and they needed to approve anyone we used for a homestudy. They also had their own set of criteria in the way things had to be done through the homestudy. Your agency should have a list of acceptable SW you can use for your home study. Doing the home study without the agency could end up costing you for changes.

Good luck on your journey!

[sak9645]

Be sure to ask your placement agency. It may require you to choose a homestudy provider from a list of providers in your state that it considers well-qualified.

And if it doesn't require use of a certain provider, it may have some recommendations, particularly if you are adopting from a Hague country and the homestudy report needs to be done with special care.

Remember that many large agencies have social workers all over a state, in order to serve as many people as possible. Just because an agency is listed from from your home does not mean that it won't have a social worker based near you. So look at large agencies all over your state.

Get involved with some adoption support groups in your state, particularly those involved with international adoption. Ask the families who are already home with their kids for recommendations. You may be surprised to find that they have some great ideas.

And, finally, November isn't really that far away, in the grand scheme of things. Preadoption classes are increasingly a requirement, especially for Hague adoptions, and unless you are with an agency that allows on-line courses, you will often have to wait for a class to begin.

Sharon