wanting to adopt/foster... need information on home study

They look to make sure your house is safe and that you have room for a child or 2. They look for anything that could possibly cause harm to a child.

i have also read other's talking about they look into your personal back ground which is understandable.. what type of things do they look for.. my husband and i are squeaky clean on that part.. so that shouldn't be a problem.. :)

More than likely you will have a background check via fingerprints, you will have to have a form filled out by a physician and a TB test, you will fill out a financial statement (as far as I know they do not do credit checks), you will be asked for references, and you will fill out reems and reems of paperwork about you, your family, your childhood, what you expect by being a parent, what type of child you envision in your home, they will probably also ask how you have dealt with infertility grief. The actual home visit was anticlimatic for me, my SW loved my house (it's funky and filled with art) and just raved...so I felt good when it was over. Since I have a whole zoo of 4-legged children, I was a little freaked about just HOW closely she'd be looking at the baseboards. Good luck!

Most of the issues about the house we faced were simple things.... We had to have a fire ladder upstairs which only cost $60.00 at Home Depot and actually makes me feel better knowing I have. We had to change some door knobs because they locked on the inside but didn't have keys to open.....like bathrooms where you assume the only reason they will be locked is if you are inside---the fear being a kid will lock themself in and you have to be able to get in. I am sure each state has different requirements being that you are interested in a child over 2--I suspect you are interested in a State adoption.......so they do have a few more rules but, most are about safety. They ask about gun ownership---which is okay so long as the gun is locked and amo is kept someplace else..... When the come an check the house they are not looking to see if you can pass the white-glove test----but, they do look for safety matters, like where you keep the cleaning supplies. And do you have scissors laying around by your piles of crafts or newspapers in three-different rooms? They are going to look at the overall car taken in your home......however, one of the big reasons they (casewrorkers) were worried about us was that our home "looked like a museum" and that we might go crazy with finger prints or normal kid stuff---so you can actually be too perfect with your home. It made us look rigid and unflexible---we really had to talk our way out of it. The last visit our caseworker said, "I am so glad to see you house is not a mesuem anymore!" I don't know about the well water---have you ever had it tested? That might (I really don't know) but that might be all they would ask for--just to insure the quality....and you might want to know anyway. I grew up on well water and it was the best water in our town! Otherwise ususally they give you a long list of what they are looking at....and as far as the home inspection goes most of it is normal stuff.

Hi, see that's what i'm affraid of more than anything.. I have 6 fur-babies of my own.. all dogs under 20 lbs and no cats.. but i also foster some rescues from time to time.. what all did they look for with the dogs? all my dogs are people friendly and other than jumping arround all excited wanting to be first to be petted by the new person they are very calm - cool - and collected..

Just make sure all your dogs are up on thier shots especially rabies. You'll need to show the proper paperwork for proof. Kris

that should be easy.. they've all had there shots and i groom then in the summer so they are clean looking little dogs.. i just did'nt know how the inspector would feel about so many.. I just need to find a child or two that loves animals as much as we do..

Often times the children in foster care are asked what they would like at their Forever home---Our five year old wanted: A big sister---A swing set and a cat and dog....... many caseworkers do actually respect the children's wishes-----last December my husband hurried to build a Swing Set in our back yard between Dec 18--and Jan 2 when we traveled to get them----It was pretty funny to see him in the rain and snow building a swingset but, that is what our daughter wanted and they were not going to let us bring her home without one for her to see!!!!

i'm over here crying because that's how much this means to me.. you never know how much something like having a child means to you until your "choice" is taken away from you.. and its not like i had never considered adoption.. always said i'd like to do that - to give a needy child a loving home.. it just hit me kind of hard when i no longer had a choice in the matter.. i can definately picture a wonderful daddy out in the rain and snow putting up a swingset for his daughter.. congradulations.. i hope i'm so lucky.. how long does the process take.. see i want to be able to stay at home with him/her/them so i'm gonna wait till 2005 to start the process.. get the bills off us..

If you are planning to adopt through the State the timeline can vary depending on a number of issues. Generally a homestudy takes a little longer because the caseworkers are overworked and have more then they can actually do.....Our homestudy took nearly 9-months. Then the rest of the wait depends on how you go about it.....if you decide you can handle being a Foster-to-Adopt home and are willing to have children who may or may not stay? We could not deal with the idea of that. It depends on the age of the child you are willing to adopt. The younger you want the longer the wait. It depends on the 'issues' of a child you are able to accept, which you can learn all about in the training and may find you can deal with some issues better then others.... and it depends on if you are willing to accept more then one child like a siblng group.....which is what we WANTED after decideing that if we could not have genetically related children to us---we would love to have children who were genetially related to each other..... However, sibling adoptions do vary also according to how your caseworker might feel you can deal with the dynamics of more then one child at a time...... For us our entire process from the day we turned in our homestudy application to the day we finalize our adoptions will be just under two-years. Financially, do keep in mind that during the time after the children are placed and until the adoption is final you will recieve Foster Parent pay--(which is not much in Oregon only $350.00 a month) and after the adoption is final there are subsidies in most states to help cover the costs of any 'special' needs your child might have. Our daughter is at risk socailly and emotionally....these needs are not part of medical or educational programs so therefore we have recieved additional subsidies to provide social interaction for her. We also have medical coverage for the children until they are 18-and once we place them on our own medical anything not covered by the state health plan will be covered by ours second. Most states also have post adoption services that help during the childs whole life with services that have been approved for children coming out of foster care. Our case went faster then some people we know because we had raised two older children and had a great amount of positive provable parenting experience.....some families without parenting experience are asked to consider temp Foster Parenting in order to gain the experience..... Some families are considered for placements on adoption and not given the children and need to keep strong and keep asking for consideration more then once....we wer lucky in that our first consideration we were chosen....many families have to deal with rejection several times. In Oregon the average family goes to 'commitee" (the determination of which family will get a child) 2.5 times.....I have heard some families go 3-4 times before they are selected. I have heard some families have waited a year or more before they even go to commitee and usually it is because they want a child under two.... There are many factors that effect the wait times.....and many things that delay or speed up the process..... I always advise that if this is what you want to do---then start as soon as you have decided. You can take the classes before you do anything and you can take the classes more then once. You can start certain steps and drag it all out--or speed it all up. My advice would be to get a big box and start collecting EVERYTHING you can about adoption in general. If you are considering a child from Foster Care start investigating the issues that might come with this.... You can never be too educated to be a parent. I took some classes at the community college on early education. I spent some time as a voulenteer at the hospital working with drug affected newborns. I also gave time in other ways that streangthend my experince with some of the issues we might face. This if nothing else made it possible for us to determine what we could deal with. Once you start to understand all the possible problems and how they minifest, and are treated then when you do start the porcess of looking at waiting children you can make an educated choice....and understand the written info you get about a child much better.....some problems sound really bad and once you understand the truth of the problem you learn it is something you are willing to face....at first it is hard to think of any problem at all and they all sound scary! Good luck and personally, I always say, You can never afford a child until the child is there---it is always so easy to spend our money and not ever get "set" unless you have debts that drain your and cause you to live month to month I wouldn't wait to start..... I do support all mothers who adopt or not to be at home with their children as much and for as long as they possibly can be---18 years sounds like a long time but, once you start they pass by fast!