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MomOfFourWantingMore
. Now if I choose to adopt a child will I have to complete a new study with each child or for both or will the homestudy I did to become a foster mom will that suffice?
Most agencies give you a dual license. You're licensed to both foster AND adopt. That way you already have your license if you decide to adopt your foster child. Each year, you'll need to update your license to include any changes you've made. You'll also have to update your medical clearance periodically. You'll also need an updated license if you move because they have to evaluate the new house. And, if you adopt a child, they will update your homestudy to include the fact that you have a new daughter. However, they won't have to redo the entire homestudy. They'll just update it.
Several people foster while completing an adoption of another foster child. If the children are siblings, they'll try to do the adoption at the same time. If they are not related, each child will be adopted once their case goes to TPR -so there may be a big gap between one adoption and another.
Where I live, they really try to push for tpr after the child has been in care for 12 months. Most kids are home within the first six months. The rest are usually home within a year. After 6 months with no progress in the birth family, they change to concurrent planning (reunion & adoption). After a year with no progress, they refer the kids to the adoption unit for TPR and adoption. TPR, the appeal of TPR and then the adoption can take 6 months or more depending on how hard the birth family fights (or how hard the b-family's lawyer is willing to fight). So most foster/adopt kids are "foster" for about 18 to 24 months while waiting for adoption to be completed.