home study fees

we paid $2000 for the home study we are using now. we didn't have to pay any mileage b/c our HS worker lives in our community. that can make a big difference: paying mileage and travel expenses for your social worker. especially when you add up the post placement visits. we also had to prepay for our post placement visits, ($300 each) before they would give us the final copy of the HS.

We paid $1500 for ours. Thank god we didn't have to prepay for post placement because the agency was horrible and i would never use them again even if they paid me.

I paid $1,800 for my homestudy. It took about 4 months to have the entire process completed (some of that was my fault). I did have to pay for mileage but I think that totaled less then $50. I did not need to prepay for my post placements. My placing agency (different then my homestudy) required a $500 for my post placement reports. I got that back once I had submitted my last post placement report. Once I returned home with my daughter I had to pay for all 3 post placement visits in advance of my first visits. If I remember correctly that was $500.Samantha

The fee for a homestudy varies greatly by state. In states where there are a lot of homestudy requirements, fees will be higher, since the social worker will have to do more work. In states with a high cost of living, fees will be higher, since social workers have to eat, and their salaries have to be in line with the costs in the area. In states with very few social workers, fees will be higher, because agencies will compete to attract them. In large states with relatively small populations, fees may be higher because travel time needs to be considered. If the social worker must drive for hundreds of miles a week, she will see fewer people, use more gas, etc. All in all, I've seen fees from under $1,000 to over $3,000. So I'm not surprised by the fee you were quoted. Let people know what state you are in, and perhaps they can tell you what they paid. Also, be sure you are comparing apples to apples. Some agencies bill travel time and other fees separately from the base homestudy fee. Sharon

Thanks, Since I posted this I called another agency in our city just to ba able to compare. Now I am in a real pickle. We live in Las Vegas Nevada. The first homestudy told me 2,000 flat fee and that it would take 4-6 months. I called the next one and they said 3,500 and it would take 2-4 months. I think I need to call at least one more to see who is more in line. 3,500 is so much but the time differance is huge! What do you all think about this?

well, they both meet in the middle at 4 months. I agree to call around some more and see what the other agencies say. One thing that might help you decide is to ask if that agency had ever done a home study for the country you are considering. Our home study agency had never done a home study for the country we are adopting from and it made for some issues with how things had to worded, etc. It is helpful to have an agency who knows exactly what the country and placing agency expect.

Karla-K: You are absolutely right. Go with a homestudy agency ONLY if it is familiar with the requirements of your country of interest, and has done other homestudies for that country. Also, go with a homestudy agency ONLY if it is acceptable to your placement agency. Remember that some placement agencies are very picky about the homestudies submitted, and keep a list of homestudy providers in various states, with which they will work. In addition, talk to people in your local parent support group. Ask how easy it was to schedule appointments with particular homestudy agencies, and how long it took the social worker to write up a final report once all visits were complete and documents were received. Sharon

Our home study agency charges a $2200 home study fee and an additional $1000 for coordination with our placement agency. You do need to check with your placement agency as well to make sure they will accept a home study from whatever agency you are considering. Many agencies partner with other agencies across the U.S. and prefer that you use one of their partner agencies. If you don't use a partner agency they will have certain criteria that an agency needs to meet before they will accept a home study report from that agency. Also, if your home study agency and placement agency are working together, I wouldn't worry too much about whether or not the home study agency you use has written a home study for Ethiopia. Your placement agency should be looking over the home study report before it's finanalized and if there are any changes that need to be made in the wording or order, they will work with the home study agency to get these changes made. Therefore it's vital that you find a placement agency and home study agency that are willing to work together. I personally think it's important to find agencies that you are comfortable with. You will have a long-term relationship with your social worker and country coordinator. If you don't feel comfortable with them from the beginning, move on.

Another thing to ask is about fees for homestudy updates and postplacement reports. Nowadays, with so many adoptions taking longer than a year or 18 months from dossier submission to homecoming, homestudy updates are becoming a fact of life for families. Homestudy updates are required if you must renew your I-600A approval, and many states also require periodic updates. In addition, homestudy updates may be required if there are any changes in the type of child you are requesting, or any changes in your personal circumstances. Many countries, and many agencies, also require a certain number of postplacement reports. Some agencies even ask that you pay for postplacement reports before you receive a referral, to guarantee that you will actually have them done. Sharon

I currently live in Europe. There are several US licensed social workers in England, Germany and Italy that provide home study and post placement services to the US military communities and ex-pats living over here. Their prices range from $1,500 to $1,800 and we pay their travel costs as well. I'm in Italy and paid $1,600 for a SW from England, plus her travel, and the total was around $2,000. She is actually affiliated with my US adoption agency which was a huge bonus because she knew exactly what they required.

Our cost is a flat $1600 and that includes a full day of required training. There are no travel or mileage fees associated with the home study.Our social worker had never written a home study for Ethiopia and was willing to send the draft to our agency and then our agency gave feedback based on Ethiopia's requirements. Their collaboration became our final home study.

We used our same social worker for both of our Guatemalan adoptions and now she just completed our new homestudy for Ethiopia. She charges $1,500.00 for the homestudy and we are in Florida.

Hi, We are in Las Vegas, NV and our domestic homestudy is $2,700 and they charge $3,500 for international. Good Luck!