First homestudy interview

Can you tell what had to be corrected in your garage? We are just getting started and maybe we could get this done before our first check. Ha ha

Well all of the normal things... basically make it safe for a child. We had our garden tools in one corner against the wall... they need to be hung up high on hooks or locked behind a cabinet. I also had some wood stain that needed to be put in a locked cabinet, but paint was fine on an open shelf. Any kind of tools or nails/screws need to be locked or up high. We just got a lock for a large toolbox, and our big tools went on a tall 6 foot shelf. There were a few things that she had us do in front of her in the house. At my desk, she just needed to see that we didn't have push pins or small objects in the desk, so I moved those to a high basket. Also, in my girls bathroom, anything "baby" will say "keep out of reach of children" so.. baby lotion, or baby oil will need to be put in a high cabinet or locked away. Surprisingly, shampoo/conditioner was fine... but I had to put like 4 bottles in a high cabinet away from children. That was listed in our licensing packet so we should have had that done prior. Everything else was good. It went very well tho and she seemed pleased except for the garden tools and the things that were in the toolbox. Quick fixes tho. :cheer: Good luck on your licensing appointment!

I'm glad you said this because I would have never thought about childproofing the garage. I just figured we'd put a baby knob on the garage door so nobody could go out there. We'll have to do some checking in our garage because it's, well, a garage. LOL Thanks for filling me in! So, did you receive some kind of checklist in your initial application paperwork? We are supposed to receive all our paperwork tomorrow.

We haven't finished our homestudy yet but almost their. Our sw has been very busy covering other sw's cases while on vacation and such and also receiving a knew boss. My husband and I have already finished our interviews just waiting on her to do my brothers interview who lives with us. She told my husband she wants to have it done by the end of the month so we can be her first homestudy to give the knew boss and get ours pushed through. We passed the home inspection on the first time with our LW who we had heard was beyond the book and very strict which was very nerve wracking but also we wanted to go above and beyond. She only had us move some stuff around in garage while she was there and we had to switch to a smaller dog water bowl. We had been told by SW that the fountain out front was a problem unless we put some rocks in bottom so it wasn't so deep. We did that but LW still had to get approval from boss to have water in it. She did fight for us to keep it but her boss made us fill it up completely with rocks on top and bottom and we can't ever have water in it. We were a little mad cause really the kids can't be in front yard anyway without us (we live on somewhat busy street & we have child lock on front door), but the fountain was starting to fall apart and won't last another year so eventually we are just going to tear it out and put a palm tree in. Other than that everything has been moving along our LW called me a couple of weeks ago and said she had talked to SW and they had already "approved" us and put us on waiting list even though they hadn't done my husbands interview or my brothers or finished homestudy. So we are on the list but nothing can happen with it until homestudy is approved but I guess our name is out there. Have they mentioned having you guys do respite care? I was talking to my husband about maybe doing it and he said our SW was already putting our name down he just forgot to tell me, so I guess we will be on that list to. She is also trying to get us into the safely surrender baby class that you have to take after homestudy is approved if will accept safely surrender babies but the class has been full so she is thinking Sept or October. Good luck to you guys and make sure you keep me informed of your progress. Were do you all live? We are in Hesperia.

CH - You will see us at that next safety surrender class. Our HSW let us know about that one. :) Good luck wrapping your HS quickly. It feels so good to be approaching the end. All of our appointments are back to back. :) Sucks about the fountain in the front. My kids are not allowed in the front yard either so I totally understand. I have huge saint bernards that don't really fit in a dog house, so I gave them a childrens pool with blankets and put their toys in it. Its their bed since its fits them perfectly. lol Anyways, I had to throw it away... because of the what-ifs. :( I like that they don't take chances but some of it sucks. My dogs will just have to sleep on the floor like all other dogs. lol Our dogs were also labeled "dangerous" :( since they are so large. MountainMommy - Did you go to your licensing class? You should have got a packet and they would have told you anything and everything that needs to be changed or done prior to their arrival. Covers everything. I wouldn't think a garage would need to be done because its not a place for kids... but it does have to be done, just in case a child were to get out there. It can not be used for storage. We have 3 large garage shelving units out there and its all full of storage, but its accessible, neat and manageable.. so that was totally ok. Anything sharp or small (basically everything out there, lol) has to be not accessible to children of ALL ages. We are adopting newborn to 12 months... but we have to be licensed for 0-18 so it has to be done as if we were getting an older child. Good luck! If you don't have the packet... contact your LW and ask for it. You NEED that in order to have a successful licensing appointment. Our was going very well... and we were set to pass no problem til we hit the garage. It was a couple changes that I wouldn't be able to do in front of her (hang tools, get a locked cabinet) so she said, one more quick appointment to check those changes and we are done. :)

We are in Frazier Park. We attended the initial meeting, were assigned an FFA to do the homestudy (we'll be transferred back to the county after home study) and the women we've been assigned to called and said she was mailing our packet day before yesterday. So, I'm waiting on my mound of paperwork (her words, not mine). Then I guess I'll know more. I'm way behind you gals but gotta start somewhere. It's crazy all the little things we'll have to change despite already having a child. I have a feeling we are going to have quite a to do list but I'd love to nail it the first go around. We have a fountain in the backyard. It's not huge, but the base is like a big bowl. I have it empty and unplugged. I figured I'd tell them that I won't be filling it. The pump is broken and we purposely didn't order a new one. If we really have to we'll move it out until our finalization is complete. I'm willing to be accommodating and do whatever I need to do to get all this finished.

Mountain mommy- Unfortunetly you will have to remove the fountatin or they may let you feel it complelty full of rocks and not big rocks small gravel rock. They said even if fountain has no water or is broken it still is a "body of water". The supervisor said that if it were to rain then the child can drown. I wanted to laugh cause it would have to rain for about a week straight to even be rememotely possible with ours. They did say you can put up a fence around it at least 5 ft like a pool fence but that was not something we would even consider. So you can either fill it with gravel or get rid of it or see when the LW comes out if she has another suggestion. I was really surprised we had to change out dog bowls they were regular large size from the dollar store. She let us use a motor oil pan( never used brand new) from Walmart cause it was only about 4 inches deep. But we have the attitude at this point of just smile and agree to it so there are no hiccups. Good luck!!!

Ha ha, yep, just smile and agree. We have an x pen which is a metal gate we could put up around the fountain. It's all a little silly. We have a child and we have children over ALL the time. You'd have to literally try very hard to drown in the fountain. It's a little small for a human head. However, they are just doing their job and I'm just trying to adopt so I agree. I'll just smile and nod. LOL

The garage would be completely off my radar. Holy cow. My garage is not ready...it isn't attached to the house. Does that make a difference?

I'm pretty sure even a storage shed has to be organized... but maybe call your LW and ask. Maybe if it is locked, then it does not matter. I know everything has to be free of hazard for children age 0-18. Good luck! Girls - Yes, I smiled too, nodded and agreed. lol Make them happy!!! :)

I just got a copy of the homestudy checklist. The garage wasn't mentioned so I'm hopeful it won't be a big issue though we plan to clean it up and make sure things are off the floor. As for our studio and shed they just have to be locked to be considered inaccessible. The check sheet is so short, just two pages, so fingers crossed for an easy homestudy. (knock on wood)

We haven't gotten a checklist yet, and so far the garage wasn't mentioned by anyone. I wonder if it's different in different states?

I had my second licensing appointment yesterday and we are clear. :) Basically ANY thing poison has to be LOCKED! Anything "keep out of reach of children" has to be up high. Anything sharp or dangerous - yard tool even rakes, any tools like screwdrivers, hammers, screws, nuts/bolts has to be high or locked. We just put mini locks on our tool box and yard tools went in a metal garage storage type closet that locks. I actually had to make a couple quick changes on my second visit while she was here. We had some gardening "poisons" up on our top shelf out of reach. I had to move those to a locked cabinet. Our dog's water dish is a bucket (I have two big dogs) so that has to be switched to a regular dog bowl. :( But we passed so I am happy! :clap: :clap: I believe a locked shed is fine... cause it's not accessible. She did not look into anything locked. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

We live in riverside county and just had our first home inspection. We also have a detached garage that I was hoping we could just lock and make it inaccessible to the kids, but my lw said that since my washer and dryer are in the garage, I must have it available to the kids. So, all our tools, paints, poisons, must be either locked in a cabinet or put up high...

We attended an Orientation last month and the speaker said they need families for adoption. Even babies.