Any one else having major trouble

Just a thought...have you tried to find a caseworker who does homestudies *privately*...not connected with an agency? That's what we did, and ours was $500, which is a lot less than agency homestudies (or at least that's what I have been told). Of course, in our situation, we are adopting privately, I don't know if the state would let you use a private caseworker for a foster child adoption. Did the agencies you contacted give a reason for their reluctance? Are they just too busy? or are they against doing homestudies for single parent adoptions? Hope you find someone soon. Musicmama

It is absolutely illegal to refuse to make an interracial placement! While I know they do try to place kids with parents of the same race, the FEDERAL law states that they cannot do this to the exclusion of qualified parents of other races, and they cannot do so if this would cause the child's placement to be delayed. Nine months is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for a study. Try checking with the state to see if there are agencies which are privately funded who will do the study at no charge. In Texas, Gladney, Casey and Lutheran Social Services will all do this for people adopting from the foster care system.

hey i was just wondering what you meant by a caseworker because i am trying to adopt but dont have too much money....please email me or just reply here thank you

I adopted as a single person through my state. I used a private non-profit agency that contracts with the state. If you are choosing to adopt through the state, I suggest you use this route. They handled everything, including the homestudy for free. Most states have something similar.If you are working directly with the state, they should be able to give you names of people.

Were you any of your three children adopted through the foster care system that you currently reside? Also, were any of them within the past few years? If so, you may not need a new homestudy, but rather an updated one. There was a three year span between the foster care adoptions of my sons. The state agency used my first homestudy and just updated it. All it took was a ten-minute interview. Maybe this is an option for you! Good luck and keep us advised!

Our homestudy was done by a professional social worker, but not through a social service agency. He does adoption homestudies privately, so the fee is a lot less than doing an agency homestudy. I heard about him through word of mouth, so I don't know if our situation is rare. I guess you could just ask around, maybe with an adoption attorney, they might know someone who does this, or look in the phone book under adoption services (I'm not sure if they are allowed to advertise), or maybe call your county social service agency, and ask them. *Surely* this man isn't the only one around who does "private" homestudies, but you might have to do a bit of networking to find one. Good luck! :) Musicmama

My girls were in 1998 foster to adopt (I got them May 1996.) I was a foster parent until Oct. 2000. I had a homestudy for my son who is from MO. This was done by a private agency who now says that my last adoption took too much time and they don't want to work with us any more. So, I went through one of our state's programs for foster care adoption and offered to pay for my homestudy so I could use it out of state. Lutheran Family services said they would do the homestudy, but they are a bit far away. The Christian, Catholic, and Jewish agencies said no they don't do foster care adoption homestudies. 2 other local did not want to either. That leaves one who never answers the phone. United Methodist is one of the two that are contracted to do foster care adoptions. I still have not had a completed homestudy and have been working with them since August. I had all my forms in 1st week of September. Maybe it is a state law or something, but they all say you need a new homestudy. Our class was a foster care and adoption training together (which I thought was a big waist of my time because I was a foster parent 5 years and have a master's in Special Ed, which was all about special needs kids any way.) So, I still wait. There is a local person who does homestudies, but there was a big question as to if she could supervise the placement or not especially with a interstate placement with all those extra rules. I will stick with United Methodist for about 3 more weeks. I am matched with 2 boys who will be free for adoption in March.