The Home Study-- No Rock Left Unturned!

What is a Home Study?

There are three purposes behind the home study process:

1. to educate and prepare the adoptive family for adoption,
2. to gather information about the prospective parents that will help a case worker match the family with a child whose needs they can meet,
3. and to evaluate the fitness of the adoptive family.

There are 6 main elements that are included within the home study application.  They are:

1. Interviews:  We will be interviewed by our case manager to ensure that we develop a relationship that will enable him/her to better understand our family and assist us with an appropriate placement.  The interview also includes a home visit which serves to ensure that our home meets state licensing standards and to make sure we have adequate room for our child/children.
2. Health Statements: Both of us will need to have a physical exam performed by our family doctor as well as medical forms filled out.  Remi, our dog, also needs to have a clean bill of health and needs to be up to date on her vaccinations.
3. Income Statements: We have to be able to show that we can manage our finances responsibly and adequately.  They also ask about insurance, savings, and other investments and debts.
4. Background Checks: Criminal background, child abuse, and FBI finger printing clearances all need to be completed and passed.
5. Autobiography: Both of us need to write a 2-4 page autobiography that answers extensive questions about our upbringing, experiences that we've had during elementary, middle, high school, and college, and what we've learned from them.  It's basically our life story.
6. References: We need to provide 5 references/recommendation letters from individuals who have known us for several years, who have observed us in many situations, and who have visited our home and know of our interest in and involvement with children.

In addition to all of the above paperwork, there is a 25 page application that asks questions in regards to our family life, what our house and neighborhood are like, our relationships with family, friends, and neighbors, our parenting styles, employment and school records, daily life routines, religion, and our feelings about/readiness for adoption.

Once all of this has been completed, our case manager will then take all of the information that we supply and will complete a written report that will conclude with an approval/recommendation that often includes the age range and number of children for which we are recommended.

On average, the entire home study process takes 3 to 6 months.

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray that we can answer all of the questions in a way that will provide our case manager and prospective birth parents a comprehensive knowledge of our family life and parenting styles.
2. Pray that we are able to gather all of the additional documents like clearances, physicals, financial info, and birth certificates in a timely fashion.
3. Pray that our house is clean and orderly and our basement and upstairs home improvement projects are completed before the home visit.
4. Pray that both of us continue to enjoy and feel excitement towards this process and that we don't begin to tear our hair out because of stress.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and financial support.  Please don't hesitate to ask us questions or engage in a conversation...we'd love to share!

The "Profile"-- A 20 page commercial-- All.About.You!

Phew...it's been a while! 

First things first...check out our fundraising page!  We've put together an online fundraising website through www.GoFundMe.com.  The link to our personal page is there.  Fundraising letters and info about specific fundraisers will be coming out later this week!  Yay!

I believe the last time I posted, we were getting ready to have our first meeting with our case manager from A Baby Step.  Well, that meeting brought forth both good and bad results.  Which would you like first?  If you're anything like me, I always like ending on a good note, so here's the bad.  Kelly, the case manager we met with, won't be our case manager through the whole adoption process.  Boo!  She was WONDERFUL!!!  It's always a treat to sit down and have a conversation with someone that you know is passionate about their job and the people they work for and work with.  She was super knowledgeable, answered all of our questions, and quieted our concerns.  She even left us with her contact information should we need anything in the future.

We also got to meet the head honcho, Barbara.  She sat down and chatted with us and gave us some of her own personal background and the background of the agency.  She was very nice, professional, and open about her life's work.

With each person we meet and interact with at A Baby Step, I'm convinced that we made the right choice in partnering with them to provide a forever home for our future son or daughter.

So, I guess the above info was both good and bad news.  But the really, really good news...we left with more homework!  The teacher in me is just doing a little jig right now, haha.  There's nothing like an exciting project, paper, or assignment to get the creative juices flowing.

Our homework assignment was to start developing our profile and to also start gathering paperwork for our home study.  The home study process will take anywhere from 2-4 months....more on that later!

Our profile is basically our life stories condensed into a 15-20 page photo book.  How in the world do you do that?  How do you decide what to highlight, describe? How do you pick out the best pictures?  Ugh!  Once again, I'm humbled by and thankful for the people that have travelled this journey before us.  Armed with sample profiles, a healthy knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint, pictures galore, and input from our family and friends, our profile is almost complete and ready for publication!

Our profile is how we will represent ourselves to the birth families that we are interested in networking with.  It's a gallery of the things, people, and places that are most important to us.  It's how we market ourselves.  It's a way for the birth families to find a connection to us.  It could be as simple as having a pet with the same name or as complicated as having the same type of background, family, or friendships.  Something within our profile will catch their eye and make them read further, it just depends on what the birth families are looking for.

How you can pray for us:
1. Pray that the home study paperwork and interview process are completed efficiently and quickly.
2. Pray that our profile meets the guidelines of the agency and we can take it to print.
3. Pray that our fundraising efforts will come together and we'll be able to raise the money needed to provide a forever family for our little boy or girl.