90 Days for Noelle - Day 15

Before starting this adoption, I was clueless to what the process actually entails. When you first inquire about adoption, you are bombarded with information about the process, the strange terminology, and the order that you need to do things. I am still not 100% on what all we need to do, but we are taking it one step at a time. The order can vary depending on the type of adoption and where you are adopting from. In our process, step one was applying to an agency and being accepted. That has been completed. The next step in our adoption and the first for many in any adoption is completing a homestudy. This is where we are now. We have eluded to it in many posts but never really explained what it is. The home study is where a licensed social worker or agency verifies that you are an able and willing parent. They check to make sure you can support additional children in your home and that you are a stable and able parent. As with any aspect of adoption, it is somewhat tedious and expensive. It's weird to think about all the hoops you must jump through and all the red tape you must cut to change a child's life, but there is no requirement to bring a child into this world biologically. Anyways, I thought to enlighten everyone on the subject, I would show you the checklist that must be fulfilled  to complete your homestudy and move on to the next step:

• Fee contract (one for file – one for family)
• Application Form – 5 pages - both applicants sign in ink
• Financial Form –  2 pages -both applicants sign in ink
• Adult Medical Forms (need a medical form on all adults living in the home) 
• HIV and TB skin test on adults
• Police Checks (state & local)
• Marriage Questions (one per applicant)
• Parenting Questions (one per applicant)
• Adoption Questions (one per applicant)
• Child Abuse Disclaimer (one per applicant and any adults in the home)
• In home visit (to examine our residence)
• Discipline Form (how we discipline our children)
• Release of Liability
• HIPPA Form (one per applicant)
• Autobiography (one per applicant)
• Guardianship Form
• Authorization to release home study
• Authorization for background checks
• 10 hours of Hague accredited classes/training
• 2 in office meetings/interviews
• 5 reference letters from friends and family

Also, a copy of the following:

• 1040 Income tax forms from the past three years 
• Birth certificates on all members of the family
• Divorce Decree (if applicable)
• Marriage Certificate
• Driver’s license
• Social Security cards on all adults in the home
• Health insurance and automobile insurance card
• Vaccinations of Pets
• Adoption decree(s) if any previous adoptions
• Custody Order if you have custody of the child you plan to adopt
• An employment letter written by your employer or human resources department. It needs to state your job title, salary, and date of hire.
• A snapshot of your family.

I think that I may be leaving some things out but you get the picture. I know that this is long and boring to most, but I wanted to paint a more accurate picture of what we mean when we talk about being overwhelmed in the process and what the term 'homestudy' actually means. We have the bulk of this assembled and hope to have our study completed by the end of January. As I said above, this is just one of our first steps but it is a big one. We have many more governmental forms, applications, and documents ahead. Now that you know more of the details please pray for us in this process. I know this is not a very inspirational post but this is the nuts and bolts of what we are doing to reach the goal of bringing Noelle home. We have to make sure our i's are dotted and our t's are crossed.

God, thank you for the position You have placed us in. Please give us strength to complete the tasks we have before us. We pray that in this"process" we are completing that we will be a witness for You and that every aspect will be used in some way for Your glory. Amen.

Joshua 1:9

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.