Written by Babygirlmona and posted on Pound Pup Legacy Blog

Flexibility and a sense of humor are vital characteristics when raising children and they can come in handy during the home study as well. For instance, if you have the flexibility in your job and are willing to take off an hour early to meet with the social worker or to modify your schedule in some other way to make the meeting arrangements flow smoothly, that effort will be appreciated by the worker. As a parent to be, many more of these accommodations are in your future; therefore the social worker often believes you might as well start getting used to them!

The duration of the home study will vary from agency to agency, depending on various factors, such as how many social workers are assigned to conduct home studies, what other duties they have, and how many other people applied to the agency at the same time as you. You can do a lot to expedite the process by filling out your paperwork, scheduling your medical appointments, and gathering the required documents.

The cost of the home study depends on which kind of agency or practitioner is conducting the study. A public agency (often your local Department of Social Services) does not usually charge a fee for a home study, since it is supported by government funds. However, occasionally a public agency may charge a modest home study fee-once you adopt one of the agency’s children, you can usually obtain a reimbursement for this fee.

A private agency might charge from $1,000 to $3,000 for the home study, although it may charge no fees or charge lesser fees for home studies for children with special needs. For a non-special-needs child, the fee may cover an application fee and pre-placement services, but be sure to confirm this. For locating a specific child and providing follow-up or post-placement services, you will usually be charged a separate fee. These services could possibly be performed by a second agency. Fees for these additional services could range from $2,500 to $25,000. Many agencies allow the fees to be paid in installments. Again, be sure to discuss this thoroughly so that there are no misunderstandings.

A certified social worker in private practice often conducts home studies for independent adoptions. Fees for these are probably in the same range as those for private agencies. Independent adoptions are not legal in all States.

Remember, even though an adoption home study may seem invasive or lengthy, it is conducted to prepare you for adoption and help you decide whether adoption is really for you. The regulations serve to protect the best interest of the child and to ensure he or she is placed in a loving, caring, healthy, and safe environment. Once you accept that premise, it often becomes a lot easier to complete what is required of you. After all, the reward of withstanding a short period of inconvenience is great: many years of happiness and fulfillment raising a child to maturity.

Good luck to you in your pursuit of a child through adoption and with your adoption home study. With perseverance and a good attitude, you will be able to team with the adoption social worker to make this a valuable learning experience-one which will help you to do the best possible job in parenting the child who will join your family. After all, the adoption worker wants you to accomplish your goal of adopting, especially if one more child gets a loving, permanent, safe family.

For more information about adoption or Contact us.

Written by Mike Adkins

In Judaism, adoption is an important as well as an intricate issue. Although the Jewish Law recognizes adoption as a legitimate way to build a family, it also evokes conflicting messages, known as halakhah, in regards to adoption. Emphasizing greatly on bloodlines and ancestry, Judaism prioritizes tradition with respect to adoption.

A child that is legally adopted under the Jewish Law and is being brought up in a traditional Jewish household is not considered an adoptee. In regards to the Jewish religion, the adopted child is considered part of the family. However, for a Jewish family that wishes to adopt a non-Jewish child, there is always an additional filter that respects the Jewish tradition through generations of Jewish families.

Under the Jewish Law, an adopted child is duty-bound in the laws of death and mourning in the event of a loss of a close relative, namely mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, son or daughter. Considered as an immediate family, the adopted child recites the traditional mourner’s prayer (Kaddish) for 12 months and is obligated in the laws of mourning.

Jewish adoptive parents should carefully consider how they communicate respect for the Jewish religion to the adopted child without diminishing the importance of the birth parents’ religion. Particularly, when it comes to open adoptions and the birth family is not Jewish, the child is likely to raise questions about the Jewish religion, the birth parents’ religion, the differences between the two, why they exist, which is better etc. In these cases, both adoptive and placing parents should communicate in a respectful way and should follow a common way on explaining all these questions to the child without prejudices and conflict.

In many cases, there are conflicts between the different factions of Judaism, namely Orthodox, Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative. Under the Jewish Law, an adopted child whose birth mother is not Jewish should be officially converted to Judaism. However, if the birth father is Jewish, Reform and Reconstructionist Jews do not proceed to conversion, while Orthodox Jews recognize conversions performed solely by Orthodox Rabbis.

All these complexities create additional challenges in regards to adoption under the Jewish Law. For children who are not born Jewish and have different race and culture in their genes, it is a difficult challenge to connect with a Jewish family, particularly when outsiders question this connection. There are cases that Chinese children are adopted by Jewish families and because their characteristics are so unique, they have been told that they are not Jewish. The same has happened with blond children with blue eyes, who do not look like typical Jews and again their identity has been questioned by third parties at school or even at the synagogue.

For all adopted children is difficult to create a solid identity. Jewish adoptive families should help children who are not born Jewish to develop a strong Jewish identity. On the other hand, they should respect the challenges that evoke from the birth family’s religion. There are cases that Jewish children have celebrated Christmas with their birth parents because the Jewish adoptive parents have accepted that their child should make his or her own choices. In any event, communication is the key.

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By Ana Jackson, Reporter for NBC4

DELAWARE, Ohio – Imagine being an adoptive parent, just weeks away from receiving a child from a birth mother, only to find out the mother was never pregnant.

It’s a scheme that has fooled and broken the hearts of Midwest couples.

Shawn and Laura Mickens fell victim to the scheme.

They have been searching for a baby for the last 18 months and already lost out on a previous adoption opportunity.

So when they saw an ad for a local birth mother who was supposedly due in three weeks, they jumped at the chance and scheduled a meeting right away.

“She got so attached to us. She was rubbing her belly, calling it by the child’s name even though she wasn’t really pregnant. She just looked pregnant,” Shawn said.

The couple said the mother agreed to sign all of the paperwork necessary for the adoption but then suddenly stopped calling.

The Mickens posted their story on online adoption forums and found that nine other couples had fallen victim to the very same scheme.

“We’re trying to give a child a good home, and she’s ruining the adoption process for these families. She’s breaking their hearts and making them think twice if they really want to do this,” Laura said.

Adoption attorney Tommy Taneff said similar schemes are rare, but couples should always do their homework on a birth mother.

He said couples should run background checks and do Internet searches and always should work with an adoption attorney to prevent problems.

The Mickens said they will continue to pursue adoption despite the disheartening scheme.

In the meantime, they are working to get the word out about the scheme.

They said local authorities decided the case was too weak to pursue in court.

For more information on adoption or Contact us.