A friend asked if there is a way to tactfully encourage a social worker to get the homestudy written up in a timely manner. I think it is an excellent idea to address the issue directly. In fact, that was one of the first questions I asked when we had to switch homestudy agencies for this past adoption.

But I do think you need to be tactful and friendly. You don't want to kill any positive vibes right from the start, and you also don't want to sound unreasonable with your requests.

There are probably a variety of ways to approach it. But here is an example of how I would frame a discussion like this:

"I am planning to have all my documentation to you by June 1,... more

Celebration's going on here today: our dossier left for Ethiopia today!! This is a huge step in the process, and I have to say I am just amazed at how fast everything has come together. It has only been 7 weeks since we made first contact with our agency for this adoption. Delays could still happen, but if everything progresses normally, we have a really good chance of getting through court before the court closure over the Ethiopia New Year. Hooray!

Also pending is the delivery of the welcome... more

In honor of getting our referral (HOORAY!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!) I thought I'd tell you more about what to expect from a referral. When you're waiting for a referral, you can spend a lot of time day-dreaming of the day that you hear who your child is going to be. Just how much information can you expect to get? Procedures vary by agency, but there are some fairly standard bits of information.

Pictures

Usually you will get at least a photo or two of your child. Some agencies will also share a short... more

This afternoon, I overnighted our agency our complete homestudy. As of tomorrow morning at 10:30, they should have every speck of paperwork they need to officially offer us our referral. That means next week I will once again be stalking our mail carrier!

In other news, our dossier was reviewed and passed, and the appropriate parts of it were sent on to Washington D.C. for authentication. Everything looked good except my husband's Medical letter. It had been prepared on plain paper instead of letterhead. I'd had a bad feeling about that, but risked sending it as is. Sure enough, we had to redo it.

The first time the doctor produced the letter, he was kind enough to go over... more

This evening we got an email from our wonderful social worker. Attached was OUR HOMESTUDY for me to review! This gal is good-- our interviews were finished a mere 9 days ago. Monday her boss reviews it. After that AAI reviews it, and if all goes well it will be signed and notarized and we'll have a hard copy in our hands on Wednesday!

Immigration

The homestudy is the Golden Key will allow us to file our immigration paperwork with our local USCIS office-- Friday, hopefully! In the past our immigration office allowed us to file... more

Our dossier packet was mailed Tuesday, so I will be stalking my mailman until it makes its appearance. (Later today? Dare I hope?) Since I have done two Ethiopia dossiers before, I have an idea of how to put much of it together. Earlier this week a chat with a fellow dossier-obsessed mama served to remind me of a thing or two I could do before the dossier even arrived. (Did you know that besides the immgration fingerprint clearnace and the local fingerprint clearance, they now require an actual LETTER from the police?)

This morning I ended up with a dozen or so documents that needed notarizing AND a hubby who unexpectedly had the day off. How perfect is that? Off we went with my... more

This week has been jam-packed. Not only did we get all our homestudy visits done (thanks to our awesome new social worker!), we also got in the ten hours of education now required by many adoption agencies in preparation for being Hague-compliant. I thought the social workers did a great job of introducing the major issues adoptive parents need to understand. The majority of the education presented was not new to us. But thanks to this type of education, adoptive parents are going to be much better prepared for challenges they might face.

I was conflicted, though, about the tendency of... more

All week I've been thinking about our dossier packet. Our agency received our preliminary documents Monday morning, so I figured today (Thursday) would be the very earliest we could possibly expect it. Next week would be much more likely. Still, this morning the minute I got home from taking the kids skating, I beelined it for the mailbox. Glory be-- there was a nice fat envelope from AAI. I shrieked in delight, and ripped it open.

Only to find educational reading material.

Now, I am as much in favor of education as anyone. Truly I am. But I'm craving blanks to fill in. Documents to notarize. Signatures to authenticate. Packets to overnight. Not magazine... more

(Notes for the impatient)

A reader saw a comment that I made on another blog, stating that I hoped to have our home study done within a month. She asked (in the post below this one) if a home study can really be done this fast. It may be wishful thinking on my part this time around-- we'll see. But the short answer is yes, it can happen if everything works just right.

A huge amount depends on the home study agency that you choose. Some agencies require every scrap of documentation to be done before the first home study visit, right down to every single reference letter and the results of your local fingerprint clearance, which can take... more

(Homestudy Paperwork: Part One here)

Continuing with the list of documents you will need to gather before the home study can begin:

Application This is usually a one-page form with spaces for general information about your family.

Adoptive Parent's Birth Certificates/ Marriage Licenses/ Divorce Decrees Some agencies require certified copies. Others are OK with regular copies. Check with your agency to see which they prefer.

Copy of Driver's License and Social Security Card This is a new one... more