Q: It’s been well over a year since I signed on with an agency and completed a homestudy, and I’ve been thinking of switching agencies. The few I have contacted told me that I’ll need a new homestudy completed by their staff. Do I really have to pay this fee and go through the process again?
A: Aside from paperwork that may have expired, many changes can take place in someone’s life in one or two years. Different agencies have different requirements for parent preparation and other steps in the process. There have also been many changes in adoption in recent years. Agencies may no longer be able to meet your requests for the child’s gender and/or age. In short, it is up to each agency to decide whether it will accept a homestudy written by another agency.
If you have not already spoken with your current agency to see if they have any suggestions, you should do so before considering starting over. Your social worker should help you think through how flexible you can be with your requests. The more flexible you are, the more opportunity there will be for a placement to be made.
