Torrefaction

I want to make it clear - I think that it’s FABULOUS that Illinois goes the extra few miles to make sure we’re providing a good home for a child.  However, it’s still a pain in the butt!  My brother’s in Indiana and their home study was way simpler.

We chose our home study agency because compared to some others we talked to, they require less paper up front, they do more of the writing for you, and they cost less.  When time is of the essence, hearing that we have to write our autobiographies just as part of applying is not encouraging.  Our agency was more into questionnaires, forms, and talking to us and taking notes, and their fees are reasonable.

So:

HSA=home study agency,

IAA=international adoption agency.  Really I could make this just “AA” but people would come here from google looking for something else and be mad.

SW=social worker

FUN: this is where we have EXTRA FUN trying to fulfill the requirement.

These are the steps we've finished, in not quite chronological order:

1. Fill out HSA application form.
2. Fill out HSA adoption applicant financial statement.  Make sure it matches IAA financial statement, which is formatted completely differently and includes different categories
3. Get HR at work to fill out HSA employment verification form letter.  Make sure it matches differently formatted IAA employment verification letter.  FUN:  My employer is smallish, so I went to a gal I know in HR, told her about the adoption, and promptly got everything I needed.  Hub’s employer is largeish, so he went to his management, who forwarded the form to the HR department, which is in another state.  HR filled the form in, putting “CANNOT DISCLOSE” in all the fields other than Hub’s job title, and sent it to HSA like that.  Hub had to get a new copy of the form from HSA, fax it to HR in the other state with another piece of paper okaying disclosure, and then wait until our SW told us it was ok
4. Go to infant/child CPR class.  Hear about numerous horrifying things that happen to infants and children.  Practice on plastic people with no arms or legs.
5. Go to daylong “Our Rainbow Families” class sponsored by HSA (this is coming up, so will report on that later). FUN: Hearing name of class inspires friends to ask questions ranging from "oh, you're adopting a gay baby?" to "does that mean they serve ice cream in the class?"
   
6. Get scanned fingerprints taken by Identix in  odd school-bus company lunchroom setting. Wait for Illinois State Police (ISP) to receive prints and produce our state clearance. (This is not to be confused with the local city clearance our IAA wants).  FUN:  Hub’s clearance arrives within 2 weeks.  Mine does not.  After another week I call Identix.  They are based in Springfield, IL, which has been hit by a tornado that very week, so their office is light-staffed and their phone system recommends calling...some other time.  Calling ISP nets me a “We don’t have any record of anyone with your name requesting a check” and wanting to know my tracking number, which the Identix scanner guy did not give me.  A week later, call Identix again, get through, nice lady looks up my tracking number and calls ISP for me, and whaddya know, the prints were processed just a couple of days before.  Receive clearance in mail about 4 days later.
7. Send ink fingerprint cards (also done by Identix at same appointment as above, but handed off to us) to FBI for federal criminal background check.  Wait 6 weeks for response.  Worry about whether other people could be using my fingers for crime while I sleep.  Receive clearance at last.
8. Pass another background check, this one fingerprint-free, showing that we have no record of child abuse (this was entirely handled by HSA so was easy).
9. Get medical forms filled in by doctor.  HSA was flexible about the forms and so we were able to give our SW a copy of our IAA medical form, with an addendum showing that we’d passed a TB test.
10. Write statement of guardianship - that is, who would raise the child in the event of our deaths.  This entailed actually talking this over together to make a decision (we are fortunate to have more than one excellent option) and then talking to the person in question.
11. Give SW a copy of everything we’ve got in the IAA dossier so far so everything matches up
12. Make house presentable for SW visit
13. Read gov’t website listing tons and tons of recall alerts.  Verify that none of the recall items are in our home.  This wasn’t so bad because we don’t have any baby stuff yet, so could check off whole categories quickly.
14. Feel bad that the stairs to the basement (where the study/future playroom is) don’t have a bannister at the moment, but don’t actually fix it.
15. Give IAA’s home study guide to SW
16. Fill out DCFS application...we're not applying for a foster license but many of the forms are the same.
    
17. Line up 3 personal references and pester them to make sure they don’t delay filling out the referral form when they recieve it (our HSA has them fill in a form rather than writing a free-form reference letter).
18. Fill out vast “basic information questionnaire” about our marriage & values & stuff.  FUN:  one question:  “how do you feel about your sex life?”
19. Find veterinarian for our ridiculously healthy cat, get rabies vaccination & certificate proving same.  (Happy thing: vet says that if he had to guess he’d figure the cat was about 4 years old...in fact, he’s 11)  Also get distemper vaccination, although not needed for HSA...my first kitty died of distemper.  I was about 3 and thought it meant she’d had a temper tantrum.  Which didn’t stop me from going right on having my own tantrums. FUN:  Ahab (the cat) didn’t mind getting a shot, but HATED being out of the house, in the car, etc.  Hub (who took care of the whole vet visit by himself; my hero!) felt guilty for days afterward and totally spoiled Ahab with petting.  On the plus side, it made Hub stop worrying about attaching to a child, since he’s got so much empathy for kitty.
20. Fill out DCFS vehicle insurance certification.
21. Install a smoke detector in basement.  Check batteries in upstairs smoke detector
22. Send I-600A form to us-cis.  Include cover letter saying there are two adults in the house, listing enclosures, and indicating that home study will follow.  Include filing fee plus my fingerprint fee plus hub’s fingerprint fee on a money order, even though the form says a personal check is ok.  SW assures us that a personal check is NOT ok and I believe her.  One month later, recieve reciept, yay!  (This just means I didn't f*&k up the form, not that they're processing it or anything...they need the finished HS for that)
    
23. Go to a total of five SW meetings - one for both of us, then just Hub, then just me, then both of us at the house, then one last one for both at the office.
24. Write a big check to HSA