When Jeff and I began researching adoption, I used information from blogs written by adoptive families to help choose our agencies. We ended up with two agencies: one in-state to complete our home study, and one to handle the international side of our adoption. Now that our home study is finished, I thought I should write a quick post about our home study agency to put information out there for other prospective adoptive parents.
We ended up choosing St. Mary's Services, in Arlington Heights, Illinois for our home study. We decided to apply with them because they responded quickly to my inquiry emails, seemed interested in helping us, and were flexible on a few matters of payment. Adoption agencies bill you for post-placement services upfront, and many will not refund your money even if you don't use those services. St. Mary's agreed to refund our money if we didn't use their post-placement services due to a move out of state. We intend to stay in Illinois for at least another year and half, during which time our adoption will hopefully be completed, but since anything can happen in international adoption I wanted to make sure that if things didn't go we wouldn't be charged for services we didn't use. I understand why agencies charge upfront for post-placement visits, but it really bothers me that many will not give you a refund even if your adoption never happens.
We mailed our application in the middle of September, and were instructed to get fingerprinted right away. Our social worker, Michaelyn Sloan, contacted us within a week to set up our first appointment. We met with her on September 28 for our first couples interview. Michaelyn made our home study process easy. She responded to all of my emails and phone calls within a very reasonable time frame, she scheduled our interviews quickly, and she always gave us adequate notice when she needed to change our appointments when emergencies came up. She demonstrated an extensive knowledge of DCFS requirements and international adoption. She directed us to wonderful educational resources, and provided us with material about grief and adoption. We felt that she really made an effort to understand our situation and to connect with us by sharing pieces of her own adoption journey.
We received our foster license from the state of Illinois on November 18, only two months after we first mailed our application. We were so thankful that Michaelyn respected our level of motivation and worked so hard with us to get all the paperwork turned in as quickly as possible. Jeff and I whole-heartedly recommend using Michaelyn Sloan of St. Mary's services for the completion of an adoption home study.
We ended up choosing St. Mary's Services, in Arlington Heights, Illinois for our home study. We decided to apply with them because they responded quickly to my inquiry emails, seemed interested in helping us, and were flexible on a few matters of payment. Adoption agencies bill you for post-placement services upfront, and many will not refund your money even if you don't use those services. St. Mary's agreed to refund our money if we didn't use their post-placement services due to a move out of state. We intend to stay in Illinois for at least another year and half, during which time our adoption will hopefully be completed, but since anything can happen in international adoption I wanted to make sure that if things didn't go we wouldn't be charged for services we didn't use. I understand why agencies charge upfront for post-placement visits, but it really bothers me that many will not give you a refund even if your adoption never happens.
We mailed our application in the middle of September, and were instructed to get fingerprinted right away. Our social worker, Michaelyn Sloan, contacted us within a week to set up our first appointment. We met with her on September 28 for our first couples interview. Michaelyn made our home study process easy. She responded to all of my emails and phone calls within a very reasonable time frame, she scheduled our interviews quickly, and she always gave us adequate notice when she needed to change our appointments when emergencies came up. She demonstrated an extensive knowledge of DCFS requirements and international adoption. She directed us to wonderful educational resources, and provided us with material about grief and adoption. We felt that she really made an effort to understand our situation and to connect with us by sharing pieces of her own adoption journey.
We received our foster license from the state of Illinois on November 18, only two months after we first mailed our application. We were so thankful that Michaelyn respected our level of motivation and worked so hard with us to get all the paperwork turned in as quickly as possible. Jeff and I whole-heartedly recommend using Michaelyn Sloan of St. Mary's services for the completion of an adoption home study.
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2 comments:
It's so great that you are working with someone who seems to know what they are doing. I'm sure that puts your mind a bit more at ease with the process. Sounds like things are moving right along!
Once again, what an answer to prayer for God to provide someone who is active and involved, and seems to truly care about your case. I am really excited to hear about this!
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