What's Next?

That is the big question these days.  We are 95% done with our homestudy (all items below with an * are forms that have been completed and submitted already).  Once the last few forms come in, our social worker can write up the big report and send it off to our placement agency.  We'll have a copy too, so that I can begin applying for adoption grants and scholarships.  We will also begin working on our dossier requirements.  The dossier is the big kahuna.  It is the BIG packet of paper that is sent off to Bulgaria.  It includes our homestudy as well as other documentation that is required to be part of the dossier.  Our dossier MUST be in Bulgaria by the end of November.

So, say it with me "They are finishing this homestudy thingy, applying for grants, and working on another bunch of paper."

Exactly.

Since so many have asked...here is a breakdown of what is required for the homestudy:

*Interview(s) with your social worker, one of which is counted as the “home visit” where she comes to your home and rummages through your stuff---no, not really, but it feels like that!

Documentation:
*Adoption Application and Fee
*Supplemental Form (I do not do drugs, I do not have a history of bad things, etc)
*Adoption Study and Fee Contract
*State Criminal History Check
*State Driver’s License Record Check
*Background Information Disclosure
*Consent for Disclosure of Confidential Information
*Local Police Criminal Record Check
Adoptive Parent Health Report
*Child’s Health Report
*Health Insurance Verification (will your health insurance cover the adopted child?)
*Certified copies of birth certificates, marriage license, divorce decrees, and death certs of former spouse
*Federal Income Tax Form
*Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth Form
*Three letters of reference
*Autobiographies for each parent
*Pre-Adoption Education/Training-18 hours required for Hague Convention countries *Bulgaria IS
*General Safety and Fire Protection Plan
*Vehicle and Homeowner’s Insurance Verification

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

 in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6