In return for submitting the profile to the adoption agency, we receive the next step in the process. For us it's a home study questionnaire requesting us to write an autobiography to be submitted in essay form. Here's a sampling of the questions:
1. Place of birth, places you have lived and length of stay, and moves that you remember. [for me, this is quite a few]
2. Your parents as you remember them during your childhood including: occupations, personalities, health, marital relationship, who was responsible for what duties, and your relationship to each of them as a young child, during adolescence and now.
3. How would you describe your parents in terms of the kind of parent you want to be?
4. Your brothers and sisters: their personalities and your relationship to each of them during childhood, adolescence and now. Also tell how many children in the family and your positions (oldest, etc.) [Telling strangers about Lisa in regard to having a child placed with us just brings up an entirely separate set of emotions]
5. Childhood experiences: who disciplined and how? How did you react? How was praise expressed? How was criticism expressed? What did your parents expect of their children? What goals did they set? What were their values? What did you like about childhood and family functions? What did you dislike? Did you have a nickname and how did you feel about it?
6. Describe your teenage years: What did you like and dislike about your home life? What pressures were present at that time, especially in terms of what other kids were doing?
There are 7 more questions ranging from school, dating, marriage, self and spiritual relationship. Included along with this request is a 'Safe Questionnaire I' that entails 57 more questions about our lives. Billy and I received each our own packet so they are separate from one another. Did anyone else going through this process ever receive an overview of everything that is expected for the entire process? Is it usual to just keep receiving additional requests?
3 comments:
Lori, before I was married, I was in the process of adopting from China. In fact my dossier collected dust in China for about 13 months before I forfeited and went ahead with my wedding plans. It would still be sitting there with thousands of others in front of it today. China is referring babies at a ridiculously slow rate. It's heartbreaking, really.
All that to say, that I have been there with all that adoption paperwork, and much of it is redundant, and terribly personal. My paperchase to assemble my dossier was practically a full-time job.
Oh, the hoops we have to jump through to become parents!
There did seem to be a couple of things that seemed to hold us up, but I think most of the paperwork was done from the get go. Although, it was alot of paperwork. Sorry they didn't do a better job of going over everything from the beginning.
Love and Prayers,
Liesl
Lori, I saw this post several days ago but kept forgetting to click through and comment!
Each adoption agency is different, but ours went as follows:
-pre-application (with a few personal questions and our pastor reference)
-fingerprints/background checks
-introductory seminar
-actual application (pages and pages and pages of personal questions for each of us! Ended up being around 70 pages)
-3 more references (friend, neighbor, relative)
-Individual interviews
-Joint interview and homestudy
-Final approval and waiting!
All along the way we had to answer questions. But it sounds a little different than yours...pretty much everything we had to fill out was in the main application. Then they just interviewed us to get further texture (just in case 70 pages didn't quite cover it!).
The questions remain the same though. We answered the same ones you're answering. Exhausting, isn't it? I mean, I get it...they need to ensure protection and ensure they aren't working with crazy people. But it also is a little offensive at times. And certainly not fair.
Not yet having a baby (only a few days on the waiting list right now!) I can say that the process is still 1,000 times more peaceful and uplifting than IF treatments. I feel like I can glorify God in this process, rather than be angry and desparate with him all the time.
I think of you often and pray for your entire process!
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