I have a few home study questions to ask for you experts out there. DH and I are just waiting until I'm a few paychecks into the school year before we begin the home study process and I have a few questions about it. First off, I think that we're going to do the home study first and then send it in to the agency we choose so that we can at least get started on it soon. I think we're going to go with an agency in Utah and they only do them in Utah so I'm sure that'll be okay. I have a friend who used one of these agencies before and she did her home study beforehand and sent it to them when the agency accepted her. I've also heard a lot of people in VA use them and they definitely don't do home studies all the way in VA so I'm sure we can just do it in this state.

Anyway, I was thinking I should just start by calling social services which is based out of Richmond. We're pretty far from there but that seems to be where they want you to direct your calls. I imagine they'll just give me numbers or assign me to someone closer to home to do the home visits and all of that. So that's the plan for now. So to my questions...

DH is very worried about them looking at our bank statements and saying that we can't afford to adopt. Is this true? I was under the impression they merely are doing the home study to see that you're fit to parent and have a safe environment. We can definitely afford to care for a child and make well over the average income you have to make to be considered for adoption so I doubt that'll be an issue. I mean, when they do the home study are they looking to see if you can afford it yet? We're planning to finish the home study asap so that we can apply for grants and maybe a loan. Our savings are a little low right now because I was off for the summer and haven't gotten my first paycheck yet from being back at work but DH traditionally saves 20% of his paycheck and I usually save 50% or so if it's a good month...also we have a really low house payment, one of our cars is already paid off, and other than that the only debt we have is school loans. My car is almost paid off as well. So...I think they're looking for how you manage your money more right?

Also, for the insurance issue. I've read that with the home study they typically require proof of health insurance for both spouses as well as proof of being able to have health insurance for the child. The problem with this is that DH has no health insurance currently because his boss is his step dad who doesn't believe in health insurance...stupid I know. DH should be getting a new job shortly after the new year and benefits start from day one with that job and great benefits. However, we're wondering if it's possible for him to get approved temporarily for medcaid (he might make too much for this anyway) so he can get a physical and what not and if he did that could we get a letter saying if we had a baby they'd be approved too or will we need to wait until he has benefits with his new job first? I have insurance but I'm disabled so it's Medicare and they will not include a child on that policy.

Also, how "ready" does the home actually need to be for the visit itself? DH read that you need everything to be child proofed already meaning the cabinet doors and such and that you need baby gates and everything else already. Is that true? If we're hoping for a newborn do we need to have a baby room done already as well? And what about pets? I know we need vet records. We have three cats and they aren't up to date on their shots so we'll need to take them all in first, but what about the litter and such? Is that considered a problem? I imagine it just needs to be clean and also needs be shown it can be blocked off so that it couldn't be accessed easily by a child. Am I over thinking this? Lol. I have no idea.

Sorry for the incredibly long message. I wasn't sure how to ask the questions without adding a lot of detail. My brain is going all over the place. Thanks in advance ladies!