Initial telephone and info event advice

[teekay88]

Hi all

I'm waiting to hear back from a few agencies having made a few initial enquiries. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post specifics of agencies here so please let me know if that's not the done thing but I have a telephone appt with Havering LA on Monday and I've been invited to an info event with Essex CC the following week.

Apparently the Havering tele call will be 30 mins - what can I expect them to ask me, and is there anything I should prepare or think about in advance? Any Qs I should be asking them at this stage?

And at the info event what can I expect? Is it just a presentation type event or are there opportunities to speak with social workers and organise a one to one meeting etc?

Any advice you might be able to give me on these agencies themselves or anything I should be thinking about would be much appreciate as this is all very new to me

Thank you so much xxx

I think it is very sensible to ask for feedback on specific agencies. Once you are a bit further along, I would name change for any future adoption posts just to be ultra sure of not self identifying to someone who knows your case.

No where near your area, but on what they might ask:

Why do you want to adopt?
DO you smoke?
About your relationship/family/household.
About your house/living arrangements.
Employment status.
How much you know about adoption.
Experience with children.
Possibly a bit about what age/additional needs you might consider- I'd be very open at this stage.
A rough outline of your lives.
Health issues.

I doubt they'd do all that on first enquiry. It's more likely to be stuff higher up the list along with telling you about the process.

Questions for them (which I'd save to the info event):

How many adopters did they match last year.
How many do they have waiting.
What proportions of the kids they match are young/old/have additional needs.
How long does approval typically take with them.
How long might a typical 'easy to match' couple wait for a child (that is a very hard Q to answer, but you might get some idea from their response).
What is their post adoption support like.
How often do they match their adopters out of LA.
What will happen during approval and training.

A good agency will run info events with adopters present. They are the ones to really ask. I think you should also look at, at least, one VA- whichever has the best reputation in your area.

I can't help with the specifics of the agencies, but I'd guess the phone call will be to do a very initial assessment of your suitability, to find out a little about your circumstances and to give you a reality check.

So they might make sure you're not expecting a baby of the sex/race of your choosing with no issues or uncertainties delivered straight from the hospital and that you don't have a string of convictions, unmanageable mountain of debt and a drug habit. They'll probably want to know if you've thought about what kind of child you'd like to adopt (age, special needs, siblings etc). At the end of a similar phone call we 'made it' onto the waiting list to be invited to info evening.

Our info evening was mostly people talking at us, we watched a film that showed what neglect looks like (a bit) and SWs talked about the assessment process a bit. There was also a chance to ask questions.

Just be careful posting agency names that you don't make yourself identifiable. (Even if you don't care now, you might down the line.)

Good luck!

Thanks both for your help. I'll bear all this in mind for mondays call and noted about not naming agencies perhaps ill save any specific queries for PMs from now on. Its really useful to know also the qs i should think about asking at info event - I'll make a list of suggestions so i don't forget anything! Ive contacted a mox of VA and LA so hope to get a balanced view of who's out there. Its a bit confusing the difference between the 2 in terms of process but sure i will get the hang of it soon enough. Thanks again

donquixotedelamancha and berg good advice.

Best to be annonymous.