Our first meeting!

I am beyond tired today but I know the peeps demand it! Forgive me if none of this makes sense... Yesterday we met with Summer our social worker. We had a bunch of questions and got them all answered. Summer asked us questions and of course a few set me off and I may have gotten a little teary eyed. I am an emotional creature, what can I say...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a brief synopsis of the information we now have.
What if the birth family becomes more able to parent the child after the adoption is finalized, can they petition the courts to get the child back?
Nope

How long after the birth does the birth family have to decide to keep the baby?
72+ hours after the birth. Some cases have gone to 2 weeks. (eek!)

How many newborns have you placed in the last year?
38

Are children placed from different states or mostly in your home state? If we travel to another state are those fees covered in our fee to the agency?
Children are placed from your home state. If you do find another birth parent out of state, they can help arrange it but the fees change.

Are we able to make monthly payments?
No. You would assume that people working with a Christian agency would, ya know, pay their bills to the agency...not the case. I don’t even want to imagine what happened in those cases...like if you don’t pay your car payment, they take your car...let your mind wander on that one.

How do you determine how much we will pay?
A portion is predetermined and a portion is based on your income. Although there is a cap on the total fees the agency will accept regardless of income. *to be discussed later on*

What if the birth family chooses us and we go through the entire process and they back out?
No extra fees. You go back in the "match book" awaiting placement.

Who is the typical birth family? Are they Christians?
This surprised me: 26+ women who already have children and cannot provide for another. They are not typically Christian. We hope that through the process we can introduce them to Christ and show them what a functioning family unit really is.

Can you explain open adoption further? Does this mean frequent in person visits? Or just emails and photos?
4 visits a year. This can take place in any form and if necessary can be mediated by the agency.

What is the home study like? How long does it take?
3-6 months. Lots of paperwork. Criminal background, financials, personality tests, educational classes

Can you walk us through the entire process?
Application
Home study ppwk including visits
Education classes
Match book
Wait

How long does the entire process typically take, from sending in our application to baby in our house?
Once we get into the match book it typically takes one year to have an infant in our house. *more on this later*
Can we get a family history? (genetic diseases, parents/ grandparents)
Yes

Are there any other adoptive parents that we can get connected with through the agency? Like a support group?
Yes, through our education classes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are just a few of the questions we asked Summer and felt like y'all would be curious about. If you're feeling even more nosy please email me or post in the comments!