My husband and I are taking the steps to adopt from Korea. We are currently talking to an agency that is literally right down the street from where I work (RedOakMomma - can you PM me? I feel like you used this same agency and I would love to talk to you about it). Some things are bothering me though.
They told me that they prefer to have the children escorted to the USA. They said they do this more often than having the adoptive parents go to Korea to get them. I told them I didn't like that and that I very much wanted to be there to pick up my child. She said it may be possible to become the "escort" for my child but it was on a case-by-case basis. This agency works with Korean Social Services and said that this is KSS's preference.
They told me that the homestudy would cost about $1500 and that until we had a referral we would only have to pay the homestudy, the minor fees like fingerprinting and the application/waiting list fee. Then we would pay $17,000 when we accepted the referral. She said the overall price is about $25K. I think this is a pretty average price, and I know the homestudy is a good price, the other agency in town (besides my own, which I can't use unfortunately) charges $5K for their homestudy.
We would currently go on a waiting list for the homestudy. The homestudy could take place in the fall but would probably wait until December. (You have to be married three years and our 3 year anniversary is 12/13/10). They said it's about 12 months for a referral so we should have our homestudy approved January 2011 and have a referral by the end of the year.
Does this all sound okay? Are there any agencies that anyone would recommend? The no traveling part is really bothering me. I don't feel comfortable with it. I feel like it's a deal-breaker for that agency, but my husband doesn't think it should be. He likes that they are right there and the prices seem pretty reasonable. I just don't know.
They told me that they prefer to have the children escorted to the USA. They said they do this more often than having the adoptive parents go to Korea to get them. I told them I didn't like that and that I very much wanted to be there to pick up my child. She said it may be possible to become the "escort" for my child but it was on a case-by-case basis. This agency works with Korean Social Services and said that this is KSS's preference.
They told me that the homestudy would cost about $1500 and that until we had a referral we would only have to pay the homestudy, the minor fees like fingerprinting and the application/waiting list fee. Then we would pay $17,000 when we accepted the referral. She said the overall price is about $25K. I think this is a pretty average price, and I know the homestudy is a good price, the other agency in town (besides my own, which I can't use unfortunately) charges $5K for their homestudy.
We would currently go on a waiting list for the homestudy. The homestudy could take place in the fall but would probably wait until December. (You have to be married three years and our 3 year anniversary is 12/13/10). They said it's about 12 months for a referral so we should have our homestudy approved January 2011 and have a referral by the end of the year.
Does this all sound okay? Are there any agencies that anyone would recommend? The no traveling part is really bothering me. I don't feel comfortable with it. I feel like it's a deal-breaker for that agency, but my husband doesn't think it should be. He likes that they are right there and the prices seem pretty reasonable. I just don't know.
They also work across some state boundaries, so you may be able to use them even if you aren't in Michigan.
