Adoption and gun ownership?

[ScubaSigGuy]

First off I don't believe everything I see on TV or read in the paper...

I happened to be a watching a televison series that Mrs. Scubasigguy likes, and there was a scene where a social worker was interviewing a couple as part of the adoption screening. After a few general questions she asks if the couple owns any firearms .

Is this standard practice in "real life"?

Seems to fall into the none of their business category to me.

[KaiserB]

First off I don't believe everything I see on TV or read in the paper...

I happened to be a watching a television series that Mrs. Scubasigguy likes, and there was a scene where a social worker was interviewing a couple as part of the adoption screening. After a few general questions she asks if the couple owns any firearms .

Is this standard practice in "real life"?

Seems to fall into the none of their business category to me.

As a former foster care parent, I can tell you the Socialists Workers ask if you own firearms when they perform a "Home Study" The Home Study is basically an interview for foster and adoptive parents to insure you have a safe home. They do ask about firearm storage, how many firearms, firearm safety in the home.

I was happy to explain all of this to our agency Social Worker, and chuckled when she had to make notes on additional pages as most foster/adoptive parents do not have "dangerous guns" in the home. I spent some extra time explaining to the social worker the reasoning for owning firearms, the various sports, and self-defense benefits of responsible ownership. I also put the jab in about how the kids would be safer in "any home" with a responsible firearm owner, than a home without any firearms.

There is a whole litany of other items they ask about during the Home Study, such as: reviewing refrigerator and pantry contents (no hot sauce, or expired food); medicine safely locked away; cleaning supplies properly stored (in a locked cabinet, not just a child lock, but locking cabinet); fire extinguishers with inspection tags from the fire marshal; a natural disaster plan; and on and on.

I was very glad 2 year ago when the kids adoption became final, as I was able to get rid of the locks, put the aspirin back in the medicine cabinet and have hot sauce in my pantry; and tell the social worker... bye bye...

If you every go through the process of adopting from the State you will find the case workers spend more time scrutinizing the adoptive parent than the crack heads they take the kids away from.

[nitrogen]

Yes, it's common.

Good friends of mine in Oregon got the hairy eyeball as well. Their social worker was more upset about the trans-fats laden food in their fridge than the guns, though, so it takes all kinds.

[NcongruNt]

Wait...

NO HOT SAUCE??? What's the reasoning behind that one? And this was in Texas?

I'm very confused.

[bdickens]

I thought it was the law that you had to have hot sauce on hand at all times!

[jimlongley]

A bunch of years ago I adopted my (late) wife's two daughters by a previous marriage. Three things about the procedure made me very uncomfortable.

Social Services, or whatever their name was (this was in NY State a long time ago) spent a lot of time investigating my wife, the kids' natural mother, and barely any looking into my background. Not to say I wasn't legit, but investigating the mother who has been raising them their whole lives, not a relative newcomer who might have less than forthright.

Then there was the "safety" questions - far beyond guns they got down to issues like did we store chemicals where infants could reach them, neither of the girls were infants, they were teen and pre-teen, and this was at their request due to circumstances with their father and they wanted the same name as their soon to be born little brother. As a volunteer fireman of long standing I was even more concerned when our smoke detectors and fire extinguishers were brought into question as if we were paranoid (such things were not common in households at the time.)

And then there was the issue of the guns. We were asked if we owned any, and we responded positively, and if we had not insisted it probably would just have gone down as a negative mark. We almost had to strongarm the socialist into listening to us explain that we ALL shot together on an organized team and the girls were thoroughly schooled in gun safety, as well as owning guns of their own.

Of ironic note was the flack's observation of the gun cabinet on the second floor of the house. A wooden thing with glass doors and a single (four tumbler) lock, it could be pried open barehanded if you were determined, and it only held a small sampling of our collection, but she was very impressed, as someone unknowing would be, that were had taken appropriate steps to secure those dangerous weapons (a target rifle, a couple of antiques and no ammo in evidence) while never seeing the shotgun in a blanket hanging from the off side of the bed or my daughter's .22 under her mattress.

After the adoption was final, and there are a couple of funny stories to go with that, I wrote to Social Services expressing my concern about the competence, or lack thereof, of the "investigator." I never received a reply.

[KaiserB]

Wait...

NO HOT SAUCE??? What's the reasoning behind that one? And this was in Texas?

I'm very confused.

Anything that can harm a child is the rule. Hot Sauce could burn their tongues our eyes. Yes this was in Texas.

[KaiserB]

From Texas DFPS Website http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Handbooks/C ... apx7260_04" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The topics in Section IV address the following minimum standards:

2510.4 of Appendix F
All medications must be kept out of the reach of children or in a locked storage area.

2510.5 of Appendix F
Medication requiring refrigeration must be separated from food in a designated container.

3200.1.a-e, Appendix F
The foster home and outdoor areas must be maintained, repaired, and cleaned so that they are not hazardous to the children in care.

(a) Outdoor areas must be well drained.

(b) Windows and doors used for ventilation must be screened.

(c) Equipment and furniture must be safe for children.

(d) Children must be protected from inflammable and poisonous substances.

(e) Explosive materials, firearms, and projectiles such as darts, arrows, and B-B's must be stored out of reach of children.

3300.2, Appendix F
A sleeping room must have at least 40 square feet of floor space for each occupant. Single occupant bedrooms must have at least 80 square feet of floor space.

3300.3, Appendix F
Each child must have his or her own bed and mattress; two children of the same sex may share a double bed.

3300.4, Appendix F
Each child must have storage space for clothing and personal belongings.

3620.1
Before verifying an agency home, the agency must perform an inspection and document that the home meets appropriate minimum standards. Verification must include that either no firearms are or will be present in the home or that all appropriate precautions are taken.

§745.4061.17
Financial status and ability to support a child, including employment history and insurance coverage.

4310.5
Before placing a child into a home, the child-placing agency must discuss basic care and safety issues with the adoptive parents, and ensure that the home provides an environment safe for the child or children to be placed. This must include firearm safety, water safety, and basic home health and fire safety.

4310.6
Before placing a child into a home, the child placing agency must give prospective adoptive parents information about the DFPS adoption assistance programs, including the non recurring adoption expenses program.

[John]

It's been 14 wonderful years since the home study for the wife and I and we have a son that forever changed our lives. Yes, they ask about firearms, but only to make sure they are out of reach or locked up. Back in those days, I did not even have a safe and had to agree to keep the shotguns on a high shelf in the closet. :) They do look in the closets and as mentioned above, in the fridge. Believe it or not, Texas is one of the best states for adoptions (or was back then, but i assume the same is true now). Maybe we got a good social worker, she worked for the agency we went though if i recall correctly.

If you are considering adoption, be assured that the rewards far out weigh the hassle of the intrusion into your life on the front end. -John

[NcongruNt]

Wait...

NO HOT SAUCE??? What's the reasoning behind that one? And this was in Texas?

I'm very confused.

Anything that can harm a child is the rule. Hot Sauce could burn their tongues our eyes. Yes this was in Texas.

Hrm. Unless you've got some high-capsaicin-content hot-sauce (which can cause injury to some people if the concentration is high enough), I don't think they could specifically harm themselves with it. The same level of discomfort could be achieved with limes, pickle juice, or any other number of common items if gotten in the eyes.

I'm not arguing with you, keep in mind. It just seems a little ludicrous. Kids either learn not to eat spicy things or learn that they like it after trying. I have a childhood friend who acquired the nickname "Pepper" after getting a hold of a Jalapeno as a baby. She immediately liked it and immediately continued to eat them, earning her nickname. I wonder if the CPS folks would have called for intervention had they known her parents put their child in "danger" by allowing her to get a hold of spicy peppers.

[KaiserB]

Wait...

NO HOT SAUCE??? What's the reasoning behind that one? And this was in Texas?

I'm very confused.

Anything that can harm a child is the rule. Hot Sauce could burn their tongues our eyes. Yes this was in Texas.

Hrm. Unless you've got some high-capsaicin-content hot-sauce (which can cause injury to some people if the concentration is high enough), I don't think they could specifically harm themselves with it. The same level of discomfort could be achieved with limes, pickle juice, or any other number of common items if gotten in the eyes.

I'm not arguing with you, keep in mind. It just seems a little ludicrous. Kids either learn not to eat spicy things or learn that they like it after trying. I have a childhood friend who acquired the nickname "Pepper" after getting a hold of a Jalapeno as a baby. She immediately liked it and immediately continued to eat them, earning her nickname. I wonder if the CPS folks would have called for intervention had they known her parents put their child in "danger" by allowing her to get a hold of spicy peppers.

My response to DPS was always... Once you start cracking down on the drug using parents you took the kids away from, then you can complain, all you want, about my horseradish, hot sauce, and chili. However, if you continue to give addicted drug users their children back time after time, as the kids bounce in and out of foster care, my hot sauce will probably be the least pain in the children's life.

BTW, CPS will pull the kids from the foster home if they get injured by a spicy pepper, hot curling iron, or any of the other 3,000 things that could happen to a kid as they grow up.