Basenji Rescue and Transport
Adoption ◦ Placement ◦ Health & Foster Care ◦ Education ◦ Support
www.basenjirescue.org

Some tips for BRAT Screeners and Coordinators

The home visit is an important tool that BRAT uses in a variety of ways. Most commonly, it serves as one of the final steps in approving an applicant's home for the placement of a particular dog. However, sometimes there are compelling reasons for doing a home visit much earlier in the adoption process.

How does a screener know when an "early" visit is advisable? Here are some examples of situations in which such a visit could be helpful:

• If the applicant would like to meet a basenji in order to decide whether the breed is the right choice for them. (This type of visit can be accomplished either in the applicant's home or by having the applicant visit a local basenji owner. In the latter case, a home visit with the applicant would still be needed before an adoption took place.)
• When there are important questions about the applicant's situation which can best be answered by a personal visit. These might include concerns about allergies, fencing, resident pets, etc. In some cases, if the suitability of an applicant is in question, a visit of this type can determine once and for all whether the application should be kept active or not.
• On the other hand, an especially promising applicant can greatly benefit from a "pre-approval" home visit, since this will speed up the adoption process once an appropriate dog becomes available.

In any event, once the need for a home visit has been determined, the next step is to find someone qualified and willing to do the visit. This is sometimes easier said than done, but here are some suggestions:

• Do the visit yourself. Of course, this only works if you live fairly near the applicant who is being screened. However, sometimes this turns out to be the case!
• If you are coordinating a long-distance placement, ask the applicant's state screener to do the visit or to recommend someone who might do it. Many times screeners have worked with BRAT volunteers or other basenji owners in their assigned state and have a good idea about whom they can call on. However, keep in mind that many screeners do not actually live in the states they are screening, and if the state is newly assigned, the screener may not yet have had a chance to develop a network of reliable volunteers.
• Check the BRAT Stationmasters list. This is often an excellent source of people willing to do home visits. If necessary, get out your atlas and look up locations. Remember that the closest Stationmaster might actually live in an adjoining state. When you find a likely candidate, contact that person directly via email or telephone. This usually works better than sending out a blanket request to several people simultaneously. Explain what will be involved in doing the home visit and tell the volunteer that there are guidelines and a checklist available. Many times people will respond favorably when asked for help, especially when they understand the exact nature of the job they are being asked to do.
• Post a request on the BRAT COORDINATORS mailing list, BRAT-CHAT, or the B-List. Even if it appears that there are no BRAT volunteers located near your applicant, sometimes it happens that someone is planning a trip to the area and can do a home visit while they are "in the neighborhood." And a post to the B-List will reach basenji owners who may not belong to BRAT but who are still willing to help out.
• BRAT often collaborates with other non-basenji rescue groups. These efforts have been highly beneficial for all involved. Contact BRAT-Help@lists.basenjirescue.org for recommendations on support from volunteers of these other groups.

Once someone has agreed to conduct the visit for you, the next step is to send them a copy of the Home Visit Guidelines and the Checklist found on the BRAT volunteers website. You may wish to "edit" the checklist to omit questions that do not apply to a particular applicant. In addition, you can add any questions that you especially want the visitor to ask.

You will also need to provide your volunteer with the necessary information for contacting the applicant and setting up the home visit (as well as notifying the applicant that this person will be getting in touch). Some coordinators like to send a copy of the original application to the person who will be doing the visit. This can include any screener notes that you feel are relevant and helpful. You should NOT send notes that seem privileged or controversial in nature. Please use your best judgment in deciding how much information to provide. If you have any question about the advisability of which material to share, contact BRAT General Counsel for guidance.

The main advantage of allowing access to the application and notes is that the home visitor can see what sort of description the applicants have given of themselves and their home environment. This image can then be compared with reality. However, some coordinators prefer that the visitor go into the potential adopter's home without prior expectations and see it with "fresh eyes." If you prefer this approach, then you need provide only basic contact information to your home visit volunteer.

Be sure to invite questions both from the applicant and from the person who will be making the visit. Give information, reassurance, and support as needed. Make certain the volunteer understands that you will expect a report at the completion of the visit. If this can be sent via email, it will be easier for you to post directly to the applicant's screener notes. If the report is given over the phone or in handwritten form, it will be up to you to prepare it in electronic format for posting. The important thing is to post the report as promptly as possible, especially if an adoption is pending.

BRAT HOME VISIT GUIDELINES

Thank you for agreeing to conduct a home visit for BRAT. As you may be aware, we cannot place a basenji in a new home until such a visit has been done. Any coordinator considering a long-distance adoption is necessarily dependent on basenji owners who live near the potential adopter to provide information that can only be obtained by being present in the home -- and that's where you come in!

There are actually two types of home visits. Many times an applicant is being seriously considered for a particular dog, and the visit is one of the final steps in the placement process. In other cases, a visit might be requested for new applicants because they have never met a basenji and are uncertain whether this is the right breed for them. Or perhaps a family member suffers from allergies and needs to know whether they can be comfortable around basenjis. There are a number of reasons for doing a home visit early in the adoption process, and if everything checks out all right at this time, a dog can usually be placed with the applicant without the need for a second visit. Nonetheless, it is always wise to let the applicant know that a follow-up home visit may be needed.

The coordinator or state screener who asked you to do this visit has already been in contact with the applicant by email and possibly also by phone. A great deal can be learned about a potential adopter in this way, but there are a few things which only personal contact can tell us. 

A home visit provides opportunities to do the following:

(1) See the physical layout of the home, identify potential problem areas, make recommendations on how to re-arrange or better use space for management of the basenji, note any layout problems for which help must be sought from others.

(2) Meet family members.

(3) Meet family pets.

(4) Give the applicants a chance to experience a basenji in their home

(5) Test the family's dog with another dog (be it one of the same gender or opposite gender), test a basenji with the family's children or cat, etc.

(6) Exchange information and answer questions about basenjis, rescue, and the BRAT process.

Here is what you will be given before you make your visit:

(1) Contact information for the applicant, which may include the original application and relevant screener notes, although this is at the discretion of the coordinator.

(2) A home visit checklist

(3) A list from the coordinator of topics specific to this placement

Your role:

(1) Observe and gather information as objectively as possible

(2) Answer questions the applicant may have about basenjis, BRAT, and the adoption process

(3) Make a note of any information the family requests that you cannot provide, along with questions that you prefer for the coordinator to answer

(4) Share and document the results of your visit with the coordinator, including any concerns or recommendations

Remember that it is NOT your responsibility to make the decision about the placement. Remind the family that the coordinator is the one who will decide. This will take a lot of pressure off of you.

Also, keep in mind that the tone of the home visit should be as friendly and informative as possible. You may need to ask a number of detailed questions, but these should have the primary purpose of advising the potential adopters about situations that could pose dangers for the well-being of their basenji. In many cases, problems can be averted through awareness of and/or removal of physical hazards. If applicants appear unmindful of advice or unwilling to take steps to ensure the safety of their new dog, be sure to report this to the coordinator.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When going for the visit, please be aware of your own personal safety and take any precautions you feel are needed. It's perfectly fine to invite someone to accompany you -- perhaps a friend, another BRAT volunteer who is interested in learning how to do home visits, a spouse or a partner. If you find yourself becoming apprehensive while on the way to the visit, for whatever reason -- don't go. Return home and let the applicant know you have had to cancel for unavoidable reasons. Then contact the coordinator and explain the situation.

Before taking your own basenji(s) along, be sure to talk to the coordinator. In some cases, it may be crucial for you to take a dog, and in other cases not necessary (such as when the family already owns a basenji). If you do take a dog, observe how each family member responds to your directions on how to interact with it. Also, note how family members give direction to their children and whether the children listen. If other dogs are present, and you can introduce them on neutral territory, observe how they interact -- but don't push it! We certainly don't want any people or dogs to get hurt. If you are not experienced in introducing dogs, do not take on this responsibility. Discuss it with the coordinator. Remember, everything does not have to be completed in one visit or by one person only.

In addition to these guidelines, you will be provided with a checklist of questions to ask during the home visit. Feel free to print out these questions and take them along with you. Explain to the applicant that you are writing down some things so that you can remember them accurately. Most people will understand and appreciate your taking care to do a good visit.

The questions in the checklist are meant to let you know what type of information is most useful to BRAT in evaluating a potential home for a rescue basenji. Some of the questions may not apply in the home you are visiting. Just use whichever ones seem best for the situation. In addition, the coordinator who asked you to do this visit may have questions and concerns that are specific to the applicant. Be sure to ask these questions, since the answers are particularly relevant to the adoption being considered.

When you have finished the visit, use the answers you jotted down as the basis for writing a report to send to the coordinator. Alternatively, you can send the checklist back with answers filled in. Do this via email, if at all possible, since it is helpful to get the home visit results added to the applicant's screener notes as soon as they are available.

Again, thank you for taking time to do this home visit. Your help has very likely made it possible for some deserving basenji to find its "forever home."

Click on this link for the BRAT CHECKLIST FOR HOME VISITS