The Adoption Home Study

If you live in the United States and are hoping to adopt a baby, you will need to complete an adoption home study. There are two reasons why the home study is necessary:

• A home study helps determine whether your family is emotionally, physically, and financially ready to adopt a baby.
• The home study process helps to educate and prepare your family for the adoption process.

All states require a completed home study before a child can be placed in your custody as adoptive parents; therefore, we recommend you start the home study process as early as possible in your adoption journey.

Home study requirements vary from state to state, but the average process takes three to four months to complete. There is no set format that adoption agencies and organizations use to conduct home studies. They must adhere to the general regulations provided by your state, but they do have the freedom to develop their own application packet, policies, procedures, etc., within those regulations.

What is involved in an adoption home study?

Orientation and Training

Some adoption agencies and organizations will require you to attend one or several group orientation sessions or a series of adoption training sessions before they complete a home study application. In other instances, a social worker will require that you attend adoption training later on.

Interviews

To help determine if you are qualified to adopt according to your state’s guidelines, your social worker will interview you a few different times. You’ll likely be asked about things like your experiences with children, your family and relationships, why you decided to adopt, your approach to parenting, how you handle stress, and more. The questions can get quite personal and may feel invasive; however, in order to ensure the best possible outcome, it’s important to be honest with your social worker and yourself during these interviews.

Home Visit

Your social worker will complete at least one home visit during the process. The social worker will need to inspect all areas of your home to ensure it is a safe place to raise a child and that it can comfortably accommodate a child. Some states might even require a visit from local health and fire safety departments.

Health and Medical Statements

Most states will require you to have had a recent physical examination by a health provider to confirm you are generally healthy and therefore physically and mentally capable of caring for a child.

Income Statements

Most states require you to provide proof of income and other financial documentation to demonstrate that you are financially responsible and that your finances are in order.

Background Checks

To ensure the safety of all adopted babies and children, all states require criminal background checks for all prospective adoptive parents.

Autobiographical Statement and References

To give the social worker a better understanding of you, your family, and your background, you may be asked to write some sort of autobiographical statement. You may also need to provide a number of people who can serve as references for you.

The Home Study Report

The home study report is a written report compiled by your social worker specifying his or her findings from the home study process. The home study report will spell out all the information covered during the entire home study process, such as:

• Personal and family background
• Education, employment, and finances
• Physical and medical history
• Marriage and family relationships
• Readiness to adopt a baby
• Motivation for adopting
• Feelings about infertility (if applicable)
• Parenting and integration of the adopted child into the family
• Family environment
• Home environment and community
• Religion/spiritual beliefs
• Expectations for the adopted child
• References and criminal background clearances

The end of the report will feature a summary and the social worker’s overall adoption recommendation for your family.

You may go into this process with a tender ego and mounting anxiety that you will not be approved, but when armed with accurate information and preparation, you can face the home study experience with confidence and all the excitement that should accompany the prospect of welcoming a child into your family.