What's involved in a Home Study?

A home study for adoption  is a thorough investigation of your home, your family, your relationships, and more importantly, to determine what “type” of child would be the best fit for your family. There will be endless forms to fill out, there will be questions that don’t seem to have anything to do with raising a child, and virtually every part of your life will be examined.

Background checks

The adoption agency will conduct criminal background checks on each of your family members. Children over the age of 10 are included in this. This check will be looking for major criminal violations, and any history of domestic abuse, battery, alcohol problems, etc. This is not to see how many speeding tickets you have.

Employment checks

A reference request will be sent to your current employer, and possibly past employers, depending on the length of employment in your current job. They are looking for things like:

1. Dependability- do you show up to work, are you on time, do your supervisors feel that you are a good, and reliable employee?
2. Length of employment- how long have you been at your job? Do you change jobs often?
3. Stable income-Will you be able to financially provide for the child?

References

The adoption agency will require references for the case worker to contact. These need to be people you have known for a while, and have insight into your personalities and/or parenting style. These are lengthy forms, and will take them some time to fill out. All answers are confidential, unless your referee chooses to share them with you.

If you have older children who are out of the home, the social worker will contact them as well. They will ask about your parenting, how your child views your parenting skills, what methods of discipline you use, etc

Medical 

Each family member will be required to have a current physical medical examination, and have the results of that examination disclosed to the home study agency. This is to determine your medical ability to raise the child to the age of 18. Each person will also be required to have a tuberculosis test done.

If you have a physical or emotional disorder, or disease, you can still be eligible to adopt a child. It does not rule you out completely.

Home visits

The worker from the home study agency will come to your house to interview you, and to check the capabilities of your house to handle the child. In states where you are required to be a licensed foster parent first, they will check to make sure that your home complies with foster home regulations. You may request a copy of those regulations from your state to make sure that your home complies.

They are NOT looking to see if you have dust bunnies under your bed, or if your home is spotless. Many parents spent countless hours cleaning. It’s OK for your house to be “lived in”.

During these visits, you will also spend time with the worker, who will be asking more questions. The worker needs to get a feel for your personality, your parenting style, and your expectations to better assess the type of child that will fit best into your home.

There will be several visits spread over a period of time. Be prepared to wait. A home study could take 2-6 months, or even up to a year.

Written narrative

You may be asked to complete a written narrative, and it may involve some very personal questions. Be honest, even if you feel it may hurt your chances to adopt. These questions, and your honest answers, help the worker to match you with a child. If you are an active and on the go family, adding a severely handicapped child who needs around the clock care, will not be the best match for you.

The narrative may also ask questions about your childhood, and your marriage. Again, be honest in these answers. This is not meant to learn every intimate detail about your life, but rather to learn about your personalities.

Family history

The adoption worker will ask questions about your family and relationships within your family. Special needs children can be very hard on family relationships. We all have baggage, some more than others. How you were parented, and what you learned from that is key to how you will handle your child.

Other children in the home

Be prepared for any children in your home to be interviewed as well. Telling your child about this interview and why it will be happening will help to put your child at ease. The type of questions will depend upon the age of the child. There will be questions on your parenting style, types of discipline, if you use corporal punishment, how family disputes are handled, and other questions that relate directly to your parenting skills and style.

Financial disclosure

You will be asked to provide a fairly detailed financial disclosure. You will be asked to list debts, assets, if you have life insurance, how much do you have, provide copies of home and auto insurance, and other questions you might expect on a loan application. This is to determine if you can financially provide for the child. By adopting a child from foster care, you qualify for an adoption subsidy to help offset costs.

Pets

If you have pets in your home, you will be required to show proof of current vaccinations.

Documents

You will need to provide copies of birth certificates, your marriage license if you are married, and your divorce decree if you are divorced.

Having your entire documentation ready ahead of time, will make your process go much more smoothly.