Surviving the Home Study

The home study is a nerve wracking experience. What should you expect and how should you prepare for it? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Rebekah Hill, social worker and Clinical Therapist in Adoption Services at SAFY; and Jeanette Quick, Home Study Service Coordinator at Hopscotch Adoptions.

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Hit the Highlights

What is the adoption home study?
What is a foster parent home study?
What is the purpose of an adoption or foster care home study?
- to gather information about prospective families (through request for documents, interviews)
- to evaluate the prospective family’s home for safety, security, and overall health (through home visits)
- to better educate and prepare families for adoption or fostering (through required training and interviews)
Is it possible to get one home study that can be used with all types of adoptions: domestic infant, foster care, and international adoption?
When in the adoption or fostering process is the home study usually done?
What type of information from the prospective adoptive or foster parents is usually gathered during the home study process?
- Criminal background checks
- Medical history
- Statements of income and assets
- Autobiographical statements
- References
How long does it take to complete an adoption home study?
How long does it take to complete a home study to become a foster parent?
What type of criminal history for adoptive or foster parents will preclude adoption?
Will DUIs from the past be a problem for adopting or fostering?
It is important to be honest and share it all with your social worker.
Will expunged criminal records be discovered by a criminal background check?
What type of medical history for adoptive parents will be a problem for adopting?
Do you have to have a current physical?
What to do about getting a medical physical if you don’t have a regular primary doctor. Can go to Urgent Care clinics or Minute Clinics for an adoption physical?
Is a mental health diagnosis a problem if you want to adopt or foster?
What are adoption agencies looking for in terms of income and assets in adoptive families?
What type of documents do you have to provide on your finances to the adoption agency?
Do you need to make a certain amount of money or have a certain amount in savings in order to adopt?
If you want to be a foster parent, can you count the stipend you get for fostering a child as your income?
What should be included in the autobiographical statement?
How many in-person interviews are usually required in the home study process?
What type of questions will be asked in the adoption or foster care home study interview?
How are beliefs about corporal punishment or spanking handled when adopting a baby? When adopting from foster care? When adopting internationally?
Who in the family has to be interviewed as part of a home study?
Will children in the family be interviewed?
What if the children have mixed emotions or do not want another sibling?
Who should you use as a reference for your adoption home study?
What are social workers looking for when they evaluate the home for an adoption home study?
How clean does the house have to be?
How are pets considered as part of the home visit for adoption or foster care? How well behaved are your pets supposed to be?
Do you have to own your own home to adopt or become a foster parent?
Can you live in an apartment if you want to adopt or become a foster parent?
What are social workers looking for when they evaluate the home for a foster care home study?
What type of education or training is required when you want to adopt?
What type of education or training is required when you want to foster?
How much does an adoption home study cost?
How much does a foster care home study cost?