Show Notes
Episode 11
In this Episode Heather discusses:
Links Mentioned:
fortheloveofadoption.com
fortheloveofadoption.com/homestudy
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/statutes/homestudyreqs-adoption/
Adoption. It's surrounded with so much confusion and misinformation. And how many people never move forward with adoption because of this? Hi, I'm Heather. I'm not an adoption coach or consultant, and I'm not within adoption agency. I'm a mom to two amazing kids I've been blessed with through adoption. And on this journey, I've learned and continue to learn a lot. Most of all, I believe that if God has put adoption on your heart, it's there for a reason. And you shouldn't let all the steps keep you from building your family through adoption. I'm here to offer you hope and encouragement, and to talk about everything from types of adoption, things to know before you adopt, funding your adoption, including grants, the home study process, making the most of your adoption wait, talking to your kids about adoption, and so much more. Adoption can be hard, but many of the best things in life often are You know what, though? It can also be amazing. I'm here to share what I've learned. I hope hearing from someone that has gone this road before you encourages and motivates you to take a step of faith and see where it leads. I'm doing this all for the love of adoption. Let's dive in.
Hello, friends, welcome to episode 11 of the For the Love of Adoption Show. Today we are going to be talking about the adoption home study. So, if you are considering adoption, and you want to have a better understanding of the home study, which is a big part of the process, this will be a great episode to listen in. Also, if you perhaps have started to get into adoption, but you have not completed your home study yet, this should be a really big help in just helping you go into that more prepared. So, let's jump in. An adoption home study. What is it first of all. It's an overview of your life. It consists of many components, which we're going to dive into, but it is used by the courts to determine whether a stable environment exists for a child to be placed into your home. So, a home study generally happens after you've completed any training classes and your adoption application. And, all states require that families applying to adopt complete a home study.
So, if you're adopting, you'll be going through a home study. Once a home study is complete, your caseworker creates a written report about your family. And it includes some basic information that's gathered from you, but also some information provided by third parties. So, let's talk about what a home study consists of. So generally, a home study report includes a family background, financial statements and references, education and employment, information about relationships and your social life. So just kind of what your life looks like… daily routines, any parenting experiences, and just expectations you might have, details about your home and the neighborhood, readiness and reasons why you even want to adopt, references and background checks. And then also approval and recommendation of children your family can best parent. So, these are some of the things that the home study can include. Now, the home study process can take between three and six months to complete. And at first it might seem invasive when you hear this or lengthy. However, please know that agencies are typically looking for ways to help families adopt rather than prohibit them. So even though it might seem overwhelming to hear that list, I can tell you that although I was very intimidated, at first, when I heard what the home study would involve, it was actually much more comfortable than I expected, and not nearly as invasive as I thought it would be.
Now, I will tell you that Child Welfare Information Gateway has some good publications that help explain the home study process. So, if you want to get the link for that, so you can check that out and maybe print that off, you can go to my site at fortheloveofadoption.com/homestudy. And you'll see information about the home study there including the link for the Child Welfare Information Gateway, and that can help as well. You'll also be able to find a fact sheet that just summarizes state laws and policies regarding what information is collected. So that can be great to take a look at just to give you an even deeper understanding.
Now let's talk about the home study cost. If you're working with a private agency or a certified social worker in a private practice, the cost of an adoption home study can sometimes range between $1,000 to $3,000. With our agency back in 2015, or so, it was $2,000. But I'm not sure what they charge now, but it's probably in the $1,000 to $3,000 range. And this fee sometimes covers additional services such as an application fee and required training. Now, when planning to foster, you may not be charged a home study fee by a public or private agency. However, if you're completing a foster to adopt home study, then fees will probably apply.
Hey, guys, so we know that the home study can be kind of intimidating, right? It's one of the parts of the adoption process that a lot of people get nervous about. But what if just doing a couple of things could help you feel so much more prepared for this important part of your adoption process? Well, I've created a free download to help with that. Two important steps to help prepare you for your adoption home study. Number one, begin gathering the needed documents. And then I list out all of these documents that you're going to need. If you have these together ahead of time, you're going to feel so much more prepared to jump in. And number two, discuss the following questions with your spouse because you're likely going to be asked these in your home study process. Things like what type of adoption do you want to pursue? How do you want to parent the child? What kind of relationship would you like to have with your child's birth parents and so many more. You can grab this free download in my resource library, you'll find that by going to fortheloveofadoption.com and scrolling to the bottom of the homepage. There you'll see where you can get access to the resource library and you're going to get this and some other PDFs that are going to help so much in your adoption journey. I'm passionate about helping you and I know the home study is something that people get nervous about. So go grab this free download. It's just going to go a long way in helping you feel more prepared.
Now let's talk about preparing for the home visits and the request for information. So, to help speed up the home study process, you can ensure that the necessary information is supplied completely and accurately. And that you don't delay filling out paperwork, scheduling medical appointments, or gathering the required documents. So, let's talk about what these visits entail. There will be some visits where the social worker comes to your home. It is easy to get yourself worked up about these, but don't. It is not a white glove test. To see how pristine your home is straighten your house like you would if friends were coming over. If you're so inclined, serve some coffee and cookies. But if you really want to be more relaxed about this, just remember that they are not coming into your house to grade your homemaker skills, they're coming to see if it's a good environment for a child. These visits are more laid back than most prospective adoptive parents expect. It's really an opportunity for them to get to know you and to learn more about why adoption is important to you. Just be yourself. Honestly, I enjoyed our home study visits, there are some things that can help to have prepared ahead of time, when you know you're going to be going through a home study, just to help things go a little more smoothly and move along a little more quickly.
First of all, a health report, a physical exam within the past 12 months is required for all prospective parents and typically a TB test (tuberculosis test) are typically required for every member of the household. Medical conditions under control such as things like high blood pressure, or diabetes usually don't prevent individuals from being approved to adopt. However, a serious health problem that affects life expectancy might. Next, a criminal background check. All adults in the household must complete forms that are sent to Child Protective Services. And a state's police check center and adult in the household may also need to obtain FBI fingerprint checks and local police clearances under certain circumstances, such as recent relocation to the state where you currently reside. Applicants whose state or federal records indicate that they've been convicted of harming children cannot adopt.
Now, I will tell you with our home study, I remember that we went to the local police station to have fingerprints done and it was not a big deal. It sounds more intimidating than it really is. Next, the financial statement, family income and sometimes budget information will likely be requested. Some states may require a copy of an income tax form, a paycheck stub or a W2. Do not worry about this. You don't have to be wealthy or even own a home to adopt and even if you receive some type of assistance or have debt, you will likely be eligible to adopt as long as you have adequate resources to provide for your family. We were not in a fabulous financial situation when we adopted and we were still able to move forward so don't let that stop you.
Next personal references. You will most likely need to supply some names and addresses and phone numbers of three or four individuals who can just attest to your experience with children, the stability of your current marriage or domestic partnership and household, as well as just your emotional maturity. Most agencies require that references be people who are not related to you. So good choices might include close friends, an employer, a former teacher, a coworker, a neighbor or church leader. Next, an auto biographical statement. Many adoption agencies will ask each applicant to write an autobiographical statement or a story. This is just essentially the story of your life. It helps your caseworker understand your family better, and it assist them with writing your home study.
Some agencies have workers available to assist you with this, and most will have a set of questions to guide you in writing the statement, so you'll know what it needs to cover. We went through a Christian agency so we also had to provide a statement of faith. Next copies of legal documents, copies of any applicable marriage licenses, birth certificates, divorce decrees, and other legal documents that are relevant to your application to foster or adopt will also be required.
Now, as far as reviewing a copy of your home study report, you should receive a copy of your home study, make sure you look over it for any inaccuracies, so you can bring it to your agency's attention right away. If you find any, let them know, depending on the agency you work with, and the child you want to adopt, the information contained in your home study could be shared with the birth parents or others. So you want to make sure it's accurate. If you have any questions or concerns about the confidentiality of your information, just ask your agency who it would be shared with so you'll know.
So now what after all, that you might be feeling overwhelmed. That's a lot, right? That's a lot of information. Maybe it just feels like Oh, never mind, this is too much. I know it can feel that way. One of the reasons people do not move forward with adoption is because they feel like it's too invasive. And they feel like it's just too much paperwork, all of those things. I absolutely felt that way. But you have to trust me here, it's not too much. I've gone through a home study twice, actually three times we had to do a home study initially to adopt our daughter. And then we waited so long it timed out and we had to do an update. And then we had to do another one for our son. It is not as bad as it sounds, especially like I always say if you just take it one step at a time, it is possible to just breathe through the process, complete one thing and then the next, you can only complete one form at a time. So, rest in the fact that you can just work your way through this. I remember my husband and I when we were in the midst of this, just taking this huge stack of paperwork and going into a coffee shop for the day. And just working on it there and getting quite a bit done just in a different environment. We made it as enjoyable as possible. We stopped and took some breaks. I mean, you can make it more pleasant than it seems like it might be. Just complete one thing and then the next. But believe this. When you have your child in your arms, it will all be worth it. And you will laugh at the idea that you ever thought the process was too much.
Thanks so much for listening in today. And did you know that I offer a full library of free resources to help you along on your adoption journey, just go to for the love of adoption.com and scroll to the bottom of the homepage. You'll be able to access all kinds of PDFs there to help you along different stages of your adoption journey. And if you've enjoyed this at all, if you could please leave me a review and rating it helps more than you know. Talk to you next time.
