Give me the details about an adoption home study

[caitlinsmom]

We are going to be adopting through our states foster care system. We will be taking PRIDE classes here in the next couple of weeks. Once we begin those they will also begin the home study.

 

What goes on during a home study? What kind of questions are asked? What kind of information do they look at (personal, financial etc)? What are they looking for in the home?

 

Really any experience, suggestions, advice you can share would be great.

[Shawna in North CA]

What goes on during a home study? What kind of questions are asked? What kind of information do they look at (personal, financial etc)? What are they looking for in the home?

 

You got it! In my state (CA) there are 2 homestudies required for foster/adoption. One is to get your foster license, and one to adopt. They are similar, but the adoption homestudy is more in depth and deal more with emotional/heart stuff.

 

You will be asked to do a "self study" where you will answer questions in writing about you parents, your kids, your marriage, your methods of parenting, etc.

 

It is quite personal. My advice (having done this multiple times now) is to not overthink the questions. And, to not feel the need to give every single detail. Just paint a general picture. If there is more information needed, let your adoption worker ask for it.

 

The adoption worker will also visit you and interview you, and basically ask you the same kind of questions. Be ready to talk about homeschooling, if that is what you do. Again, provide general, positive answers, and don't feel like you need to give an expose on every reason you homeschool.

 

In some state, the adoption worker will want to interview your kids privately. Ours did not. You'll have to think about whether or not you are OK with that. Also, you will likely be asked about your views on spanking. Our worker simply explaines that it is illegal to spank foster children, which we already knew and of course had not problem with that.

 

The adoption homestudy will also require that you have finger prints done, a physical by a doctor (to demonstrate you are physically able to care for children), provide a financial statement and in some cases tax returns, insurance policies, proof of CPR/First Aid certification, etc. etc.

 

Adoption homestudies do not require that you be perfect parents, or that you have a perfect past. Rather, they want to see that if you've had trauma in your pasts (say, an abusive father, or a history of drug use) that you have dealt with those issues in a healthy way, and that in general, you are able to parent.

 

Hope that helps. More questions?

[wapiti]

In Illinois a decade ago, the questions included what religion you are, how often you attend church, whether you had ever visited a mental health professional, all of the medications you take, what health issues you have, and how you would discipline a child.

 

eta, also, what your extended family members think of your pursuing adoption

[Happy]

Our first one was almost 28 years ago...wow, time FLIES

 

I gotta tell you I was TERRIFIED. I'm not the best of housekeepers but I know when to put some muscle into cleaning. We all but moved out of the hosue and back in. The case worker could have looked behind my refrigerator and found it clean. I was rather disappointed when she didn't. :D

 

We adopted through a church supported place, so actually the home study was very friendly. She spoke to us together and separately. The gist of it was is this adoption what you both really want? etc. My brother was visiting and she spoke with him as well.

 

Most of all, they want to know see who you are...how you really live and connect with each other.

 

Be warm, friendly, and open. You'll do great!

[SKL]

This depends on the state.

 

 

When I adopted, my agency provided me with all the forms that needed to be filled out, and the interview was really along the lines of the forms for the most part. Some things they wanted to know:

 

• How will you financially support yourself and the kids? Job, qualifications, savings, your bill situation.
  
• How you conduct your family - religion stuff, discipline stuff, support from extended family, child care plans if you work. If you already have kids, I suppose they will ask how you intend to integrate that.
  
• Are you mentally prepared to handle the unexpected / undesireable? If your kid has special needs, if there are issues relating to his pre-adoption life story, etc. - what will you do?
  
• If you have pets, guns, a pool, etc., they will want to make sure you manage those things safely.
  
• They do a walk-through of the home and want to see where the child will sleep.
  
• They interview every person who lives in the house to make sure they are supportive etc.
  
• They required an inspection by the fire department (and I had to post a fire escape plan, emergency numbers, etc.); clearances from local police, state police, and FBI; BMV reports for every driver in the house; a health cert signed by a doctor for every person living in the house; confidential recommendation letters from five people who'd known me for some number of years; contact/address info for my parents and all of my siblings; info on where the kids would eventually go to school (even though they weren't born yet); and probably other stuff.
  

If you aren't getting the required forms / checklists from an agency, perhaps you can find them on the state website.

 

Good luck!

Edited July 20, 2012 by SKL

[nono]

For ours, in addition to what's already been mentioned, we needed 4? letters of recommendation from non-relatives and one had to be a neighbor. I'm sure this varies by locale.

[Pamela H in Texas]

We had a 35-40 page questionnaire. Questions we got were just clarification of that. And since I tend to over-write, you can imagine they just didn't need too much more detail :)

 

It was easy peasy, really.

 

BUT, they are EXTREMELY personal. ANd there is only a whole 'nother 3 inch binder worth of paperwork they'll have you do. Discipline plans and insurance papers and homework and this and that and more everything else than you can imagine...seriously. And it'll cover everything from your childhoods, your marriage, parenting, sexual behavior, etc. You'll have safety inspections, FBI fingerprinting, physicals, references, etc. It is A LOT.

 

It took us two months to go through classes, do the homestudy, and get licensed. We were determined to be FAST. And it worked out perfectly. We got our first placements within a few days and our soon-to-be-adopted-children less than 6 weeks in!

[Ferdie]

Ours was done in Los Angeles, over 10 years ago, and it was very similar to SKL. They interviewed us, toured the home and made a fix it list of safety issues, (lock up vitamins, get a lid for your kitchen trash can...). We had plenty of time to complete the fix it list. They inspected our cars and asked for insurance records. They also interviewed my children privately - in another room, but where I could hear the questions. My children were very young, (4 and under) but they wanted to know about their day and how we disciplined from the child's perspective. They also spent time going through expectations and answered our questions.

 

We went through several home studies, (we ended up adopting 3 children), but each time I felt they really wanted to find homes for the children. They really did everything they could to get us approved. I never felt like they were making unrealistic demands. It is a lot of paperwork and follow up though.

 

Some how, whenever the county workers arrived, we always had fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies on hand. That seemed to make everything go smoother.;)

 

Congrats! It is so worth it in the end. Just keep your eyes focus on your goal and the children you are helping and it will all work out.

[SKL]

Yes, I forgot to mention the childproofing stuff. They agreed not to ding me for not already having cabinet locks, doorknob covers, baby gates, etc., if I promised to get them before any mobile kids came home.

[caitlinsmom]

Yes, I forgot to mention the childproofing stuff. They agreed not to ding me for not already having cabinet locks, doorknob covers, baby gates, etc., if I promised to get them before any mobile kids came home.

 

I never would have thought of this honestly. I have all of our vitamins on the top shelf in our bathroom but there isn't a single cabinet lock in this house. I have never used that kind of safety thing. This is a good one to know.

I need to check out smoke detectors too. :)

 

We are hoping to adopt an older boy (turns 16 next month). The application we filled out was huge! It asked for everything from childhood memories to sexuality through adulthood. I think it took us each 30 min to fill out each portion.

 

Honestly the only thing I am truly worried about is the financial portion. We can cover our expenses each month but sometimes its tight. We own our own business, one that's seasonal at that, so there are some months where things get pretty thin. We prepare all through summer as best we can but still. I hope it does not keep us from being qualified. All needs are met as well as bill, just not a lot of extra ykwim? Our biggest concern when we decided to take an older child was being able to afford them. Teens cost more no way around it. I mentioned this to the case worker when I talked with her this week. She then informed me that they come with a stipend to cover their costs, until their 18th birthday. I had no idea that it was something that continued even after they were adopted. That kind of soothed my worries, knowing we could still pay for sports, counseling, and other needs without being a drain during the winter months.

 

Thank you all for the input. I hate people coming into my house with the intent to inspect and judge, no matter how good the cause may be. Just makes me twitchy. :)

[SKL]

I never would have thought of this honestly. I have all of our vitamins on the top shelf in our bathroom but there isn't a single cabinet lock in this house. I have never used that kind of safety thing. This is a good one to know.

 

 

I never got them either, but don't tell the g-man that. I did have a pen and a gate by the steps, so maybe that's why the social worker never brought it up at our post-adoption visits.

 

I didn't adopt from the foster system, and I'm single, so savings were important in my case. If for any reason I might have needed to be a SAHM (e.g., unexpected special needs), I would need to have some means of support. I'm not sure how much they cared about that; they didn't say and I didn't ask.

 

I was so nervous as well. It was 5 years ago and I'm practically hyperventilating now as I type. Mine was international so I had to do even more stuff than a domestic adoption would require. I figure if you can survive the stress of the adoption process, you're probably tough enough to adopt.

[Denisemomof4]

For ours, in addition to what's already been mentioned, we needed 4? letters of recommendation from non-relatives and one had to be a neighbor. I'm sure this varies by locale.

 

This depends on the state.

 

 

When I adopted, my agency provided me with all the forms that needed to be filled out, and the interview was really along the lines of the forms for the most part. Some things they wanted to know:

 

• How will you financially support yourself and the kids? Job, qualifications, savings, your bill situation.

• How you conduct your family - religion stuff, discipline stuff, support from extended family, child care plans if you work. If you already have kids, I suppose they will ask how you intend to integrate that.

• Are you mentally prepared to handle the unexpected / undesireable? If your kid has special needs, if there are issues relating to his pre-adoption life story, etc. - what will you do?

• If you have pets, guns, a pool, etc., they will want to make sure you manage those things safely.

• They do a walk-through of the home and want to see where the child will sleep.

• They interview every person who lives in the house to make sure they are supportive etc.

• They required an inspection by the fire department (and I had to post a fire escape plan, emergency numbers, etc.); clearances from local police, state police, and FBI; BMV reports for every driver in the house; a health cert signed by a doctor for every person living in the house; confidential recommendation letters from five people who'd known me for some number of years; contact/address info for my parents and all of my siblings; info on where the kids would eventually go to school (even though they weren't born yet); and probably other stuff.

If you aren't getting the required forms / checklists from an agency, perhaps you can find them on the state website.

 

Good luck!

 

We had a 35-40 page questionnaire. Questions we got were just clarification of that. And since I tend to over-write, you can imagine they just didn't need too much more detail :)

 

It was easy peasy, really.

 

BUT, they are EXTREMELY personal. ANd there is only a whole 'nother 3 inch binder worth of paperwork they'll have you do. Discipline plans and insurance papers and homework and this and that and more everything else than you can imagine...seriously. And it'll cover everything from your childhoods, your marriage, parenting, sexual behavior, etc. You'll have safety inspections, FBI fingerprinting, physicals, references, etc. It is A LOT.

 

It took us two months to go through classes, do the homestudy, and get licensed. We were determined to be FAST. And it worked out perfectly. We got our first placements within a few days and our soon-to-be-adopted-children less than 6 weeks in!

 

:iagree: to all the above. I felt like pretty much every detail of our physical, emotional, medical and psyche was uncovered. Dh and I also had to have comp,ete physicals and had the dr fill out paperwork.

 

Although it was very invasive, it was also very easy. It was just another stepping stone. To get us to our final destination.;)

 

We weren't asked how we would handle special needs, that was never brought up.

 

The social worker did insist we spend thousands to change the heating in the room our adopted child was going to share, even though we just spent over $1500 for a licensed plumber to come in and set up that room with it's own heat source.:glare: she later claimed it was only a suggestion. If the social worker suggests costly repairs or modifications, find out whether or not they truly are necessary.

[GTJo1996]

My SIL did a foreign adoption through a christian agency about 8 years ago. Her homestudy lady told her that as long as she hid her dynamite sticks, she would pass the home study. I thought that was a nice way to tell her to relax!:)

[Happy]

My SIL did a foreign adoption through a christian agency about 8 years ago. Her homestudy lady told her that as long as she hid her dynamite sticks, she would pass the home study. I thought that was a nice way to tell her to relax!:)

 

:D I would have loved that!

 

Our homestudies happened long after our stacks and stacks of paperwork. It really was the final step in our process.