Adoption Home Study
The Adoption Home Study Process
(12/00)Inside
- The Nuts and Bolts of an Adoption Home Study
- Autobiographical Statement
- Health Statements
- Income Statement
- Child Abuse and Criminal Clearances
- References
- Interviews
- If You Already Have Children
- Some Final Notes
Once prospective adoptive parents apply to adopt a child (whether they apply to an agency, an attorney or facilitator, or directly to the court in an independent adoption), the laws of all 50 States and the District of Columbia require that the applicants undergo a "home study." This process involves education and preparation as well as the gathering of information about the prospective parents. Ideally, the home study helps to build a partnership between the adoption social worker and the applicants.
Individuals who seek to adopt may face the entire process with tender egos and mounting anxiety that they will not be "approved." Armed with accurate information, however, prospective parents can face the home study experience with confidence and the excitement that should accompany the prospect of welcoming a child into the family.
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