The home study is a critical part of the adoption process and one that sometimes makes hopeful adoptive families nervous. After all, having a stranger poke around your home isn’t exactly comfortable for most people. Add in the fact that this stranger will then make a recommendation on whether or not your environment – and the people living in it – should be approved to adopt, and it can feel like a lot of pressure.
Rest assured that the home study is not as intimidating as many people think. Your home study specialist isn’t there to judge your decorating skills or look for dust bunnies under the couch. She isn’t looking for perfection in you or your partner. The purpose of a home study is to assess the prospective adoptive family’s ability and readiness to provide a safe, stable, and loving environment for a child.
The best advice from our adoption home study specialist, Alicia Ports, on how to prepare: “Just be yourselves!”
If you are adopting and your home study is on the horizon, knowing what to expect can ease your nerves. Get prepared for this critical step by learning about the process and what will be needed from you.
What Is Involved in a Pre-Adoption Home Study?
There are several key components to the home study process that usually occur in the same order. With your cooperation and help, your home study provider will:
- Provide a Home Study Contract for you to sign. Many adoption agencies, including Adoption Advocates offer this as an additional service.
- Obtain required documents. These can include personal references and background clearances, which we will request and run, driver’s licenses, marriage certificate, physicals, tax return, etc. A list of documents will be sent to you, including an autobiography which we call a questionnaire about your family of origin and chosen family.
- Run a background check for everyone 14 years and older, which now covers the childcare clearance, as well as state and federal databases. You will probably be required to complete a fingerprint appointment through IDENTOGO.
- Conduct individual and family interviews so that your home study specialist can better understand your needs/wants and how you plan to raise a child, which will take place during your in person home visit.
- Prepare your home study report once all documents have been received.
Sometimes applicants have a health concern or criminal charge in their history, and they worry that will keep them from adopting. You can read more about what issues may prevent you from being approved in our blog post “Can I Adopt If…?”
What Should I Expect in the Interviews?
In Texas, the interviews are required during the home visit with all family members living in the home present. In addition to a join interview, each of these family members will participate in an individual interview:
- Each prospective adoptive parent
- Children (3+) in the home full or part-time
- Adults in the home full or part-time
- Children (12+) of applicants who live outside the home
During the interviews, the home study provider will explore the applicant’s history including childhood, relationships with parents over time, motivation for adopting, health background, infertility and resolution, marital relationship, support systems, feelings about birth family, open adoption, understanding of grief and loss in the triad, discipline philosophy, finances, religion, and the background of child they are open to adopting.
What do you look for in the home visit?
Tour the home to ensure there are enough rooms and space to raise a child or add another child, any bodies of water on the property must have a safety plan, if the applicants own guns, they will need to address safety issues there as well.
You should clean a bit before the home visit, but don’t worry - it doesn’t have to be perfect. Your home study provider just wants a good idea of what your home is like in your normal everyday life.
We’re often asked if the house needs to be baby-proofed prior to the home visit. Home studies for private infant adoption does not require baby-proofing. However, if you are planning to foster or adopt through the foster care system, it is recommended to make your home ready for a baby.
The Final Step: The Home Study Report
Every state has different requirements, but the report will include a summary of all the topics listed above. The home study report will also include the provider’s official recommendation on whether or not the family should be approved to adopt. Most providers can generate the report within two weeks of all interviews and receipt of all documentation.
How to Prepare for Your Home Study
The best advice from our home study specialist, Alicia Ports, on how to prepare: “Just be yourselves!”
You can also download our Home Study Checklist (PDF). This document will give you insight into what Adoption Advocates looks for during a home study in Texas, though some states and agencies may differ.
If you are looking for a home study provider in Texas, Adoption Advocates is here to help. You can learn more about our home study services online or give us a call at (512) 477-1122.
