The adoption home study is required for all potential adoptive parents, whether they're considering domestic adoption or international adoption. The home study is an overview of the adoptive family's finances, background and relationships.
Features
The home study will involve several interviews with a social worker, who will interview adoptive parents separately and together. Paperwork will cover each parent's autobiography, financial information and criminal background, and the social worker will request character references from family and friends. Medical examinations might be required. The home study will also require the completion of training classes, which address such topics as basic parenting skills, discipline and information on how to bond with the child.
Costs
Home studies can range between $500 and $3,000. Additional fees might be required to cover the social worker's travel. Post-placement expenses are also possible. Some international adoptions require two to three follow up visits with a social worker to make sure the child and parents are adjusting well to the placement.
Time Frame
An expedited home study can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months. A regular home study can take six months or longer. Some of the variables will depend on how far the social worker has to travel, how many home studies are being processed and how many social workers are available to service the clients. Other things that affect the time frame would include how quickly a family fills out their paperwork, how long it takes to get the medical appointment and gathering required documents.
Misconceptions
Many potential adoptive parents have the misconception that the home study process is a way to "catch" the parents doing something wrong and that they will be denied as adoptive parents. This misconception can cause a lot of anxiety. In reality, the home study is to prepare the parents for the adoption process and to make sure the child is coming into a safe and loving home. The parents aren't expected to be perfect.
Considerations
Talk to the adoption agency before scheduling the home study. Different countries have different requirements about the home study paperwork, physicals and interviews. Make sure the time line of the home study will work with the agency's time line. Most international adoptions will require the home study to be finished before the adoption can move forward. Home studies that take too long will require a home study update, which can add additional fees to the adoption process.
