Questions & Answers

As you begin to prepare your home study documents and for visits, you’ll likely have lots of questions. Below, you’ll find the most frequently-asked questions adoptive families have had regarding the home study.

What is a home study?

In most states, a social worker will evaluate your fitness to parent during a home study. It’s really a study of the adopting parents. Requirements in each state differ, but it usually includes a home inspection, physical examinations by a doctor, an audit of your finances, references from friends and coworkers, a search of motor vehicle and court records, and an FBI background check.

Nearly all people who apply to adopt do qualify and most prospective parents worry way too much about the home study. Its intent is to screen out people with mental illness, drug or alcohol dependency, a criminal record of child abuse, or those with so little income that an adopted child would be placed into poverty.

If your home life is stable, if you are in reasonable good health, if you have enough income to raise a child, if you are a loving and responsible person with a heartfelt desire to parent a child for life, you can usually adopt.

Where can I obtain certified birth certificates, marriage certificates, or divorce decrees?

First place to check the local courthouse or records office for the appropriate county. If you aren’t sure or don’t know where to begin, try using www.VitalCheck.com.

How much does a home study cost?

It depends on the kind of agency or adoption professional who is conducting the home study. A public agency doesn’t usually charge a fee since it is supported by taxpayer funds, however often they can take longer or be specifically for a foster-adoption program. Home study fees vary from state to state, ranging from $750 to $4,000.

How long does a home study take?

Time frames vary. Average is probably three months, but it depends on the adoptive parents getting their paperwork and documents submitted in a timely manner. The best advice is to begin right away. You never want to miss out on a potential adoption because your home study is not done.