Adoption Home Study Tips

Adoption is a journey, and every adoption situation is different. But one thing is a constant. If you’re one of the thousands of families looking to adopt, then you’ll need to complete an adoption home study first.

The adoption home study is basically a survey of your life, completed by a licensed home study provider in your area. For many, this process may feel a bit intimidating. That’s okay. That’s normal. The best thing you can do is to be prepared.

1. Don’t stress. Every single adoptive family/parent has had to go through this process. This is just part of the adoption journey. There’s no need to stress over it too much. You aren’t expected to be 100% perfect and picturesque, because let’s face it – no one is perfect!
2. Shop around. More often than not, there is more than one home study provider in your general area. You don’t have to use the first one you found. There are also plenty of family adoption consultants available to assist you in finding the right provider. For example, Parentfinder’s Preferred Membership program includes pre-home study preparation and provider matching services.
3. Prepare for your home study. Talk to your home study provider about any questions or concerns. If you’re working with an adoption consultant, they can address these topics too. You should also make sure your home is safe for a child – make sure that your smoke detectors work, that you have fire extinguishers on each level of the home, that your outlets are covered, and that medicines and things like cleaning chemicals are all locked away. These are simple things you can address over a single weekend.
4. Mentally prepare for tough questions. The home study provider is going to ask you some tough questions. They’re going to ask you tough questions about your past, and if you hope to adopt a child, then you’ll need to be open and honest with them. No one is trying to bring up a painful past or will judge you for any answers, they’re simply trying to make sure that the child placed with you is in a safe and loving environment.
5. Document everything. If you’re working with an adoption consulting service, like Parentfinder’s Preferred Membership, they may help you with keeping track of everything. But if you’re going at this alone, it’s important that you scan all of your documents and save them digitally, preferably in multiple places just to be safe. We recommend keeping a copy on a thumb drive as well as on the cloud. It’s also good to have immediate access to these documents from your phone, so you can email them at a moment’s notice, if needed.
6. Make Copies. You should certainly keep your original home study document in a safe, secure, and accessible place. But we also recommend making a digital copy and saving it along with your other important adoption-related documents.
7. Take note of the important dates. We find that it’s best to set an alert on your phone or computer to remind you of when your home study expires each year. Doing so will allow you to stay on top of the renewal, ensuring you don’t have any lapse in your availability as a hopeful adoptive parent/family.
8. Be proactive. The adoption home study process can be long and drawn out. That’s just how it goes. But you don’t have to sit idle during this time. If you’re working with a service like Parentfinder’s Preferred Membership, you can work with your adoption consultant to create a rich, dynamic online adoption family profile. Getting ahead of this will allow you to be shown to expectant parents as soon as you’ve been home study approved.

If you’ve decided to adopt, but you’re not sure how or where to start, Parentfinder’s Preferred Membership might be right for you. As a Preferred Member, you’d be guided by one of our adoption consultants through the early stages of the adoption process.

Your Parentfinder Adoption Consultant would help you compile the right documentation, understand how the process works, and help you complete an adoption home study in a timely manner. They’d also assist you in creating an adoption profile and pair you with a vetted, ethical adoption organization in your area for matching and placement.

To learn more about Parentfinder’s Preferred Membership Program, reach out to our team today.