The First Home Visit

What Information Will We Need to Provide?
 

While you might cringe at the idea of having an outsider come in to assess your parenting capabilities, if you think about it from the child’s perspective it makes sense. Basically, the home study exists as a safeguard for children. But it can help parents, too. “[The home study] gives people an opportunity to prepare for adoptive parenthood by looking back at where they’ve been and forward toward where they’re going with a clearer vision of all the things that brought them to this point,” says Renee Lubowich, an adoption social worker in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
 

With that in mind, here are some answers to common questions about home studies to help you get ready.
 

Specific home study criteria vary from state to state and, for international adoptions, from country to country. A local adoption agency can tell you what your state requires. If you’re planning to adopt internationally, try to decide what country you want to adopt from before initiating a home study, says Sam Wojnilower, an adoption social worker and Russia program coordinator for Adoptions from the Heart, based in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. That way you can avoid the time and expense of having to redo parts of the process to meet the requirements of a particular country. An agency that deals with international adoption can advise you of the rules for different countries.
 

In general, you can expect to be asked to disclose your medical history, including testaments to your physical and medical health, and your financial status (you don’t have to be rich—just responsible). A social worker will also visit your home to, at a minimum, make sure there are no safety hazards and there is sufficient space for a child. Most states require a police background check and a child abuse background check; some also require federal criminal clearance.
 

States also give a lot of discretion to agencies, says Wojnilower, whose social workers will interview the prospective adoptive family, sometimes several times. Agencies might also ask you to write biographical essays, discuss your views on childrearing and discipline, or submit character references.
 

What Will It Cost?
 

Home studies usually cost at least $1,000 and can run up to $5,000. They are free, however, if you adopt a child who is a ward of the state in foster care. In those situations, the state covers the cost. (For more information on adopting children through the child welfare system, visit Adopt Us Kids, and check Is Foster Parenting Right for You (and Your Family?)
 

Can We Prepare?
 

You need to make sure your paperwork is in order, of course, but on a more personal level it can be helpful to take some time to think about (and be able to talk about) how adopting a child will affect your life.
 

Lubowich recommends reading about raising adopted children and considering the types of challenges you are prepared to take on in parenting an adopted child. “It’s helpful for people to do some self-reflection about their views on parenthood and childrearing, and to think about how and why they have those opinions,” she says. “In the case of a couple, it’s helpful for them to think about places they might agree or disagree in raising children.”
 

And while it’s tempting to clean the house from top to bottom and put on your Sunday best before the social worker comes to call, Wojnilower says that’s really not what the study is about. “I try to reassure folks that by the time we get past the very beginning stages they can feel comfortable because the requirements are largely objective,” he says. “It’s not, ‘Do I like the furniture in your house, do I like how you dress, do I like your sense of humor?’”
 

Could the Home Study Findings Prevent Us from Adopting?
 

In the objective, paperwork department you could encounter setbacks if you have:

• an arrest record (not in every case — Lubowich says it depends upon what type of arrest and how long ago it occurred)
• certain issues in your medical or mental health history
• a history of financial problems or a troubled financial situation
• multiple marriages (one or two previous marriages probably won’t hurt your chances but more than that might)
• an unstable job history

Some countries also have rules that might disqualify a particular family, such as parents’ ages, how long they’ve been married, and current or past health problems.
 

Problems can also arise if the social worker senses any underlying issues that need to be resolved. For example, one spouse might be in favor of adoption while the other is not completely on board. In the case of transracial adoptions, it might become apparent during the home study that there’s some discomfort with becoming a transracial family. If infertility has been a factor in the decision to adopt, sometimes one spouse is willing to stop infertility treatments while the other wants to try one more cycle. Wojnilower says that in these kinds of cases, an agency can provide some counseling but it might be necessary for the prospective parents to seek counseling elsewhere before continuing the adoption process.