In this post in my Transracial Adoption ABCs series I will look at more from the letter "H".

Homestudy – Homestudy is one of those words that you rarely hear in life before you start looking into adoption. Getting a homestudy completed is one of the first steps on your adoption journey.

So what is a homestudy? I always describe it to people as a book report on your life, that ends with a recommendation for you to adopt a child of a particular age (or age range) and from a specific country or program. It is what agencies, facilitators and sometimes birth parents use to get to know you, and it is part of what adoption agencies and US immigration uses to make sure that you qualify to be an adoptive parent.

Your approved homestudy is your “green light” or your “permission slip” to adopt.

A social worker will come to your home and interview the adoptive parents both together (if it is a couple) and one at a time. Any children or other adults living in the home are usually interviewed as well.

Prior to the visit, the homestudy agency typically has the adoptive parents write up their autobiographies, to give the social worker a starting point and background knowledge of the couple. The autobiographies usually should include basic info on each parent’s childhood, family, schooling, health, employment, marriage, parenting experience, desire to adopt, etc.

Other paperwork for the homestudy that can happen either before or after the in-home visit(s) includes medical checks, police checks, child abuse registry clearances, references and employment letters.

Requirements for the homestudy, such as paperwork, number of visits, etc. can vary by agency and by state. Cost also varies greatly as well.

When the social worker visits your home, she will be looking to see that you have a safe and appropriate environment to raise a child in, and that you have room for a child or for another child. She does not care if under your bed is clean or if your floors are shining. You do not have to go crazy cleaning (although I do anyway. I can't help it!)

Once the visits are completed, the social worker will write up the homestudy, and the final product will be your life in 10 pages (give or take). The final homestudy will approve the adoptive parents to adopt a child or children and give specifics on program, age, special needs that are acceptable, etc.

Since what is required to be in the homestudy can vary by state, program, agency or country that you are adopting from, it is wise to know what agency and program you are going to adopt from before completing your homestudy and to find out what specifics need to be included, so you don’t have to pay to have changes made or the homestudy rewritten later on.

Your homestudy must be completed by a licensed agency or social worker in your state, but once it is complete, you can give it to any adoption agency in the country. A copy is also sent as part of your immigration approval, if you are adopting internationally.

For more information on homestudies, you can read this post, titled “Starting Your Homestudy”, or my next post, titled “How to Choose a Homestudy Agency”.


You can also read “The Adoption Homestudy” by Adoption.com, which gives lots of great information.