Once you start your adoption journey, once of the very first decisions you will have to make is what agency you will choose to do your homestudy. Homestudy regulations and policies vary from state to state, so please use this as a starting point only.

If you are very new to the world of adoption, most people use two agencies in their adoption process, with one being their “homestudy” agency, and one being the “placing” agency. Some people do use the same agency for both, but that is usually people who live in a metropolitan area, near a good choice of placement agencies.

Here is how it works. Your homestudy is basically your permission slip to adopt. You must have a homestudy done by an agency licensed to do homestudies in your state. The placement agency is the agency that actually processes your adoption, and they can be in any state in the country.

To find what agencies are licensed in your state, you can look in the phone book, ask around from people that have adopted or you can use this agency search page, provided by the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse.

During the homestudy process, you will be assigned a social worker. You will have to provide some basic paperwork, such as birth certificates, marriage license, divorce decrees, proof of employment, medical statements and background checks. You will also write an autobiography, to give the social worker an understanding of your life. At some point in the process you will have at least one (sometimes two or three) home visits, where the social worker comes to your home. Don’t panic! They are not going to look under your beds and in your closets, and your home does not need to be spotless. They just need to see that you have a safe home with space for a child (and you do not need to have a large home or be able to give the new child their own room). Most people that adopt are just regular old people. They are not rich, they do not have huge homes, and they are not perfect. You don’t have to be either.

When the social worker has all of the information needed and has met with your family, the homestudy will be written up, and the final product will be a sort of book report of your life. At the end of the homestudy it will approve you to adopt a child (or several children) from a certain country, of a certain age range and will state what special needs you are willing to accept, if any.

Once your homestudy is in hand, you will are able to choose a placement agency who works in the program or country you wish to actually process your adoption. The agency that does your homestudy will also be the agency that provides your post placement services.

Your homestudy agency and the relationship you have with them is very important, so again, you need to do your research. You want a social worker that is going to be open to your wants and desires as a family, who will be willing to help you decide what age and gender of a child would be best for your family and what special needs you would be able to handle, who will be willing to move quickly to get things done in a timely manner for you and who will give you the support you need once your child is home.

Here are some questions I recommend you ask when you are looking for a homestudy agency.

-How long does it take you to complete a homestudy from start to finish? (This can vary widely!!)
-What do you charge to do a homestudy? Also, what do you charge for post-placement services? (In some states a homestudy can be over $3,000, where in other states average is under $1,000. Do your research and know what is average for your area.)
-Are you experienced in doing homestudies for people adopting from “fill in the blank”? (Many adoption programs have specific things they require in a homestudy, so it helps to have a homestudy agency that has already had experience doing homestudies for the program you are adopting from).
-Can you provide me with references?
-How do you feel about “fill in the blank”? This is important, if your family has anything “different” about them or about the adoption situation you are interested in. Some issues may be being a single mother, having a large family, being a certain religion, wanting to adopt older children, wanting to adopt a sibling group, wanting to adopt out of birth order, wanting to adopt a special needs child, etc. You want to know before you start the process that the agency and social worker you will be working with are going to be supportive of your family.

A lot of people go into a homestudy with the mindset that this agency or social worker is doing them a favor by allowing them to adopt. It is important for you to remember while they do need to do their job and ensure that you are qualified to adopt, most people that set out to adopt, do. You are choosing this agency to provide you with a service, (a homestudy and post placement supervision) and you are paying them to do so. Remember that you are a client. Most of all, make sure you choose someone you feel comfortable talking to. Your social worker is going to be a big part of your adoption process, so choose wisely.