How to Meet Your Adoption Home Study Requirements
The adoption home study can seem daunting at first. It’s OK. We’re here to help guide you through the adoption home study requirements, making it a smooth and straightforward process to help you get that much closer to growing your family through adoption.
As a full-service, national adoption agency that has all the services you need to complete your adoption under one roof, including performing home studies, we can walk you through the home study requirements and how you can prepare.
Learn more about our agency and how we can help you meet the adoption home study requirements by contacting us online.
Adoption Home Study Requirements
Step 1. Document Review
The document review includes identifying documents as well as more detailed documents. This is one of the more lengthy home study requirements because it takes time to vet the information required from each family member in the household.
Documents you will need to procure for your social worker include:
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Driver’s license
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Birth certificates
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Social security card
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Medical records
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Background checks
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Proof of income
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Autobiographies
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Personal references
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Any relevant immigration papers
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And potentially more
Getting these documents together in advance can help make the process go as quickly as possible, you can also reach out to your social worker to get a list of the documents they will need.
Step 2. In-Home Visit
The purpose of this adoption home study requirement is to ensure that your house is safe and suitable for a child.
You can child-proof your house prior to the visit to help move the process along just like gathering the needed documents. When it comes to what you need to do in terms of child-proofing, here’s an example of what you can address:
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Functioning smoke alarms
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Stairways with safe railings and gates
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Sharp objects put away safely
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Electrical outlets covered
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A fire extinguisher is present
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Any firearms locked away
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Proper locks on doorways and windows
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And much more
If you want to learn more about the in-home visit or any of the other adoption home study requirements, use our form.
Step 3. Interviews
Just like the in-home visit is a gauge of you home environment in terms of readiness to adopt and welcome a child into your home, the interviews are a home study requirement that have a similar intent.
Each member of your family living in the house will be interviewed and although there are no specific questions that will be asked, you can be prepared to answer questions about:
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Personal history
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Motivation to adopt
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Plans for being a parent
What Causes You to Fail a Home Study?
In Iowa, you can fail a home study if you do not pass the background check. Being convicted of a drug-related offense within a 5-year period, domestic abuse, crimes against children, forcible felonies and child endangerment all disqualify you from passing.
Prepare for Your Home Study Requirements in Iowa
Each state has its own laws when it comes to adoption home study requirements.
In Iowa, the home study must be conducted by the Department of Human Services, a licensed agency or a certified adoption investigator.
Another state-specific home study requirement has to do with the number of visits. There are at minimum two contacts, one face-to-face interview with the applicants and each member of the household and at least one in-home visit required in Iowa.
To learn more about the adoption home study requirements in Iowa, fill out our form.
Disclaimer
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