by Jennifer Mitchell

Created on: May 09, 2009   Last Updated: May 13, 2009

Many people assume the term "home study" is the same as a home visit. But a home study is actually a comprehensive report about the prospective adoptive parents and their ability to care for a child. The home visit is a part of the home study, but there is much more to it.

As both an adoption social worker and a prospective adoptive parent, I have been on both sides of the home study process. It's often helpful to me to actually have experienced the process because it makes me more empathetic with the families coming to me for assistance. I recognize that it feels unfair to have your entire life examined, your home inspected, references requested, income verified and that yes, it can be intrusive. But as a professional, my first obligation is to the child that is placed with that family. My responsibility is to ensure that that child will be safe and well-cared for.

A typical home study will start with gathering information for a background check of the prospective adoptive parents (PAP's). Often this will require being fingerprinted and while this can seem like a nuisance, fingerprint checks are definitely preferable to name only checks. If you have a common name, like John or Jane Smith, you are less likely to have false positive reports from a fingerprint check than a name check. The background check includes the state child welfare records for child abuse and neglect investigations, a state criminal history check, an FBI criminal history check, and a check of the National Sex Offender Database. If you have any history of being arrested it is best to be up front with your worker about it, even if it was something very minor 20 years ago. Not being straightforward gives an impression that you have things to hide, and that's certainly not what you want your worker thinking!

You will need to provided a list of personal references or reference letters from individuals who can vouch for your character. It's especially helpful to have people who have seen you interact with children because that can give the social worker an idea of how you would be with your own child. Usually you need to have people who are not related to you, but some workers want a reference from a relative as well. You will also usually need to undergo a physical exam to ensure that you are healthy enough to care for a child. Having a physical or mental illness does not mean you can't adopt (unless it's an international adoption and the country has specific guidelines), but you may need

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