LEGAL LANGUAGE SERVICES

The Adoption Home Study Process

Introduction

Every State and the District of Columbia require prospective adoptive parent(s) to participate in a home study. This serves three purposes: to educate and prepare the adoptive family, to gather information about the prospective parent(s) and to evaluate the fitness of the adoptive family.

Specific home study requirements and processes vary greatly from agency to agency, State to State and by the child's country of origin. We will discuss the common elements of the home study process and address a few concerns prospective adoptive parents may have.