Passing your home study can be one of the most difficult steps in the adoption process. You can only move forward with adopting a baby if you pass your home study, so it is important to get it right! In this video, we will discuss what a home study is and provide a process to follow to help make your adoption home study easier!
Learn From Me:
Passing your home study can be one of the most difficult steps in the adoption process. You can only move forward with adopting a baby if you pass your home study, so it is important to get it right! In this video, we will discuss what a home study is and provide a process to follow to help make your adoption home study easier!
Learn From Me:
So you want to adopt a baby, but you're worried about the home study? Why do these random strangers get to come in and pass judgment on your life and decide whether or not you're fit to adopt? Listen, I get it. I've been there myself twice. And I've helped over 1000 families be formed through adoption. So I know how nerve racking the home study process can be. But it doesn't have to be that way, my friend. Today I'm going to walk you through the different parts of the home study process, and ultimately how you can reduce the overwhelm and anxiety that you're feeling right now in this moment. But before I do so, it is important for us to talk about what a home study is just in case you're not familiar with that a home study is a screening of the home and the life of the potential adoptive parents before a baby is adopted. This is one of those steps that in 98% of all states is required before you actually are eligible to adopt a child. Basically, a home study is a licensed social worker coming in to interview you to get to know you on a deeper level, reviewing materials that you've provided to them in advance and inspecting your home to decide whether or not you should be eligible to adopt child. Now that we understand what a home study is, let's talk about the steps within the process so that you can feel prepared and less overwhelmed. The first step to the home study process is what I call mount paperwork. It is literally a mountain of paperwork that you are preparing to provide for the home study worker to review. So really, what that means is, they're going to give you the list of documents that they require things like your tax records, a letter of verification of your employment, and financial worksheet, reviewing kind of all your financial assets, they're going to review all of this information in detail. And it is really important that you provide to them exactly what they're asking for in the exact format and order that they're asking for. This can be a really overwhelming thing to think that someone's going to go through and look at all of your finances, they're going to ask for a letter from your doctor saying that you have a reasonable life expectancy, that they want references from you. And not only does it feel overwhelming, because the sheer list of things that you have to provide, but also the information itself can feel a little intrusive. But providing that information is critical to you obtaining that home study approval. So it's one of those steps that you really need to follow to the tee and get right so that you can move on to the next step in the process. Second step in the home study process is the interview. Now, this is as scary as it sounds. All right, I'm gonna just level set with you, the home study provider, the social worker is going to come into your house and they are going to ask you questions, they are going to interview each member of the family individually, they're going to interview you as a couple as the parents if you are married and adopting together, they're also going to interview you as a family if you already have another child in house. And those interviews will look slightly different based upon what age your child is, right? If your child is younger, they're going to ask to see you interacting and playing together. If your child was a bit older, then they're going to ask them questions directly if they're able to, you know, articulate an answer back to them. But preparing for the questions that each member of your family is going to be asked is a really important step to make sure that you're going to be successful in the home study process. So the questions that they might ask you are going to be around your discipline style around who you know, plans to care for the child and things of that nature. And preparing for that is is pretty nerve racking. I'm not gonna lie, it was something that my husband and I both struggled obviously, I'm a little bit of an extrovert. If I'm doing these videos and podcasts for you, but my husband, he is a total introvert. He is definitely the type that was like, Let's just tell me what exactly I need to do and say, so that we can get a baby home in our house, right? And so helping him prepare ahead of time for that would have been something that I should have done. But I didn't have any resources to tell me. These are the types of questions that I would be asked in that home study interview. But you my friend, you do have that resource. If you want to know the exact questions that you're going to be asked in the home study process, as well as also, you know, kind of the list of the paperwork and how you prepare your home. I have a home study success system that will be perfect for you. If you need help with that just drop the word home study below. Or reach out to me on social if you're listening to the podcast, and DM me the word home study and I'll send you the link to the exact process and system that you can follow to get prepared. Okay. All right. So now let's move on to the next step in the home study process which is preparing for your home inspection. This typically happens at the same time as your interview because They're going to come to your house and ask you all the questions. So of course, they're going to inspect your home. But they have specific things that they are looking for to make sure that your home is ready for baby. There are specific safety protocols that they will require you to follow in order for your home to be deemed safe for baby. Now there are going to be some specific requirements, if you have a two story home or if you have a pool, or if you are a gun owner, or if you have a lot of land or things of that nature that are going to be a little bit more unique. But then there's going to be a huge checklist of things that are really common no matter if you live in an apartment, a big house, a small house, like what it is, they're going to have a specific checklist. In addition to that specific checklist, they're also doing what I call the cleanliness test, right? It's that old dreaded image of the white glove on the furniture and are they finding dust, but they're really looking for is the home clean and safe enough if you had a baby crawling around on the floor, or they picking up dirt and debris or crumbs or you know, animal droppings or things of that nature that could make them ill, right. So they're looking for kind of those two main buckets of things when they come in to look for the home study. Is it safe in the terms that it is actually ready and baby proofed? And then is it safe for a child to grow up in that environment from a cleanliness perspective? Okay, so the next step in the home study process is actually post placement visits. And this is going to happen after baby is born in his home with you. And typically after the revocation period. But before the finalization, I know, all these words can seem a little tricky, my friend. So revocation period is the period in which the birth parent has to change their mind. finalization is when the adoption becomes legal and finalized. All of those steps. And the requirements for post placement visits does vary by state. So I'm going to give you a general overview of what post placement visits are. But if it's something that you need a specific kind of deep dive into, then reach out to me and I'll help you navigate through that. Okay. So the home study, post placement visits really are again after baby's home with you. But before the adoption is legal. And it is before the adoption is legal, because what whether or not you have a good post placement visits, or you pass that portion of the home study can impact whether or not baby does stay with you permanently. And that doesn't matter, even if the rights of the expectant parents or the birth parents have already been terminated. In very, very rare cases. I've actually heard of people, not my clients, thankfully. But I've heard of people having the birth parents rights have been been terminated. And them not placing the post placement test or home study visits, and ultimately losing the baby and the baby being reassigned to another couple. And a one really extreme circumstance, they were actually placed into foster care. So you want to make sure you get this right, because it does have an impact on your overall success of your adoption. So the post placement visits themselves can be either virtual or physical. But they are going to be things where they're checking for How is Baby Doing, how is the family doing? And how are you doing together as a family unit. And that is really the most critical part is are you a functioning healthy family unit. So you can think of kind of the repercussion of the steps of the home inspection. And and they're specifically looking for safety things right, as well as the interview as being kind of the key core elements of the post placement visits. Now, the post placement visits are pretty nerve wracking. And you are sleep deprived because you're taking care of a newborn. So preparation for these I would argue as even more important than when you're probably like fresh and energized in the process early on for that home inspection and interview. So understanding what questions they're going to ask you and what they're looking for will help you make the best use of your preparation time once you have a little bit home that you're caring for. So that is really, really important. So here you go, my friend. That's the full home study process and if you've found value in this video, I know that you're gonna love to watch this video of one of my clients who recently brought home their son and just five months