The biggest fear of adoptive parents may very well be the dreaded home study. Fear not! The home study process is more of a "people study". It is in place to make sure that those who shouldn't adopt a child won't be able to qualify. It's not a white glove test or a measure of your housekeeping skills. You will fill out yet another daunting amount of paperwork -- that is true. However, the rest is really not very daunting at all. You will meet with a friendly social worker who will speak with you about the reasons you have chosen to adopt, your home and family life, your financial status, any questions you may have about adoption and/or child care issues. The social worker is there to make sure your home is a safe place for a child and that the child will have qualified, loving parents.
You will be given fingerprint cards for a background check. You won't qualify if you are a registered sex offender. You won't qualify if you have been convicted for domestic violence or serious crime. If you had a small infraction or a DUI when you were 19, it's not likely that will affect your ability to adopt. If you had 4 DUI's and the most recent was last year, it will very much impact your ability to adopt. Most people will pass a home study with flying colors. I only recall a couple of times in my 15 year adoption career in which people have failed. One time, a gentleman was speaking with the social worker and she asked him privately, "Why do you want to adopt?". His answer was, "Oh, I don't really want another child...I'm just doing this for my wife". As you can imagine, their home study was not approved. In another case, someone believed they had something on their record that they didn't (previous divorce with an ex-partner claiming violent behavior). They were not immediately denied, but it had to be determined that this was, in fact, not an issue.
One important factor in going through your home study is truthfulness. If a social worker asks you specifically if you have a criminal history and you deny it and then something even minor pops up on your record, the social worker will find you suspicious. After you have an approved home study, if you are arrested or cited for anything at all, you must inform your social worker immediately. It won't look good if something like that comes up on your yearly background check and you haven't been honest and forthright with the information. If it appears that you are trying to hide something, your home study will be denied. Trust is a very important factor.
As long as you are honest and open with your social worker and you have no serious offenses on your record, your home study should be approved and you may then begin the process to adopt a child. The home study is a very important tool for the judge who will approve your adoption, as well as ICPC (Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children). When you are traveling between two states with a child for adoption, ICPC is necessary. Your attorney or agency will submit your home study and the adoption paperwork to the ICPC representative in the state in question so that you may receive approval to travel home with your new baby. You may not leave the state and go to another state for the purpose of adoption without having a completed home study. It's important to have your home study and clearances up to date (yearly), so that you will go through the ICPC process without any problems. Even if your own home state does not require a yearly update, it's important to do so because the state you may travel to in order to adopt your infant may have that rule. The home study is just a process that you must go through in order for the state to assure the safety of a child. When you look at it that way, it's an important process and well worth the effort. Your social worker may even become a good friend.
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