The homestudy is something that I had no clue what to expect. I knew from my research that there would be an in-home interview. However, everything I read stated that the social workers would NOT be going around giving our house a white glove lookdown. Even with the research I did on my own, I still was unsure what I was going to need to properly prepare for a homestudy because there were so many contradictions.
Some articles stated that a bedroom with a crib already set up would be required. Others stated we would need fire extinguishers, outlet covers, smoke detectors in every room, and cabinet safety mounts installed. While some of that we already have, I had no clue what to expect and it made me so nervous to start the process
Let me just say, it has been SOOOOOOOOO much easier than I thought. While there is a lot of paperwork preparation involved, I am very organized when it comes to stuff like that so it has actually been fun getting everything in place. I contacted an agency in Charlotte that specializes in homestudies and we were immediately paired with a social worker out of Wake Forest. I was provided a list of all of the documents that I needed to gather up front and was able to talk with my social worker the day after we signed our contract. Our social worker is SUPER nice and I just feel like God has guided us to the perfect agency and perfect social worker.
The homestudy will require 3 sit down meetings, two at her office and the last one will be in our home. We have our first meeting this Friday so we already have the ball rolling. For those interested, I am going to post all of the homestudy required documents below. The first thing I asked the social worker was what she was expecting to see for the in-home visit. She immediately reassured us that all she is looking for is a structurally safe home and a room for our baby. Obviously they don't want us bringing a baby home to a house that could cave in at any moment. She said some of the horror stories I had read about are more for foster care homestudies as they have stricter requirements because they could be bringing home any age child. Most couples do not child proof their entire house when bringing an infant home from the hospital so they do not expect couples adopting an infant to do that either.
I'm telling you, this has surpassed all of my expectations and I actually find myself excited about the sit down meetings with our social worker. We will be diving in to our lives growing up, how we met, the things we are involved with, how we intend to discipline our child, how we were disciplined as children, etc. If we had any past issues, those things would also be discussed. These discussions will give the social worker a glimpse of our lives so that she can write up a proposal for us as parents. One source that Craw and I found when researching adoption was a website called Fund Your Adoption. They even provide a spreadsheet where all I have to do is plug in information and finances and it does all of the math for me. It has been so incredibly helpful in keeping everything organized as well as keeping up with every dollar we spend. There is an adoption tax credit that we will be eligible for once we get our child and saving receipts and keeping up with costs is the number one requirement. I highly recommend using this website if you are thinking of adopting.
Homestudy Required Documents
Copies of Birth Certificates
Copy of Marriage Certificate
Copy of Divorce Decrees (Not Applicable)
Copy of the first two pages of most recent 1040 tax form
Pay stub or letter from employer(s) verifying employment
Medical Clearances for each member of the household
Three letters of reference from non-family members (must be signed and notarized)
Child Abuse Clearances
Federal (FBI) Criminal Clearance
State Criminal Clearance
Must disclose any criminal history (Not Applicable- exclude minor traffic violations)
Financial worksheet detailing assets and liabilities
Hopefully this will give you an idea of what we are currently working on and a little more insight in to the adoption homestudy process. If you have any specific questions, please message me as I will be more than happy to answer.
