Every state asks prospective adopting parents, no matter how they plan to adopt to participate in an adoption home study. The purpose of this study is to provide valuable information to parents who are wishing to adopt. It is not to frighten or distress anyone or make them think they will not be acceptable parents.
An adoption home study simply assures that real people become parents. It is not meant for any other purpose other than to weed out the potential fears or reservations one or more parents may have. Adoption home studies vary from state to state. There are also considerable variations from one agency to another.
There is a similar thread that courses through the adoption home study process and as mentioned earlier it is not ever meant to conclude anyone as an unfit parent. It is the hope of every agency to acquire many potential parents on a daily basis.
Many adoption agencies provide training for prospective parents. This training can include anything from how to change diapers to how to broach certain subjects or question that specifically adopted children may ask at any age. The basic course of this training is to match the adoptive parents with a child who is a specific age, gender, or has certain needs.
The goal of the adoption home study is to ensure a compatible and smooth adoption process from beginning to glorious end. One of the steps involved in the adoption process is an interview. It is not uncommon for any person looking to adopt a child to be interviewed several times by a social worker. Again this omni-important step is not meant to frustrate adopting parents but is set up more to ensure a compatible adoption. Also you will soon learn if you are truly cut out to be a parent once these interviews begin.
Health statements, income statements and home visits are also part of the elaborate adoption home study process. Background checks are done in a respectful and thorough manner. These agencies understand that your past is simply passed and they are eager to know real people are seeking to adopt children from their agencies. With that said, please be forthright in bringing up past experiences you are not proud to admit occurred but from which you have learned.
After all we all know there are biological parents out there who have made mistakes in the past. Autobiographical statements are an essential part of the adoption home study procedure and also references are going to be needed. It is best the adoption agency learns any thing remotely "fishy" about you from you, not someone else.
Copyright 2005 by Dana Sanders. All rights reserved.