All About Home Studies

ABC Adoption Services has been helping families in Virginia adopt since 1993. Our Virginia Social Work Coordinator, Tricia Wood, is the contact person for families interested in home study services. ABC Adoption Services has home study workers across the state to assist you. We work with families adopting through our agency as well as families working towards placement with international and domestic agencies around the country. In addition, we provide reports for stepparent and relative adoptions. Our goal is to help your dreams of family come true through adoption.

Virginia Home Studies

A home study (pre-placement assessment) can be loosely defined as an educational process designed to help your social worker learn more about your ability to parent and provide a stable home, to teach you about adoption and its affect on children and families, and to prepare you to parent a child whose experiences and history are very different from your own. Everyone who hopes to adopt must have an approved home study depending on the agency, the worker, and the prospective parents’ cooperation, the process can take from six weeks to three months. A social worker will need to make at least one visit to your home. The typical number of meetings with the social worker is 4-6.

Items You May Need for a Virginia Home Study

Specific requirements for home studies vary by state, country and agency, so be sure to ask for a list of the items and information your agency needs. The following items are commonly required during the home study process:

• An autobiographical statement — a statement you create about your life history based on an outline provided by ABC.
• Certified copies of birth certificates for you, your partner, and any children.
• A certified copy of your marriage license.
• Certified copies of divorce decrees.
• Death certificate of a former spouse.
• Certified copies of finalization or adoption decrees for any adopted children.
• Child abuse and criminal record clearances which may involve fingerprints depending on your particular case.
• Financial verification (usually includes agency financial statement, verification of insurance coverage, and recent tax return.)
• A statement of health provided by a physician, which might include lab test results.
• Written references from friends, employers, neighbors, etc.

Many agencies require trainings for prospective adoptive parents prior to or during the home study process. These trainings help prospective parents better understand the needs of children waiting for families and help families decide what type of child or children they could parent most effectively. Training is required in international cases prior to the completion of the home study.  ABC will assist international adoption families in accessing the required education.

Questions You May Be Asked During Your Home Study

During home study meetings with your worker, you can expect to answer questions about your background, your education, your job history, your marriage, your leisure activities, your religion (particularly for religiously affiliated agencies), and your experiences with children. For instance, the worker may ask:

• What is your family like, and how will you integrate a new child into it? How will your extended family treat an adopted child?
• How is your marriage? How do you make decisions, resolve conflicts, and express your feelings?
• Why do you want to adopt?
• What is your home like? Are there places for your child to play or spend time alone?
• What is your neighborhood like?
• How do you plan to address discipline issues with your new child?
• What was your family like when you were growing up? How were you raised? Are you close to your parents?
• Where do you work? Is your schedule flexible enough to accommodate the responsibilities that come with parenting?
• What sort of child care arrangements will you make for your child?

The goal of home studies is to help the worker locate the best possible home for each child placed and make good matches between parents and children. If you have questions about the study, please ask us.

Adoptions in Virginia:

Domestic Adoption

If you are adopting domestically and live in Virginia, we will partner with your placing agency or adoption attorney to provide a domestic adoption home study and post adoption services to your family to make your adoption successful.

International Adoption

If you are adopting internationally and live in Virginia, we can provide full service adoption services to your family. ABC Adoption Services is a subsidiary of Carolina Adoption Services (CAS). CAS has many countries with which we work; CAS is COA accredited and Hague accredited. Each of these accreditations assures that the services provided to you will meet the highest standards. We can also provide home study only services to you if you are working with another placing agency. 

Our home study team works closely with many placing agencies around the country and with U.S. Immigration, thus possessing the knowledge and experience needed to help you navigate the intricacies of either an international or domestic adoption.

Learn More About Your Adoption Options Here…

Post Adoption Services in Virginia:

Our social workers have many years of experience with post placement reports for:

• Domestic Adoptions
• Special Needs Adoptions
• International Adoptions from a host of countries
• Interstate Compact Adoptions

Services can be provided on domestic and international adoptions until the adoption is final. Services are provided on international adoptions according to the requirements of the agency, country, or needs of the family. Post placement reports are done in a family’s home to assure the overall well being of the family and child. Let us help finalize your adoption! 

To learn more about ABC home study services, please contact Tricia Wood.