My husband and I have just turned in our paperwork to start the home study process. So many of our friends and family have asked what the process involves. There is a long list of things to start the home study process. I thought I would share some things I shared with them. Here are some things from the checklist to go forward.
First you have to do an application for adoption. The information you provide is a lot of the basics. Names, address, work information, race, religion, hair and eye color, grade school, high school, college, place of birth, date of birth, etc.
Our agency requires that we provide four references. The references are asked several basic questions. Will they be good parents? Are they good as a couple? And who knows what else. We thought long and hard on who we would ask to be our references. After a long debate we just went with our heart and asked the first four that came to mind.
When we turned in our application there was a list of things that we had to provide:
Birth certificates
Marriage Certificate
Photos of us
Driver's License
Health insurance cards
Oh and a big fat check
These are just the basics to get us started. It doesn't even cover the emotional and interview questions. Here are some of the things we will be asked.
What are your religious/ethical background and beliefs and your plans for your child's religious/ethical training?
What is your financial situation? Are you able to live within your means and save for future expenses?
What type of child are you interested in adopting, and why? (I personally hate the wording of "type of child" but whatever.)
Are you open to a parenting a child of another race?
What are your expectations of parenthood? Of your child?
What are your theories about parenting (particularly discipline)?
Can you consider a child with prenatal drug/alcohol exposure? Any other disabilities?
What motivated you to adopt?
Are you open to an ongoing relationship with your child's birth parents?
And those are just a few from the list we were given.
It's overwhelming to think about all the steps we need to take to adopt. But we will take them. We've worked hard to get this far and we can and will continue to work hard to have a child in our home.
What about you, have you had to do to start your home study?
