Home Study
Are you ready to be a parent and add love to a child’s life? Do you want to bring a baby in who needs a place to call home?
If you’re not sure, read our guide on the benefits of adopting.
If you said yes to both, adopting a baby may be the right choice for you. The adoption process seems long and intimidating, but if you understand all that’s required of you beforehand the road to love is much smoother. Follow this child adoption checklist to prepare for parenthood.
1. Decide What Type of Adoption Works Best for You
Each state has their own adoption option and laws. For future parents in Florida, there are four types of adoptions to decide between. They include: entity adoption, step-parent adoption, close relative adoption and adult adoption.
So, which best fits you?
- The entity adoption: A facilitated adoption designated by the U.S. Secretary of State.
- The step-parent adoption: A stepparent chooses to adopt their spouse’s child, and accepts full responsibility for them.
- The close relative adoption: Person(s) in child’s nuclear family including grandparent, great-grandparent, or an of-age nephew, niece, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, great uncle or great aunt adopts them.
- The adult adoption: An adult adopts another adult often for inheritance updates.
After you decide what type of adoption fits your unique wants and needs, it’s time to choose a legal partner.
2.Select an Adoption Agency or Attorney to Partner With
The decision between choosing an adoption agency or attorney is dependent upon your needs and preferences. You may also select different agencies or attorneys for separate steps of the process.
For example: You can carry out a home study through one specialized agency and seek child placement with a different agency.
No matter what path you follow, ask yourself the following questions before choosing an adoption guide:
- What does this company require of me?
- What’s this organization’s communication style?
- What do they specialize in?
- How long has this agency been open?
- How much are their fees and service charges?
Answer these questions to ensure you’re fully aligned with your adoption partner.
3. Complete a Home Study with Connected by Love Adoptions
Adoption laws require approved home studies for all domestic and international adoptions. This is technically the first step in the adoption process.
Why? Well, a home study states whether or not your home environment and health are suitable for an additional child.
Connected by Love Adoptions performs home studies to help determine:
- If there is a genuine desire to be a parent
- Whether or not there are suitable financial resources to raise a child
- The state of emotional resources needed to raise a child
- The stability of the home environment
It’s extremely important that you choose an agency that’s licensed through the State as a child placing agency to conduct home studies and post placement visits. Although it’s important, there’s no reason to be nervous! The home study process is a supportive, educational, and interactive for all.
4. Share an Adoption Profile
After the home study is completed successfully, it’s time to build a profile! Not your dating profile; your adoption profile.
Similar to a dating profile, you’ll create a portfolio that reflects the wonderful person you are and loving home you have. Think about what’s important to a potential birth mom, including:
- Details on why you’re a great fit
- Photos of your family
- Pictures of your home
- Quotes from the home study autobiography
Either work your magic on an uncomplicated Word document, or if technology isn’t your thing, hire an adoption profile designer to gain your future birth mom’s eye and heart.
5. Get Matched with a Child in Need of a Home
After background checks, adoptive parent training and home studies are complete, it’s time to find a child in need of a loving home.
A great way to meet your future child is to attend picnics and events put on by foster homes where you can interact with several youngsters in a day. There are also websites and support groups handy for you to discover available children.
Congratulations! You’ve made it through the checklist and found your way into the arms of a loving child.
Before things are official, you can communicate with your social worker to learn as much as possible about your future baby. There’s great value in getting personality and background information about the child from their foster or birth family.
On the same token, you should prepare photo albums and facts about your family to share with the child. It’s important that you’re both prepared for the initial visit. After the initial visit goes well, you’ll have several extended visits until you, the child, and adoption worker conclude that all parties are ready for overnight stays, and eventually, an official placement. Now, it’s time to take a deep breathe and tell your child…
Welcome home.
