Home Study
What is a home study?
As a licensed agency, we provide full adoption home study services to Delaware, Florida,Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas residents looking to adopt domestically or internationally.
You do not have to be a placement client to be eligible for our home study services.
What is a home study? The home study report is a legal requirement for every adoption. The home study is performed by a licensed agency detailing your family’s suitability to become adoptive parent(s). The home study process is intended to not only investigate suitability issues but also to help prospective adoptive parents understand the unique issues that may come up during and after the adoption and to prepare parents for the unique challenges of raising an adopted child.
A social worker will meet with prospective adoptive parents to conduct and prepare the home study by gathering information about each parent’s background; relationships with spouse/partner, family and friends; education and career history; finances; home and neighborhood; health; attitudes toward discipline and other parenting issues; and the type of adoption that best suits your family. After gathering the required documentation, the social worker will interview all household members and assess the family’s suitability for adoption. Each adoptive parent and any other adult household members must obtain criminal and child abuse background clearances as well as a physical or statement of good health. The intent of the adoption home study is to support and prepare the adopting family for the adoption process and placement of a child. The home study is confidential and submitted only to the legal adoption authorities; it is not shared with birthparents.
No matter what type of adoption you hope to complete (domestic, international, step-parent, etc.), the home study process has three purposes.
- 1. To educate and prepare a prospective adoptive family for adoption. This education and preparation will be tailored to your family’s needs based on the type of adoption you are hoping to complete and the type of child you wish to be approved to adopt. The home study will also cover the requirements of your placing agency and placing country.
- 2. To evaluate the suitability of the prospective adoptive family. This is a time for the family and the social worker together to assess the readiness and appropriateness of a family to adopt.
- 3. Finally, the home study process gathers information about a family to determine what type of child would be appropriate for the adoptive family. The home study approval will specify the gender, age, race/ethnicity, and potential special need parameters that are identified as appropriate for the family based on their experience, abilities, and resources. The social worker will look for a good match between a child’s needs and a family’s ability to meet those needs.
Once the home study is completed and approved, a family can prepare a profile for presentation to birth parents (domestic) or prepare a dossier for presentation to an international adoption entity. Gladney has accredited placement programs, including Bulgaria, Colombia, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
If you are interested in having Gladney complete your adoption home study, please see the Adoption Home Study Steps.
1. Submit the Home Study Application online and pay the application fee via PayPal. Alternatively, print the application and send it with a check for the application fee to the Gladney office in Delaware at 1102 Society Drive, Claymont, DE 19703.
2. Once payment is received, you will receive our home study checklist via email. Complete and return the initial contracts by downloading the documents, signing them, and then uploading them back into our system. Once the contracts are received, you will receive the next set of documents to complete, including autobiography questionnaires and other pertinent documents. You will work with a program assistant during this time.
3. Once you have completed your documents, a Home Study Case Worker, or Home Study Social Worker, will contact you to set up your first Meeting. Payment for the home study is due before the first meeting. Three to four face-to-face meetings are required, with at least one in your home. All household members must be seen and interviewed on at least one occasion.
4. During the first appointment, your home study case worker/social worker will answer any questions, review the paperwork requirements with you and possibly complete your home inspection.
5. Once you have completed your adoption training, your social worker will schedule the remaining meetings. The last document should be completed after all the required paperwork has been submitted.
6. During the visits, expect to answer questions about your health, family history, family finances, experience with children, employment, social support, and adoption plans.
7. The assigned worker will review all adoption training and ensure an understanding of all required topics. Your worker is there to educate and support you and will answer any questions you have.
8. The home study report will be written, go through Gladney’s internal review process, and then sent to you and any partnering agency for review.
9. The home study will be finalized and notarized after the review and any necessary changes.
10. In most cases, the county and/or state require post-adoption or post-placement reports after the child arrives home. Fees for post-placement services are due before the home study report is released. Please discuss your post-adoption reporting schedule with your home study case worker or social worker.
Gladney staff are available to assist you with each step. In addition to your assigned social worker, Gladney has additional clinical staff that can answer your questions anytime.
Families in all states can contact Kristen Slomka, Home Study Supervisor, at 817-682-8244 or Kristen.Slomka@Gladney.org.
For Illinois, Misty Lucas, Executive Director of Illinois and Missouri and Latin America Programs Director, at 217-498-9700 or Misty.Lucas@Gladney.org.
Gladney Center for Adoption also offers adoption home study updates. A home study update may be required if your adoption is not yet complete and your home study has expired, or if you need to renew your USCIS approval, or if you have had a change in circumstances such as moving or change of household composition, to name a few reasons. This process is typically faster and less expensive than a full adoption home study.
Suppose you do not live in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, or Texas. In that case, you will need a Home Study provider licensed in your state of residence. Gladney, as your Primary Provider, must approve of your selected home study provider before you initiate the home study.
It is strongly suggested that your home study provider have Hague or COA accreditation. Gladney Center for Adoption does require Hague or COA accreditation for any supervised providers completing post-placement reporting. All home study reports must be completed by non-profit, Hague, or COA-accredited agencies and by agency employees, not contract workers.
Home studies cannot be accepted from independent social workers or for-profit agencies.
Before you continue, Gladney must approve of your selected home study provider. Your home study agency must complete the following forms to receive MAA’s approval. Home study agencies working with families pursuing adoption from Colombia should send all documents to the Illinois address or Misty.Lucas@Gladney.org. Home Study agencies working with families pursuing adoption from all other programs should send all documents to the Delaware address or Kristen.Slomka@Gladney.org.
1. Contact Information Form
2. Exempted Provider Agreement or Supervised Provider Agreement for Hong Kong, Philippines, and Thailand
3. Record of Adoptive Parent Training
4. Home Study Guidelines & Checklist
To find an already approved Supervised Provider for Gladney, please review our listing here: Supervised Providers List.
If you do not see an agency listed in your state, or would prefer to use another partner, please contact us immediately for suggestions. You may also check the list provided by IAAME, our accrediting entity here.
Remember, all home study providers must be pre-approved by Gladney before you initiate the home study process.
Your home study provider must be the same agency who will complete your post-placement or post-adoption reports. If your family relocates to a new state after the home study is completed, you must contract with a Hague accredited agency in your new state of residence to complete the required reports.
