Preparing for a Successful Home Study

How to Prepare for a Successful Home Study

Step 1: Gathering Your Documents

The first stage of the home study is purely administrative. You will need to prove your identity, financial stability, and health.

With many agencies, this means hunting for copy machines and mailing physical packets.

With American Adoptions, you simply snap a photo or scan the document and upload it directly to your secure account.

The Checklist:

• Identification: Driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and social security cards for all household members.
• Relationship Verification: Marriage certificate, divorce decrees, or separation papers (if applicable).
• Financial Records: Recent tax returns (usually 2-3 years), pay stubs, and a financial statement outlining assets and debts.
• Health Records: Physical exam results and a letter from your physician confirming you are physically and mentally capable of parenting.
• Insurance: Proof of medical and life insurance.

Your online portal features an easy to follow checklist so that you know exactly what has been completed, is still needed, and what your next steps will be.

Tip for home study success: Start early! Getting your information together ahead of time will be much less stressful than trying to round it all up at the last minute.

Step 2: Clearances & Background Checks

This is where delays often happen with local providers. If an agency forgets to check a state you lived in five years ago, your adoption could be stalled later.

We perform a 50-state readiness review to ensure every necessary jurisdiction is cleared upfront, preventing last-minute surprises.

The Checklist:

• Criminal Background Checks: State and federal (FBI) fingerprinting for all adults in the home.
• Child Abuse & Neglect Clearances: Checks for every state/country you have lived in since age 18.
• Sex Offender Registry: Verification from the national registry.

Tip for home study success: The right provider makes all the difference. When you work with American Adoptions for your home study, you’ll have all the right clearances and checks for your adoption.

Step 3: The Personal Components

This is the "heart" of the home study. It helps the social worker understand who you are, not just what you earn.

While this can feel intimidating, we provide guides and interview prep so you feel confident sharing your story rather than feeling interrogated.

The Checklist:

• Autobiographies: Personal essays about your childhood, relationship, and parenting philosophy.
• Reference Letters: 3–5 letters from non-family members (friends, coworkers, pastors) vouching for your character.
• Interviews: In-home meetings with your social worker to discuss your motivation to adopt.

Tip for home study success: Practice makes perfect. Take turn asking common home study interview questions with your spouse.

Step 4: The Home Inspection

You do not need a "perfect" model home to pass an inspection—you need a safe one. Your social worker will verify that your home is a healthy environment for a child.

The Checklist:

• Safety Equipment: Working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers.
• Hazard Protection: Covered outlets, locked firearms (if any), and secured bodies of water (pools/hot tubs).
• Space: Verification that there is adequate space for a child.

Tip for home study success: Work with a home study provider like American Adoptions who will provide you with all kinds of helpful guides to make your house home-study ready.

Start Your Home Study Today

Don't get trapped in the paperwork mountain with the wrong home study provider. Create your account with American Adoptions to work with a professional who keeps the process moving, so you can focus on what matters most: becoming a parent.