The Home Study

• Author: Jeffrey Kasky; Robert Andrew Kasky
• Pages: 53-55

53

CHAPTER

9

The Home Study

With limited exceptions, a study of the prospective adoptive family and their home is required by all

states’ laws before a family can be approved to adopt a child. This study is referred to as the “home

study,” and it is used for a variety of purposes including identifying suitable and qualified families and

rooting out prospective adoptive families which are not suitable or qualified to adopt a child. It is used

to help a prospective adoptive family become aware of the necessary steps that must be successfully com-

pleted in order to be approved for adoption, and it also serves as a valuable tool in educating a family as

to what can be expected when and if a child is placed in their home for adoption.

The home study is also a vehicle for

the agency and the court to assess and

evaluate a family’s understanding of

the risks and rewards of adoption.

Further, it is also a tool to ascertain

the strengths and weaknesses of the

family as well as a way to under-

stand their expectations of life after

adoption.

NOTE

If the prospective adopter is

a relative of the child, a home

study may not be necessary, but

this varies from state to state.

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