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 One
of the first steps in the adoption process is the 'home study.'
All prospective adoptive parents in Canada must have a home
study completed whether they choose to adopt through the public,
private or international adoption systems.
The actual home study is a written assessment
by a social worker or adoption practitioner who will interview
you and your family over the course of several months. During
these interviews, which are typically anywhere from 1 to 3
hours each, a variety of topics will be explored. Such topics
include:
- your motivation for adopting and understanding
of adoption's life long issues;
- your relationships with your spouse/partner,
family, friends and other sources of support;
- your financial and employment situation,
health status, lifestyle, home and neighbourhood environments,
your childhood, interests and hobbies;
- your understanding of open and closed
adoptions and their implications;
- your parenting styles and attitudes;
- the age, ethnicity, health status and
other characteristics of children that would be the best
match for your family;
- and your understanding of sharing adoption
information with your child.
Home studies are conducted to evaluate your
desire and commitment to adoption, to explore the reasons
why you want to adopt, to evaluate you as a prospective parent,
and to provide your family with education about adoption.
Most, if not all, prospective adoptive parents find the home
study process to be very stressful and invasive. After all,
you're asked to discuss, often with a complete stranger, some
very personal things like your childhood, family relationships,
challenges in your life, parenting views and other sensitive
topics. Who wouldn't find this a nerve-wracking experience?
In many areas of Canada, families can have
a private home study conducted or wait for a social worker
through their government's adoption agency. A private home
study costs on average $2,500 to $3,000 whereas a home study
through the Children's Aid or your province/territory's Social
Services Department is free. Waiting lists to have a home
study done through government agencies are long and priority
is often given to families who will adopt older children or
those with special needs.
The
home study process takes approximately 2 to 6 months to complete
and its format will vary depending on your province or territory
and the type of adoption you pursue.
For a family that adopts internationally,
their home study and the topics discussed during the assessment
will be different than a family's home study that adopts domestically
through the public or private systems. In a province like
Ontario, however, all applicants hoping to adopt (whether
it's domestic or international) must have the standardized
SAFE home study and recently mandated PRIDE training. More
information about Ontario's
SAFE home study can be found here.
In most provinces/territories, the home
study process consists of approximately 4 to 8 visits with
a social worker. Each visit lasts a couple of hours and all
members in your family should be present to discuss adoption.
Your social worker/practitioner will want a tour of your home
to ensure there is enough room for a child as well as to complete
a home safety inspection.
Here are a few tips to help prepare
you for your practitioner's visits:
- Be yourself! Try to
relax and not worry about being 'perfect'. Social workers
and adoption professionals are looking for prospective parents
who have proven problem-solving abilities and can provide
patient, skilled parenting and long-term commitment when
considering adoption.
- Be honest. Do not try
to hide anything from your social worker because it will
come up. If you have a medical issue or something happened
in your past, be up front and tell your social worker about
it.
- Research adoption. Read
books, search the Internet and talk to professionals and
others who have experience with adoption. It's important
to learn 'positive adoption language' and be aware about
important issues like 'openness agreements' and attachment.
- Talk to your partner.
If you're adopting with your spouse/partner, it's important
that both of you want to adopt and have discussed such important
issues like the age of the child, ethnicity, health issues
and from where you hope to adopt.
- Your house doesn't have to sparkle!
Your social worker is not going to wear his/her white gloves
and check for dust when they visit. In fact, some social
workers have told us that they'd worry if an applicant's
house was too perfect (they would worry if you could handle
the sticky finger prints on your windows and the mess children
tend to create). Ensure your house is neat and organized
but don't go overboard!
As part of the home study process, you will
also have to submit several complete documents including:
- Personal History Questionnaire
- Physician's Report (for each applicant)
- Financial Statement (per family)
- Criminal Records Check for each applicant.
Also, if the applicants have lived in another country, a
police check must be completed from that country and a copy
of the police check must be submitted to your social worker/agency.
- Child Welfare Checks - must be completed
for each applicant for every place they have lived in Canada
from the age of 18 years and older.
Once your home study interviews have been
completed, your social worker will write the home study report.
The home study will include information you provided from
the interviews as well as your worker's assessment and recommendation
for adopting. Be sure to review your home study report and
proof it for any errors. Don't hesitate to discuss the report
with your social worker and suggest any changes (be reasonable!)
as the home study is a reflection of your family and you want
the information to be correct. After you've approved and signed
the home study, your social worker will give you a copy of
the report and you can proceed to the next step in the adoption
process.
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