Because a successful adoption home study is required for you to be eligible for adoption in Kansas, you want to be prepared and have the best professional by your side.

Why spend time waiting when you don't have to?

As one of the largest national domestic infant adoption agencies in America and a licensed home study provider in the state of Kansas, American Adoptions has streamlined the home study process to ensure you aren't wasting precious time towards building your family.

We help you complete your home study in the most cost-effective and efficient way.  Follow this link to learn more about the home study services we provide and to begin this process today! 

What is the Adoption Home Study in Kansas?

Home study requirements differ from state to state. As a full-service adoption agency that is staffed with birth mothers, adoptive families, and adoptees, we understand this process better than anyone and can relate to your thoughts, concerns, and questions.

If you are a prospective birth mother, a home study is not part of your adoption process, but you may gain a better understanding of the requirements adoptive parents must complete in order to become eligible for adoption by reading this guide. However, if you are looking for more information on adoption for your baby in Kansas, you can click here to get a copy of our free adoption guide.

To learn more on the adoption home study process, here’s what you need to know about the adoption home study in Kansas.

An adoption home study essentially verifies that a prospective adoptive family meets the necessary requirements to adopt in Kansas and that they’re ready and able to welcome a new child into their home before they’re approved to adopt.

It’s one of the lengthiest steps in the Kansas adoption process, and it may be one of the most important. The home study is one of the first steps that a family takes after contacting an adoption professional. Generally, the sooner you can begin the Kansas home study process, the better.

If you are ready to take this step, complete the following form to begin your Kansas home study process for adoption. In the meantime, here’s what you should know about the adoption home study in Kansas:

Breaking Down the Kansas Home Study for Adoption

Home studies for adoption are conducted by state-licensed home study professionals, and each state has its own home study policies. Your Kansas home study professional will be able to guide you through the process. They’re not here to see if you’re “perfect”; they’re here to help educate you about adoption.

American Adoptions is a licensed home study provider and child-placing agency in the state of Kansas, so hopeful adoptive parents in the Sunflower State don’t have to work with more than one adoption professional. We’ll be able to take care of the entire adoption process from start to finish. This helps relieve much of the stress and confusion, as all of your needs will be met through our agency.

The home study for adoption in Kansas is broken down into four parts:

Step 1: Documentation

All the necessary documentation (shown in greater detail in the checklist below) will be sent in and reviewed prior to your in-home visit with your social worker.

Step 2: Interview

During your social worker’s visit to your home, you’ll sit down and discuss your motivations to adopt, your relationship with your spouse, parenting techniques you intend to use, your feelings toward adoption and your child’s potential birth family, and more.

Step 3: Home Tour

After your interview with your social worker, you’ll be invited to show them around your home. They’ll be looking to ensure that you have basic safety and child-proofing measures in place (listed in greater detail in the checklist below). Your home doesn’t need to be spotless, but they’ll want to verify that it’s a generally safe, clean and healthy environment for a baby or child to grow up in.

Your social worker may take this as an opportunity to point out anything you may have missed so that you’ll be ready before a child is placed in your home.

Step 4: Post-Placement Visits

After a child has been placed in your home, your social worker will return to conduct regularly scheduled post-placement visits that span from a few weeks after you return home with your new child up until your adoption finalization hearing. These visits tend to be brief. Your home study provider will just be checking in to ensure that the whole family is adjusting well, and to offer any helpful post-placement advice.

A completed home study expires after a year, so it’ll need to be updated at that point if you have not received an adoption placement in that time. You will also need to update your home study if there are any major changes in your life, such as a new addition to the family, a new job, or a move.

Common Fears about the Kansas Adoption Home Study

Many hopeful adoptive parents have unnecessary anxieties regarding the home study. Some of the most common worries include:

“I won’t be approved to adopt because I have a criminal record.”

Convicted felons who wish to adopt are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. If the nature of the crime was non-violent and did not involve children, domestic violence, or a sex offense, the home study may be approved. To learn more about the requirements to adopt in Kansas, contact us online to get free adoption information.

“They’ll look down on us for not owning our home.”

Owning a home is not a requirement to adopt. It’s perfectly fine if you rent your home. Many adoptive families do not own homes, so by no means will you be judged or looked down upon.

“They check to see if the house is spotless.”

Having a clean and safe environment is important for a healthy and happy infant. But nobody’s perfect, and your adoption home study provider isn’t going to run white gloves over your countertops! The home inspection is mostly about child safety and commonsense household precautions.

“If we mess up the interview, we could have our home study denied.”

The interview is an opportunity to see where you’re at emotionally in the adoption process and how well you’ve educated yourself about adoption. It’s more of a self-reflection than a job interview. Relax, be yourself, and you will be just fine!

The Kansas Adoption Home Study Checklist

Much of the home study adoption process in Kansas is making sure that you have all the required documentation in order. This stage of the adoption process can be time-consuming and tedious; it’s always a good idea to start getting organized as soon as possible so that your agency, attorney and home study provider have everything ready to go when they need it.

Your home study worker will provide you a more detailed checklist before you begin the process; keep in mind that required documents may vary, and this list is not meant to be exhaustive. Here are some of the things you may need to complete your adoption home study:

Required Documentation

• Driver’s licenses

• Birth certificates

• Marriage certificates

• Most recent tax return

• Recent medical statements

• Insurance records

• Personal written statements about your intent to adopt

• Reference letter for adoption from family, friends, or acquaintances (3-5 letters)

• Green card (if applicable)

• Military discharges (if applicable)

• Previous adoption decrees (if applicable)

• Pet vaccination records (if applicable)

• Passports (for international adoption home studies)

Home Safety Checklist

• Fences around pools

• Gates blocking stairs

• Screens on windows

• Functioning locks on doors and windows

• Fire extinguisher

• Working smoke and CO2 detectors

• Covered trash cans

• First-aid kit

• Covered electrical outlets

• Any weapons locked in a gun safe

• Toxic substances (medicine, paint, cleaning supplies, etc.) out of reach of children

• Bookcases and heavy furniture bolted to wall

• Readily accessible list of emergency phone numbers and home emergency and evacuation plans

Clearances and Training Courses

• Criminal background checks, both in Kansas and on a federal level, for all adults living in the home

• Child abuse and negligence checks for all adults living in the home

• Sex offender clearance for all adults living in the home

• Parenting classes or adoption parenting courses

• CPR and/or First Aid certification course

• Foster care licensing (if applicable)

• Special needs training (if applicable)

• Cultural diversity classes (if applicable)

We understand the Kansas adoption home study process may seem like a lot, but we are here to help. With over 30 years of helping families just like you complete their adoption home study, you can trust you are in good hands with American Adoptions by your side.

An adoption professional will help guide you through the entire process and provide a more detailed adoption home study checklist when you are ready to begin. Because American Adoptions is a licensed home study provider in the state of Kansas, you can contact us now to begin your adoption home study process or get more free adoption information online.

Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. American Adoptions provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.