No matter the type of adoption you wish to pursue in Missouri, an adoption home study is required before you can move forward. The home study can be a lengthy step. Some professionals elongate the process with limited staffing, a failure to understand the requirements or just a lack of priority for you and your needs.

You shouldn't have to wait longer to begin the process of building your family.

American Adoptions ensures you won't. As a full-service, fully licensed adoption agency in Missouri, we can complete your entire adoption process — including the adoption home study — from start to finish. We also provide home study services for adoptive parents working with another professional for placement.

We have streamlined the process to provide the home study services you need to complete this step in an efficient and cost-effective manner. To learn more about the services we provide or to start your home study today, get more information here.

In the meantime, this guide to the adoption home study in Missouri will get you started.

What’s a Missouri adoption home study?

A home study is essentially an assessment of a prospective adoptive family’s life performed by a licensed social worker. It serves to evaluate the family’s readiness to adopt as well as prepare them for the adoption process and help to better match them with potential birth parents. It also gives confidence to prospective birth parents, who want to know that their baby will be with a good, safe, and loving family.

A home study for adoption in Missouri has three main parts:

• A documentation phase

• An in-home visit

• A home inspection

The home study can be an emotional part of the adoption process. It may feel that someone is judging you and deciding whether or not you’re worthy to become a parent, but try to remain as calm as possible throughout the process. Your home study provider only wants to help you on the road to parenthood.

What do we need for a Missouri home study for adoption?

One of the best ways to ensure a stress-free home study is preparation. The more you can have ready to go, the better chances are that things will go off without a hitch.

The documentation phase of a Missouri adoption home study is frequently the most time-consuming, mostly because there’s a lot that an adoptive family has to prepare. For this part of the process, it can be helpful to have an adoption home study checklist that includes the following:

• Basic documentation. It can be helpful to start gathering some basic identifying documentation, including driver’s licenses (or other official ID), birth certificates, social security cards, marriage certificates, etc.

• Health statements. You will most likely be asked to provide records of up-to-date checkups as well as information about your health habits. If anyone in your household has suffered from a mental health condition, a statement from a mental health professional may also be required before pursuing adoption.

• Financial information. Part of being prepared for adoption is being financially stable. This doesn’t mean you have to be wealthy, but you should be prepared to submit pay stubs, income statements and tax returns to show that you can financially provide for a child.

• Autobiographical statements. These are written statements by each adoptive parent that will tell the home study provider about yourselves and why you wish to pursue adoption.

• Background checks and clearances. Before you can adopt, it will be necessary to obtain criminal records on each adult in the household. Having a criminal record doesn’t necessarily prevent you from adopting, but your Missouri adoption home study provider will need to discuss your history with you and ensure that he or she believes it’s safe for a child to enter your home.

Your home study worker can provide a more complete checklist to help you prepare for this process, but preparing these documents ahead of time can help give you a head-start.

Steps for Completing an Adoption Home Study in Missouri

The home study process can seem like a tedious one, but really it can be mapped out in a few simple steps. And remember, you don’t have to do this alone. Your adoption specialist will help you navigate each of these steps in order to complete a successful home study for adoption in Missouri:

• Step 1: Contact an adoption professional like American Adoptions for an application packet.

• Step 2: Begin the background check process for all adult members of your household.

• Step 3: Schedule the first home study visit with your home study provider.

• Step 4: Have all home study documents ready for your first home study visit.

• Step 5: Have a social worker visit your home at least once for the in-home interview. This will entail the social worker interviewing each member of your family to learn about your home environment and to verify everyone’s readiness for adoption.

• Step 6: Wait for your social worker to complete a home study inspection, where he or she verifies that the house is safe for a child to live in.

• Step 7: Once all of the home study requirements have been met, your home study provider will finish his or her report and send a copy of the document to you. You should make sure everything is correct and confirm with the information with your home study provider.

“Our caseworker put us at ease and even helped us to understand the process and expectations of adoption much better. She scheduled her next visit as part two of the home study that would include some training for us as potential adoptive parents. Then, once that was completed, she would present us with a written report, our home study, that we would now start using as we apply to adoption agencies,” said Jill, an adoptive mother, of her home study experience with American Adoptions.

If you move or make any major changes in your life, you’ll be required to update your home study. This will also be necessary if your home study expires before a baby is placed in your home.

Who can complete an adoption home study in Missouri?

As a full-service national adoption agency that is fully licensed in Missouri, American Adoptions can meet all of your needs throughout the adoption process. Not all adoption professionals are licensed to provide home study services, but since American Adoptions is a licensed adoption agency in Missouri, our families don’t need to work with another professional to complete a home study. That’s one extra step you don’t need to add to your adoption home study checklist.

Home studies can be stressful, and it’s our goal to make that process as painless as possible for you. To learn more, get free information here. 

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