Choosing the Right Home Study Provider
The decision to adopt is an important and exciting one. The first step in any adoption is a pre-adoptive homestudy. Homestudies provide prospective adoptive parents training and preparation necessary for a healthy adoption. Home studies must meet the requirements of the state you reside in, the requirements of the state the birth mom resides in, and inter-country and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) requirements if you are adopting internationally.
Home studies can be procured from private agencies, state agencies (Department of Health and Welfare), and Certified Adoption Professionals (CAPS).
State agencies typically provide home studies for the procurement of foster care licensing. Home study training and preparation focuses on helping prospective foster parents learn to best support a foster child who is waiting to reunify with his or her birth parents. In the event reunification does not occur, foster parents can request an addendum to their home study so they may be considered for the adoption of that child.
Certified Adoption Professionals (CAPs) are for-profit, fee-for-service professionals who are certified by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW). CAP home studies and services may not be accepted by USCIS for International adoptions. In addition, home studies written by CAPS for interstate adoptions are not accepted by “agency only states,” because they allow adoptive placements only with families who have an agency-prepared home study. Private agencies may choose not to accept CAP home studies due to lack of training provided to adoptive families, even in states that are not listed as “agency only” states.
Private agencies in Idaho are non-profit and licensed by the State of Idaho. Private agencies are required to renew their license annually through participation in an annual audit and licensing review. Licensed private agency home studies prepared in your state are accepted for both intrastate (local) and interstate domestic adoptions, and by USCIS for international adoptions. Licensed private agencies provide all relevant adoption services, including training, from time of home study until the finalization of your adoption. Licensed agencies are staffed with adoption professionals whose educational and professional backgrounds meet the licensing requirements of their state.