Text: What to Expect When You're Expecting to adopt. An overview of What to Expect in the Adoption Screening and Home Study Process in Alabama. Graphic: Photo of a brown haired girl astride her father's shoulders with arms out stretched, gazing down with a smile at her mother. Brown haired young woman looking upward smiling at her daughter. Dark haired father glancing in the direction of the mother with a smile.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Adopt in Alabama: An Overview of What to Expect in the Adoption Screening and Home Study Process

You’ve decided that you’d like to start the process to be an adoptive parent. You’ve heard that you’ll be required to go through some screening before being approved for placement, but what is that really like? Adopting in Alabama begins with a simple screening; the next step is the home study and our APAC navigators will be your guide through what to expect.

The Basics

When you’re ready to start the screening process, visit APAC’s website to watch the adoption orientation video to learn more or reach out to our screeners, Brittany Popham, bpopham@childrensaid.org or Stacy Justice, sjustice@childrensaid.org.

To be considered as an adoptive parent, it doesn’t matter if you’re single or married. But if you’re married, you must have been married for at least 3 years at the time you apply.

There’s also no required minimum income level, but you do need to be able to adequately provide for all the children under your roof (biological and adopted) comfortably.

There’s no pressure for at least one spouse to be a stay-at-home parent; however, if both parents work outside the home, you should be prepared to discuss childcare arrangements at length.

As part of the screening process, you’ll need to prepare some paperwork. Specifically:

  • All people in your house who are over 14 years old need to sign a Child Abuse/Neglect Central Registry Clearance form (and be subsequently cleared).
  • Anyone 19 years and older living in your home will also need to complete a Criminal History Check with fingerprints.
  • You’ll need to provide color photos of you, your spouse (if applicable), and any other children living in your home.
  • Your primary care doctor should complete a physical exam on each adoptive parent.
  • Every other person (including children) living in your home needs a medical statement certifying that they do not have any communicable diseases.
  • Each adoptive parent will also prepare an autobiography.

 

The Particulars

DHR acknowledges that it may be difficult to have everyone home at the same time, especially if both parents work outside the home. They will make every effort to schedule your home visit at a time that works well with your family’s overall routine.

Your home by no means needs to be perfect for a home study! But your agent will be specifically looking for the following:

  • The agent will be evaluating cleanliness of your home overall.
  • He or she will make sure there’s enough bedroom space for all children in your care (including any prospective adoptive children).
  • All firearms need to be safely put away in a locked space.
  • A fire extinguisher that weighs at least 5 pounds needs to be in an easily accessible place in your home.
  • A smoke alarm should be located within 10 feet of all bedrooms and at the head of each stairway on each floor of your home.

Based on the details of your specific living situation:

  • Your home should not have any unvented heaters. If your home does have one, you’ll need written approval for it to remain in the home from a licensed inspector.
  • If you have a pool or hot tub, you should have a rescue tube or other floatation device that’s attached to a rope nearby. Any adult who will be supervising children around water will need to be first aid and CPR certified.
  • If you have pets, each must be up to date on rabies vaccines.
  • If you live in a mobile home, it should conform to the National Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standard Act of 1974, meaning that an aluminum plate is permanently attached to it.

 

What Will Be Discussed

One of the main reasons for this screening process is for DHR to get to know as much as they can about you as an individual and how your family operates as a unit.

You’ll get to know your assigned home study social worker as they get to know you. If you’re married, each spouse will be interviewed. You may be asked about your satisfaction in the workplace and at home, religion, infertility, and if you’ve experienced a dysfunctional family dynamic in your upbringing. You’ll also discuss expectations you may have for your adoptive child (though it’s best to be flexible!), and other friendships/relationships your family has with others in the community.

Other children living with you (so long as they’re of age to participate in an interview in a productive way) as well as any parents or other adults in the home will also be interviewed individually.

Your agent will explore the types of children your family is willing to embrace via adoption. Are you able to take care of a child with handicaps (such as a cleft palate or club foot), learning disabilities (such as ADHD), or who have suffered physical or sexual abuse? Placing children with special needs into forever homes is one of DHR’s primary goals (this includes children with physical, emotional, or mental disabilities, any child over 5 years old, or sibling groups of 2).

You’ll also make a tentative plan about how to handle tender topics, like how to answer the child’s questions on birth parents if no information is available or how to talk to your prospective child about being adopted. It is DHR policy that you agree to tell your adoptive child about their unique family dynamic.

Any red flags or areas that need further explanation from your application thus far will be additionally discussed.

What Comes Next

If you’ve completed this process and are likely going to be approved for placement, your home study social worker will ask you to provide employer reference, relative reference, friend reference, spiritual reference, and a contingency caregiver reference for the home study social worker to interview via phone or in person.

If you pass the screening process with DHR and are placed on the list, you cannot be on an approved list with another agency at the same time.

Passing the screening process does not guarantee that a child will be placed in your home. Further, there’s no guarantee of how long you’ll wait for a child to be placed into your home after you’re approved. But your home study will need to be updated every 6 months by the county as you await placement.

Rest assured – no matter how long you wait to welcome a child into your home through the adoption process, the experience will be full of unprecedented growth, resilience, and acceptance from the moment he or she arrives for everyone under your roof.

If you look forward to growing your family through adoption, please click here to connect with the Children’s Aid Society of Alabama today.

The Children’s Aid Society of Alabama is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and families across the state. We’re proud to provide a range of services that support foster care, adoption, family preservation, and youth development. Our mission is to empower families to create safe and stable homes, offering resources like counseling, parenting education, and transitional living programs for teens aging out of foster care. The Children’s Aid Society of Alabama is committed to ensuring that every child in Alabama has the opportunity to grow up in a loving, supportive environment. APAC services are provided in partnership with the Alabama Department of Human Resources.

 

 

AL.ABAMA MEDIA GROUP

 

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