Home Study Recap: Part 1

We had our first Home Study this past Saturday. We will go through at least 2 Home Studies, and should only need another one if we need to clarify anything from those. Our second one is actually set for this coming Saturday, so we don’t have to wait for too long. This one was already almost a month after we were actually approved to go to Home Study.

This time around we each talked to the Case Worker separately, and then took her on a “tour” of the house and backyard. While Gabe and I each ended talking about more or less topics here’s what was covered:

• Our entire life story. Basically, you start at childhood and talk about how you got to today.
• Any childhood traumas. For me, this included a lot of questions about my parents divorce, what that was like, and how it was handled.
• The names/location/occupation/personalities of each member of your immediate family.
• Where we went to High School, College, etc.
• All of the jobs we’ve held and how we feel about our current job.
• Our physical/mental/emotional health (this actually was literally just the question “how is your emotional health?” so was easier than it sounds).
• How our families handled talking about sex and how that impacts our parenting.
• How close we are to our immediate family (how often do we see/talk to them).

While it was really in-depth, our Case Worker was very nice and so this felt a lot more like a conversation than an interrogation which was good. I’ve been really worried about this – since I’m estranged from my mother, I was worried this would be a red flag that I would struggle to explain but it turned out okay.

I actually found a guidelines for what the Home Study covers here. We went over some of it the night before, and it was helpful to have some idea of what to expect.

Next weeks Home Study will include interviewing us both together, and going over our budget. We also will take another look at the new baby’s room since we didn’t totally have the bed set up last time.

After that, our Home Study notes will all get typed up (this could take up to two weeks, it is our entire life story after all) and then sent to committee. The committee meets every Tuesday, and will either clear us for placement or come back with any questions.

Since we’re moving in to the final stretch (of the process to be placed, anyway) here’s a picture of Oliver and his Big Brother shirt.