Step 5: Mutual Assessment and Homestudy

What is it?

This is the time that the agency licensing or family worker meets with you in your home to talk about your personal history, family relationships, reasons for wanting to foster or adopt, and the supports you have available to you. They will determine whether your home is safe and has sufficient space for a foster or adopted child. The point of this step is to help you and the agency make the best possible decisions about whether placement of a child in your home will or will not work out and to determine the characteristics of the children whom you are most able to parent.

What do I have to do during this step?

Applicants for foster care or adoption are responsible to:

• Get agreement among the members of their household to proceed with the process.
• Cooperate with the homestudy and the home visits.
• Ensure that all necessary information is supplied completely and accurately.
• If you have not already met with experienced foster/adoptive parents, now is a good time to do this.

Don’t be afraid to ask for the help you need to be qualified. You can even ask to delay this step if you feel you or members of your household are not yet ready.

If you are not ready or are not able to be licensed for fostering or adoption, please consider other roles. You have valuable abilities that can be put to work for children. Consider work as a community volunteer, respite worker, office assistant, tutor, mentor to teens, babysitter and/or assistant recruiter. Discuss these options and others you may think of with your social worker.