Social Services

Our home study and post placement services

In order to complete an international adoption, all families must go through home study and post adoption assessments. Both of these processes are done within the family’s state of residence. An approved home study is necessary before you can begin the adoption process within the country of origin. Post adoption reports are completed after you are home with your new child.

All God’s Children offers home study and post adoption report services within the states of Oregon, Washington, Michigan and Ohio. For all other states, families will work with social workers associated with agencies licensed to conduct international home studies. Our Social Services staff works closely with each social worker to inform them of the home study requirements for the country of origin. Our Country Directors are always available to address any questions or concerns on topics such as developmental delays, attachment and bonding, sensory integration, institutionalization, etc.

Home Study

A home study is a profile composed by a social worker and used by the agency and international government to assess your petition to adopt. The goal of a home study is also to prepare and educate each family on the realities of an international adoption. Home study assessments will vary from state to state. The typical home study will consist of personal interviews, home visits, background checks, medical checks, financial analysis and review of character references. At completion, the social worker will write an 8-10 page report that will be submitted with the rest of your paperwork to the country.

We highly recommend that you work with one of AGCI's Cooperating Agencies. Agencies not on the list must be licensed in their state to conduct international home studies and will be considered on a case by case basis prior to starting the home study process.

As you make a decision about which home study agency to use, it is important to be in agreement with your social worker as to the length of time it will take to complete the home study. All agencies and all families work at different paces. It is important to choose an agency that will meet your needs. Please remember to ask the following questions before you make a final decision about which agency to use for a home study:

1. What will be the total cost for the home study including the required number of post adoption assessments for the country that we are adopting from?
2. How long will it take to issue a completed home study once we have supplied you with all the required information and documentation?
3. Is the agency licensed to perform international home studies in my/our state?
4. Is the social worker licensed in my/our state and employed or contracted through my/our home study agency?

We recommend that families start the home study process simultaneously with their adoption paperwork through AGCI. This is due to the fact that some documents are required for both processes and ordering or obtaining the documents simultaneously will help to prevent unnecessary document duplication. Also, AGCI does not allow expedited home studies.

Post adoption

After you are home with your child, your social worker will make a few more visits to your home to perform post adoption assessments and reports. These post adoption reports are a requirement mandated by each country of origin. The required number of post adoption reports will vary from country to country. Your social worker will make a visit to your home and subsequently submit a short report along with a number of photos of your new child.

These reports are extremely important to the countries with whom we work. The countries with whom we work are very interested in the well being of each child that has been united with their family. Sending these reports in a timely manner also helps AGCI to maintain better relationships with our international partners.