What You Really Need to Know About a Home Study

Imagine you had an emergency and had to leave your children with a stranger. You’d want to know everything about them, right? As a Foster Care & Adoption agency, PCHAS also wants to know everything about the families we trust to care for vulnerable children. That's why our verification process is a shared partnership designed to prepare your family and build trust on both sides—not just a checklist of requirements. As you participate in our top-notch training, provide documents and answer tons of questions, we’ll get to know you and be able to round out the process with a Home Study report that provides a spot-on description and assessment of your family.

To get the information we need, we’ll visit your home (typically a combination of virtual and in-person) to ensure it is safe and meets the requirements. But, we’ll actually spend most of our time getting to know you by asking questions about all the areas of your life. Our goal is to bring your family to life, on paper. When we do this well, it’s easy for licensing representatives to see that you meet all the criteria and for placement staff to know that you’re the right family for the children they’re trying to match.

Here are some pointers that we think you’ll find helpful:

• Take a deep breath. We will give you instructions and details as you move through the verification process. Just take one step at a time and let us know if you start feeling overwhelmed.
  
• You are not preparing your home for a photo spread in a magazine. You’ll want to tidy things up because guests are coming to look all over your house, but we want to see how you really live. We want a good picture of what it will be like for kids to live in your home and be part of your family.
  
• We’ll be asking many personal questions. The best way to prepare is to think about how you became who you are today. There’s a lot to celebrate in life, but all of us experience losses and challenges, too. We’re not looking for perfection—we’re looking for people who have learned to cope in healthy ways. We want to hear your story, things you’ve learned and ways you’ve grown.
• Home study visits can be lengthy and we want you to be comfortable so that you can focus and share openly. It’s okay to ask for breaks or stop to eat a meal.
  
• Remember why you’re doing this: there are children in our community who need a safe, loving and nurturing family. We are grateful for your willingness to share your life with us.
  

Ready to get started? Connect with a Foster Care & Adoption Guide at 281-324-0544 or fosteradopt@pchas.org. Our team is here for you.