Home Study Services

For almost fifty years, Wide Horizons For Children has had a team of expert social workers preparing and supporting adoptive families. If you live in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey or certain areas of New York*, we can conduct your home study.

What is a home study?

Despite the name, a home study is a comprehensive process that helps you prepare for adoption — not just an inspection of your home. Your social worker will guide you through the process, typically meeting with you about 3–4 times. Wide Horizons will also help you gather required supporting documentation such as medicals, clearances, and references. Your social worker will get to know you by interviewing you about your background, family, career and hopes for adoption. You will also receive education to help prepare you to parent a child through adoption. The last step is generating a home study report that will represent you throughout your adoption process.

Wide Horizons’ home studies are customized so that you meet the requirements of your state, USCIS (if adopting internationally), and your chosen country/state of adoption.

How can WHFC help?

Our home study services are available to families adopting through WHFC adoption programs and for families adopting through another agency’s program.

If you are adopting through a WHFC adoption program and do not live in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey or certain areas of New York*, we will guide you towards agencies in your state who can partner with us and provide your local services.

Our social workers are highly experienced with both domestic and international adoption, and will be an invaluable asset to you. Think of them as an adoption expert who is available to you at many key phases of your adoption process and will provide skilled support once you are home with a child. While we know this process can cause anxiety, we typically find that everyone is at ease within the first meeting with their social worker. We aim to balance discussing what we need to, without being unnecessarily intrusive.

* WHFC provide home study services in the following NY areas: New York City, Long Island and the counties of Albany, Colombia, Duchess, Fulton, Green, Montgomery, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Sarasota, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester.

Additional Questions

Q: Can Wide Horizons For Children conduct my home study?

A: Probably. If you are adopting through a WHFC program and live in MA, NH, VT, NJ or parts of NY*, the answer is a resounding “Yes”. If you live in those areas, but wish to adopt domestically or from a country not represented by WHFC, see the guidance below.

• International: Due to US regulations, all international adoptions must have a Primary Provider, a US accredited adoption agency who oversees the adoption case, has experience in the particular country of adoption, and ensures certain standards are maintained that reflect the laws of the sending country. Agencies specialize in particular countries and WHFC only acts as primary provider for Colombia, Burundi and the Philippines. This means that we can provide your home study services if you are adopting through a WHFC program or a program of another US accredited adoption agency. If you have interest in a country WHFC does not represent, we can easily provide you with referrals to agencies who work in your country of interest.
• Domestic: WHFC is happy to partner with most out of state placement agencies or attorneys. However, there are state to state nuances so please consult with us before determining that you wish to work with a specific out of state resource. For example, families in Massachusetts need to work with agencies only, not attorneys directly.

Q: I have a connection in a country that can help me adopt. Can WHFC conduct my home study?

A: It depends. Even if you have a connection abroad, you must still identify a Primary Provider agency (US-based accredited agency) as described above. WHFC can be a Primary Provider in Colombia, Burundi and the Philippines only. For other countries, another Primary Provider must be identified and WHFC can provide local services only. We are happy to offer some suggestions of Primary Providers should you need them.

Q: How much does a home study cost?

A: For comprehensive fee information, please download our Adoption Guide. Home study costs are built into the fee sheets for each of our country programs. Additionally, there is a fee sheet specific to cases in which WHFC is providing local services (home study and post placement) only.