Gather
Collect the documents and references your provider requests.
Lesson 2 of 5
How do we get approved?
Prepare for your home study, understand the application, and know what happens after approval.
A clear path forward
What happens first?
For Heart to Heart families, the home study comes first.
Home study
Complete the evaluation with an appropriate provider.
Application
Submit your completed home study and requested information to Heart to Heart.
Approval
The team reviews your file and helps you prepare for the next stage.
A closer look
What does a home study really look at?
The social worker gets to know your family, your home, and your preparation to parent. The visit is part of a broader evaluation.
- Your relationships and support system
- Your home and everyday life
- Health, finances, and family history
- Parenting ideas and adoption preparation
You are preparing to parent. You do not need a showroom.
Explore the home study steps
Stay organized
How can we keep the pieces moving?
Schedule
Arrange interviews and the home visit.
Learn
Complete the education your provider requires.
Keep current
Respond to requests and share meaningful changes.
Your provider supplies the exact requirements for your state and situation.
What happens after we apply?
Heart to Heart reviews your completed application and home study. The team may ask for clarification or additional information.
More about life after approvalUse the waiting time
Start gathering material for your family profile. Continue adoption education and write down questions for your team.
Approved? The next stage begins.
Onboarding, profile preparation, and keeping your preferences current help you get ready to be considered for adoption situations.
A moment to make it yours
Make room for the next step.
A home study has several moving pieces. Choose one and build a practical next step.
Documents
Gather one piece at a time.
Your provider supplies the exact list. Start with what you have, and ask about what is missing.
Our next steps
Your selections will gather here. Choose an idea to see its available PDF resource.
The home visit
Prepare for a conversation, too.
A home visit is part of a broader evaluation of your family and preparation to parent.
Our next steps
Your selections will gather here. Choose an idea to see its available PDF resource.
Education
Make space to learn together.
Confirm the education requirements with your provider and keep completion documentation.
Our next steps
Your selections will gather here. Choose an idea to see its available PDF resource.
The application
Keep the order clear.
For Heart to Heart, the completed home study comes before the agency application.
Our next steps
Your selections will gather here. Choose an idea to see its available PDF resource.
A little practice. No score. Your responses stay on this page.
Explore at your own pace
What would you like to understand more deeply?
Open a question for the full explanation. Everything opens right here. Find an answer in this lesson.
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A home study is the legal document and evaluation used to determine whether you are approved to adopt.
A licensed social worker gathers information about you, your family, your home and your preparation for adoption. For Heart to Heart Adoptions families, completing the home study is the first formal step.
Why Do Adoptive Families Need a Home Study?
A home study gives the placing agency and the courts a professional evaluation of your readiness to adopt. It is not simply permission from Heart to Heart Adoptions. It becomes part of the legal adoption record.
The process usually includes interviews, a home visit, written records, references, background clearances and adoption education.
What Will the Social Worker Want to Know About Us?
Expect to talk about your childhood, relationships, family, work, finances, health, support system, parenting ideas and reasons for adopting.
You will also talk about adoption itself, including birth families, open adoption and how you plan to talk with your child about adoption. Some questions may lead to conversations you have not had with each other before. That is part of the preparation.
Do We Have to Talk About Difficult Things in Our Past?
Yes. If something significant has happened in your life, discuss it honestly with your home study provider.
A difficult experience does not automatically mean you cannot adopt. Hiding important information can create a much larger problem later.
What Happens During the Home Visit?
The social worker visits your home and talks with you there. Your home needs to meet applicable requirements, but the visit is not a decorating contest.
You do not need a finished nursery, and you do not need to spend three days cleaning the baseboards. The social worker is looking at the home as part of the larger picture of your family and your preparation to parent.
Do We Have to Own a Home to Adopt?
No. Families can adopt while renting. The question is whether your living situation is appropriate for your family and meets applicable requirements, not whether your name is on a mortgage.
How Much Does a Home Study Cost?
For Utah families using Heart to Heart Adoptions, the current fee for a complete home study is $850. A home study update is currently $250.
Because adoption costs involve more than the home study, use the full cost question when planning your budget.
A few more questions
Is a home study just a house inspection?
No. The home visit is one part of a broader evaluation of your family and preparation to adopt.
Do we need a finished nursery?
No. A completed nursery is not the purpose of the home study.
Can we rent our home?
Yes. Owning a home is not a general requirement for adoption.
Can something in our past prevent us from adopting?
It depends on the circumstances. Talk honestly with your home study provider rather than trying to decide on your own that something will disqualify you.
Do we need the home study before applying to Heart to Heart Adoptions?
Yes. Heart to Heart Adoptions’ current process asks families to complete the home study first.
How much does Heart to Heart Adoptions charge for a Utah home study?
The current complete home study fee is $850. the “How Much Does Adoption Through Heart to Heart Adoptions Cost?” answer for the complete fee schedule.
Once you know what a home study is, the next question is practical: How do we get it done?
The exact requirements depend on your state and provider, but most families move through the same basic pieces: paperwork, background clearances, interviews, a home visit and adoption education.
Who Can Complete Our Home Study?
If you live in Utah, Heart to Heart Adoptions can complete your home study. Families outside Utah need an appropriately licensed or authorized home study provider in their own state, and Heart to Heart Adoptions can help identify providers.
Heart to Heart Adoptions’ current orientation notes that New York residents must use a licensed adoption agency for the home study.
What Documents Will We Need?
Your provider will give you the exact list. Expect records involving identity, family history, health, finances, insurance, references and background clearances.
Start gathering requested documents early. A home study can slow down simply because one form, clearance or reference has not arrived.
What Happens During the Interviews?
The interviews help the social worker understand your family rather than simply verify paperwork. You may talk together and separately.
Expect questions about your relationship, childhood, parenting, work, finances, health, support system, adoption expectations and the kind of openness you are prepared to maintain.
What Adoption Education Is Required?
Heart to Heart Adoptions’ current orientation calls for approximately 10 to 12 hours of adoption education. Ask your Heart to Heart team how this guide applies to your education requirement. Heart to Heart Adoptions also provides Creating a Family resources.
Keep your completion certificates. More important, keep learning after the required hours are finished.
How Long Does a Home Study Take?
There is no single timeline. It depends on the provider, how quickly you complete paperwork, background-clearance timing and state requirements.
The part you can control is responsiveness. Return forms, schedule interviews and complete education promptly.
What Does a Heart to Heart Adoptions Home Study Cost?
For Utah families, the current Heart to Heart Adoptions fees are $850 for a complete home study, $250 for an update and $150 for each post-placement visit.
A few more questions
Can Heart to Heart Adoptions complete our home study outside Utah?
If you live outside Utah, you will generally use an appropriate provider in your state. Heart to Heart Adoptions can help identify providers.
How much education should we plan for?
Heart to Heart Adoptions’ current orientation calls for approximately 10 to 12 hours.
Does this guide count?
Ask your Heart to Heart team how this guide applies to your education requirement, and keep your completion documentation.
What slows a home study down?
Missing documents, delayed clearances, scheduling and provider or state processing can all affect timing.
What happens when it is complete?
You are ready to submit your Heart to Heart Adoptions application.
Once your home study is complete, you are ready to submit your application to Heart to Heart Adoptions.
The order matters: complete the home study first, then apply.
What Do We Need Before We Apply?
You need your completed home study and the information requested in Heart to Heart Adoptions’ application. If something is missing, the approval process may pause while the team waits for it.
How Much Is the Application Fee?
The current application fee is $2,000 and is paid after the home study is complete.
Heart to Heart Adoptions has intentionally kept the initial application fee lower than the larger fees that come later in the process.
What Happens After We Submit the Application?
Heart to Heart Adoptions’ approval committee reviews the application and completed home study. The committee may ask for clarification or additional information before making a decision.
Most complete files are currently reviewed in approximately two to four weeks.
What Should We Do While We Wait?
Start working seriously on your adoptive family profile and continue your adoption education.
You do not need to sit still while the application is being reviewed. The work you do now can make the next stage easier.
What Happens When We Are Approved?
You will receive an approval notice and move into onboarding with Heart to Heart Adoptions. That is when the focus shifts from qualifying to adopt to preparing to be considered for adoption situations.
A few more questions
Do we apply before our home study is complete?
No. Heart to Heart Adoptions’ current process puts the home study first.
What is the current application fee?
$2,000. the “How Much Does Adoption Through Heart to Heart Adoptions Cost?” answer for the complete financial picture.
Who reviews the application?
Heart to Heart Adoptions’ approval committee reviews the application and home study.
How long does review usually take?
Can we work on our profile while waiting?
Yes. This is a good time to begin your profile and continue education.
Approval is an important milestone, but it is not a match.
It means Heart to Heart Adoptions has reviewed your completed file and you can move into the next stage: preparing to be considered for adoption situations.
How Will We Know We Are Approved?
Heart to Heart Adoptions sends an approval notice. The team then moves you into onboarding so you know what to expect next.
What Happens During Our Onboarding Call?
Heart to Heart Adoptions’ current process includes an onboarding call with Haley. Use the call to review the process, ask questions and make sure your preferences are current. The onboarding call is important, but it does not have to be completed before you can be presented with adoption situations.
If something has changed since you applied, say so now.
What Should We Work on Next?
Your family profile becomes one of your main jobs. Your home study explains that you are approved to adopt. Your profile helps an expectant mother understand who you are.
Should We Continue Adoption Education?
Yes. Required education gives you a starting point. Waiting gives you time to learn more about open adoption, prenatal exposure, birth-parent relationships and parenting an adopted child.
What If Something Changes After Approval?
Tell Heart to Heart Adoptions and your home study provider about meaningful changes involving your household, address, employment or other circumstances that may affect the home study or your ability to proceed.
Do not wait until a presenting call to mention a major change.
A few more questions
Does approval mean we are matched?
No. Approval means you can move into the next stage of the process.
What is onboarding for?
It helps you understand the next steps, ask questions and confirm current preferences.
What should we work on after approval?
Your family profile and continued adoption education.
Should we report meaningful changes after approval?
Yes. Tell Heart to Heart Adoptions and your home study provider.
What is the next major stage?
Preparing your profile and waiting to be considered for matching.