What the home study may cover
- Why you want to adopt and your expectations
- Family relationships and household members
- Physical, mental, and emotional health information
- Criminal-history and abuse/neglect screening
- Financial stability
- Home safety and available space
- Parenting and discipline
- Your support system
- Your readiness to meet a child's needs
What Texas DFPS calls it
Texas DFPS also refers to the adoption home study as a Pre-adoptive Home Screening. Its published guidance describes interviews, household information, background review, home safety, and other factors used to assess readiness for adoption.
Who may be interviewed?
Depending on the adoption path, interviews may include prospective adoptive parents, children already in the home, and other household members. A home visit is also commonly part of the process.
How should I prepare?
Complete requested paperwork, gather documents promptly, be ready to discuss your reasons for adopting, and address any practical safety items the agency identifies. The goal is not to make your home or family look perfect. The goal is to provide accurate information and demonstrate readiness.
How long does it take?
There is no universal timeline. Scheduling, document collection, background checks, interviews, training, and follow-up items can all affect completion time.
What happens after the home study?
The next step depends on the adoption path and the outcome of the screening. An approved family may move toward matching or other adoption-specific preparation.
Texas DFPS publishes home-study guidance for families pursuing adoption from state care. Other adoption paths can have different requirements.
Read Texas DFPS home-study information
General information only. This page is educational and is not legal advice. Matching Hearts can confirm what its current home-study process requires for your adoption path.