Adoption » Family Assessment
Family Assessment
The homestudy consists of both a family assessment and an educational program.
The following documents are also required:
- A criminal record check for each applicant and all adults living in the family home
- A prior contact check (PCC) with the Ministry for Children and Families (MCFD)
- A medical reference for each applicant
- Four personal references
- A letter from your employer, stating position, salary, length of employement
- A financial statement including most recent T-4 slips, and a summmary of your assets and liabilities supported by bank statements or other documentation
- A copy of your marriage certificate, if applicable
- A copy of your divorce decree, if applicable
Requirements of a homestudy, as per the Adoption Act Regulations
- (1) For the purposes of sections 6 (1) (b) and 48 (2) (c) of the Act, a homestudy of the prospective adoptive parents respecting their ability to provide for the physical and emotional needs of a child must be prepared by a social worker and must consider and provide for all of the following:
- (a) how the prospective adoptive parents' reasons for adopting a child might affect their ability to meet the needs of the child;
- (b) whether there is or was drug or alcohol use on the part of the prospective adoptive parents, or any member of the household of the prospective adoptive parents, that might limit their ability to protect, nurture and care for the child;
- (c) whether the prospective adoptive parents, or any member of the household of the prospective adoptive parents, have had a child in their care that was found to be in need of protection;
- (d) how the physical and mental health of the prospective adoptive parents impacts on their ability to meet the needs of the child;
- (e) whether the prospective adoptive parents' life experiences might limit or strengthen their ability to parent a child who is added to the family through adoption;
- (f) the developmental, social and behavioral progress of any other child or children of the prospective adoptive parents that relates to the prospective adoptive parents' ability to understand, accept and meet the needs of a child and the compatibility between the child or children in the home and the child to be adopted;
- (g) the prospective adoptive parents' understanding of the child's cultural, racial, linguistic and religious heritage and their willingness to help the child appreciate and integrate that heritage;
- (h) the prospective adoptive parents' attitude about facilitating communication or maintaining relationships with the child's birth family or with any other person who has established a relationship with the child;
- (i) the prospective adoptive parents' ability to provide stable and continuous care of the child;
- (j) a description of the prospective adoptive parents' personalities, interests and values in order to identify the personal factors that may be helpful or limiting in meeting the needs of the child to be adopted;
- (k) the results of a criminal record check that are relevant to the ability of the prospective adoptive parents to protect, nurture and care for the child;
- (l) the results of a prior contact check that are relevant to the ability of the prospective adoptive parents to protect, nurture and care for the child;
- (m) the results of a medical report from a health care provider attesting to the prospective adoptive parents' mental and physical health;
- (n) any other factors that are relevant to the best interests of the child;
- (o) a recommendation as to the prospective adoptive parents' ability to parent a child by adoption.
- (2) In addition to the requirements of subsection (1), a homestudy of the prospective adoptive parents must include an educational component that prepares the prospective adoptive parents for all of the following:
- (a) separation and loss issues respecting the birth parents, the prospective adoptive parents and the child to be adopted;
- (b) the difference between adoptive and biological parenting;
- (c) adoption as a life-long process and how it affects child and adult development;
- (d) the impact of the child's life experiences;
- (e) if applicable, inter-racial and cross-cultural adoption.
Please note: The Hague Convention requires 10 hours of education for international adoption. CHOICES currently meets the education component for all adoptions through a self study guide and a one day workshop. The education component is currently being revised and will likely become a 3 or 4 day seminar.
- (3) If the prospective adoptive parents have applied to adopt a child with special needs, the educational component under subsection (2) must address the specific issues related to the special needs of the child.
