The Final Report: Putting It All Together

Once you’ve completed the paperwork, training hours, interviews, and home visit, your case worker will create your official adoption home study report. This comprehensive document brings together everything they’ve learned about your family and evaluates your readiness to welcome a child through adoption.

What’s Included in a Home Study Report

• Family background and lifestyle
Your case worker summarizes your personal history, relationships, daily routines, and the overall environment you can offer a child.

• Motivation to adopt
This section explains why you’re pursuing adoption, how you’ve prepared emotionally, and the steps you’ve taken to educate yourself.

• Parenting strengths and areas for growth
Every home study highlights your natural strengths as well as areas where additional support, training, or resources could benefit your future child.

• Home environment and support system
Your physical home, safety measures, available space, and the network of people who support you are all documented here. Families can explore helpful home-study tips through Creating a Family: https://creatingafamily.org/adoption/adoption-preparation/home-study/.

• Recommendation for approval
Finally, your case worker provides a professional assessment of your readiness to adopt and notes any considerations agencies or courts should be aware of when placing a child.

Reviewing Your Home Study Report

Before the report is finalized, you’ll have an opportunity to review it for factual accuracy—confirming names, dates, employment history, timelines, and other essential details. While adoptive parents cannot rewrite the narrative or alter the case worker’s professional impressions, you can:

• Request corrections to errors
• Clarify anything that feels incomplete or misunderstood
• Ask questions about language, phrasing, or recommendations

Because your home study will be shared with the court, it plays a vital role in your adoption journey. Taking the time to ensure it accurately represents your family is an important final step before moving forward. For families adopting in Florida, the Florida Department of Children and Families offers additional information on state expectations: https://www.myflfamilies.com/adoption.