Decide that you want to be a foster parent. You are waiting for classes. You do the background check. Then comes the home study process. The home study process for foster care can be long and very intrusive. Keep in mind that there is good reason to conduct a thorough background check and home study. If you do, you will feel less stressed. It depends on the agency, but you can expect your home study interview to last several hours over the course of several days. The following are some topics and questions that you and your partner are likely to be asked:

Topic number one: its background

You will have a thorough background check that includes, but is not limited to:

1. FBI fingerprints
2. Work history for at least 10 years
3. A letter from your employer and possibly previous employers.
4. Recommendation letters
5. Credit check
6. Previous physical and medical history, including hospitalizations and mental health counseling
7. Statement of financial responsibility that can include pay stubs, IRS records, bank account statements, and budget planning. You don’t have to be wealthy, but you do have to show that you can be financially responsible for a child regardless of foster care payments.

Topic number two: Why do you want to be a foster parent and are you prepared for the implications of foster care?

Possible questions include:

1. Why do you want to adopt?
2. Fertility, if applicable: Have you solved any infertility problems? Have you grieved enough about your ability to conceive? What if you are in the middle of fostering a child (or possibly adopting) and conceiving?
3. How do you see that being a foster parent will change your life? Are you ready for those changes?
4. Tell us about your strengths and weaknesses.
5. What would other people say about your ability to be a parent?
6. What kind of support system do you have? Are they open to the reception process?
7. Are you willing to host children with special needs or placement considerations? Examples include: minority races, children exposed to drugs or addicts, sibling groups, older children, and children with autism or mental retardation.

Theme number three: Your childhood

Possible questions include:

1. Tell me about your childhood.
2. Describe your parents’ relationship.
3. How did your parents discipline you and your siblings? What would you do the same as your parents and what would you do differently?
4. If you had a trauma in your childhood, how did you overcome it or is it still affecting your life today?

Topic number four: your current and past relationships, including your own children, if applicable.

Tell us about your current (and past) relationships. In the home study application, you can expect that you need to list all previous significant relationships, what they were like, and how they dissolved. At the interview, you may be asked more questions to clarify. You will be asked about your own children and how they will react if you become a foster parent. They might even interview your children.

Topic number five: your parenting practices

1. Tell us about your strengths and weaknesses.
2. What would other people say about your ability to be a parent?
3. How will you bond with a foster child?
4. How will you deal with visits?
5. Planning to use a Life Book with your breeding locations? How are you involved in this process?
6. When the child leaves home and is reunited, how will you feel?
7. How will you discipline your children?

This is your opportunity to emphasize that you will unconditionally care for the child. Emphasize that if you encounter problems, you are willing to seek professional help to resolve them. The most important thing is that you are honest. Intentionally withholding or falsifying information in a home study is grounds for prosecution. Homeschooling workers are more concerned with parenting, not having a “perfect” life. They want to see that you have had problems and that they can overcome them.