The home study involves a series of home visits with the Recruitment Coordinator. Visits are scheduled day or evening and all family members are involved with the process. Some of the interviews are conducted on the individual basis and some require full family participation. The better we get to know the perspective foster family, the easier it is to place a child who will thrive in the family’s environment. During the home study, we focus on a variety of areas, including:

• Motivation for fostering;
• Interest in children;
• Family relationships, routines, activities, beliefs, and values
• The family’s biological children, if any
• The family’s work situation and availability to provide supervision and support;
• How the perspective foster parents were raised and life experiences;
• Number and profile of the children that the family desires to foster;
• Available space in the home;
• Tenants or others who share the home;
• Agency procedures and policies

The home study cannot be approved until the applicants have completed the pre-service training. If there are concerns during the home study, they are shared with the family. Sometimes there are issues concerning space, boarders, or perhaps a family member who does not want foster children in the home. The Recruitment Coordinator is both open and sensitive in handling special situations. The family’s profile must balance with the needs of the children to be placed in foster care. Having a child placed in a new home may take days, weeks or even months. Much depends on the family’s flexibility and situation. Once a new home is opened, the foster family begins to develop a working relationship with their Foster Care Coordinator.