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Post Placement Q & A

Q. What are post-placement/supervision visits?

Q. How many post-placement visits are required?

Q. Who will complete our post-placement visits?

Q. What kind of documents does the adoptive family need during post-placement visits?

Q. When do the post-placement visits begin and end?

Q. What do post-placement visits cost?


Q. What are post-placement/supervision visits?

A. Post-placement visits, or supervision visits, are follow-ups to the home study. They occur after a child has been placed with you and consist of visits from a social worker to assess the current status of the child and adoptive parents. You will discuss a variety of topics with the social worker, such as developmental milestones, information from pediatrician visits and how the child and other family members are adjusting. The number of visits varies state to state; however, most states require three on average. The number of required post-placements for your adoption is based on the state where your adoption will finalize - not necessarily where you live.

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Q. How many post-placement visits are required?

A. The number of required post-placement visits varies greatly by state. Typically, the post-placement requirements are based on the state in which the finalization will be completed, but some extraneous factors can alter these conditions. Consult your home study provider for details on the number of post-placement visits needed to finalize your adoption.

For specifics about the number of post-placement visits required by your state, please consult our state page.

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Q. Who will complete our post-placement visits?

A. Because the home study social worker is already familiar with your family and home, he or she can easily determine how your family has responded to the placement of the child. This is why adoptive families usually choose their home study providers to conduct the post-placement visits. However, in some cases you may choose another agency for the post-placement visits, if necessary. In other cases, your home study provider or agency may require that they conduct the post-placement visits, if they carry the necessary licenses.

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Q. What kind of documents does the adoptive family need during post-placement visits?

A. The child’s post-placement checkups and medical records provided by the hospital in which the baby was born are usually the only documents needed for the post-placement visits. Consult your home study provider to inquire of any additional documentation needed for finalization.

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Q. When do the post-placement visits begin and end?

A. For a domestic adoption, post-placement visits begin from 2 to 4 weeks after the child is placed in your home. Additionally, some states require telephone contact within one week.

Post-placement visit regulations vary among states, but typically some type of contact between you and your home study provider will be made once per month. For example, Kansas requires that in-home visits occur twice per month for the first three months and then monthly until finalization; Missouri requires one in-home visit and one telephone conference on alternate months for six months; Ohio simply requires an in-home visit once per month for six months.

For international adoptions, the first post-placement visit is required anywhere from the first month to the sixth month of the family returning home with the child, depending on the country from which the family adopted and the agency they chose. The adoption is usually finalized in the child’s home country, but some states require another finalization, which may require additional post-placement visits. There are multiple variables that affect the number of required post-placement visits in an international adoption, so please consult your international home study provider for further details.

For the frequency, duration and type (in-home or telephone) of domestic post-placement visits, please visit our state page.

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Q. What do post-placement visits cost?

A. Because agency expenses differ and states require a different amount of post-placement visits, costs associated with post-placements vary greatly among each adoption. In states that allow for telephone interviews alongside in-home visits, post-placements may cost less due to less due to unnecessary travel expenses incurred by the home study social worker.

Court reports can also add to post-placement fees. When researching potential home study providers, be sure to ask about their post-placement fees as well as their home study fees.

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