Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children FAQ

1. Tell us a little about the founding and development of your organization?
   Spence-Chapin’s roots can be traced to the early 1900s and the pioneering work of Clara Spence, and Dr. and Mrs. Henry Chapin, who independently established nurseries out of concern for homeless infants abandoned in hospitals and shelters. The Spence and Chapin nurseries each broke new ground in developing social work techniques for adoption and, after the merger, continued to pioneer in the adoption field. Today, Spence-Chapin is proud of our role as a prominent voice and leading advocate for adoption, and of our commitment to the wellbeing of all members of the adoption triad: birth parents, adoptive parents, and their children.
2. How are your adoption home study and your organization unique?
   Our home study is a non-judgmental, strengths-based process. We work with all families, regardless of race, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Our home studies are provided by a licensed social worker who can also provide your post-placement visits. When you do your home study, with us, you have access to our extensive community events, therapy, and educational supports throughout your adoptive family’s life. The types and variety of lifelong supportive services are something few agencies can offer. Over 100 years of experience goes into every home study. We provide home studies at a low, flat fee.
3. Why are you passionate about adoption and the home study process?
   We believe every child deserves to have a family and that adoption is a viable option for building a family. A good home study is the foundation of a successful adoption. The home study helps us prepare a family for what it will be like to be an adoptive parent. We provide families with supports, resources in their community, and education about adoption, so our families feel prepared for the families they are building. A good home study makes the prospective parent feel more knowledgeable and comfortable with their decision to adopt.
4. How long is an adoption home study valid?
   That varies depending on what state you reside in, whether you are adopting domestically, or whether you are adopting from a Hague country or a non-Hague country. Some states, like New Jersey, require annual home study updates for domestic home studies. For international home studies, the I-800A approval from USCIS for a Hague adoption is 15 months and the I-600A approval from USCIS for a non-Hague adoption is 18 months.
5. Approximately how much time is necessary to complete an adoption home study by your organization?
   We can complete your home study within two months of receiving your completed paperwork.
6. Can adoptive parents use a home study completed by your organization to adopt a child born in another state?
   Absolutely. We will also support your ICPC filing by providing ICPC with any documents they require which we obtained during your home study process.
7. If you complete my home study, do you also have to complete my post-placement visits?
   Typically, yes. New Jersey requires this continuity and although New York does not require this continuity, families typically feel most comfortable completing their post-placement supervision with the agency who already knows them through the home study.
8. How many post-placement visits does your organization require?
   We follow state and country guidelines so that will vary depending on what state you live in and whether you are adopting domestically or internationally.
9. What is some advice you can give to potential adoptive families about the home study process? What should they be prepared for?
   Be yourself! We encourage you to use the home study to make sure that your goals and objectives get met; we will need to ask you certain questions about your background and childrearing plans but the home study is a great time to ask questions that are probably on your mind. You will have an adoption social worker dedicated to your family who has a wealth of adoption experience. During the home study we welcome you to voice your areas of concern – for example, you might wonder about the challenges related openness in adoption, or you may want to seek guidance on how to talk to your family or employer about your adoption plan. Think of the home study as an opportunity to learn as much as you can about adoption and your family from an adoption professional.
10. What do your home study social workers look for in a home and a family when they visit potential adoptive families' homes?
    We do have to tour your home and check for certain safety measures such as working smoke/carbon monoxide detectors, a suitable source of potable water, and working utilities. The home safety inspection represents a small portion of the time that you and your social worker will spend together. The visits with your social worker will include conversations to support your preparation to parent through adoption and to help the social worker get to know you, your support systems, your parenting philosophies and what life will look like for a child in your family. We are not looking for a family to “fit” any mold but rather we are looking at your ability to make a lifelong commitment to a child.
11. Are you Hague accredited, and if not, does your international home study comply with Hague International Standards?
    Yes, Spence-Chapin has been Hague-accredited since such accreditation began and our experience in international adoption is long-standing; we began our first international placement program from South Korea and since that time have had programs in China, Moldova, Russia and other countries. We currently have international adoption programs in South Africa, Colombia, and Bulgaria. We additionally provide home study services to families adopting from countries outside of those programs.
12. Do you have experience in completing the home study and working with international placement companies?
    Absolutely. As a Hague-accredited agency, Spence-Chapin provides home studies to families adopting internationally. We have international placement programs in South Africa, Colombia and Bulgaria. We additionally provide home study and post-adoption/post-placement supervision to families adopting from other countries. In such cases we work with your Primary Provider to ensure that we tailor your home study to any unique requirements of the country you are adopting from. We also have worked extensively with families completing international kinship adoptions. Our international home study program is available to families adopting from any country. Our social workers facilitate pre-adoption trainings to prepare families for the anticipated needs of children adopted internationally. These trainings address issues like the impact of institutionalization, attachment, trauma and loss, behavior management techniques for children with trauma histories, how adoption impacts a child’s identity development, and more.
13. Are there other services and benefits you would like to share about your company?
    Spence-Chapin provides lifelong post-adoption services. We offer social events for adoptive families, play-based groups for school-aged children to explore their adoption identity, and a mentorship program for adopted tweens and teens. We also provide trainings and workshops on topics like attachment, transracial parenting, openness in adoption, and talking to your child about adoption; these workshops often feature speakers with a personal connection to adoption such as adult adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents. Our clinicians provide therapy for adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth parents. We also offer post-adoption consultations for families who are struggling with a particular issue and need focused, individual support. Our consultations have helped parents through challenges including managing difficult child behavior, navigating complexities in open adoption, managing the pre-adoption wait period, addressing learning differences in school, and making a plan of how to talk to their child or family about adoption. Whatever your adoption needs are we will have a service to support you.