Idaho Administrative Code › Title IDAPA 16 - Health and Welfare, Department of › Rule 16.04.18 - CHILDREN'S AGENCIES AND RESIDENTIAL LICENSING › CHILDREN'S AGENCIES PROVIDING ADOPTION SERVICES › Section 16.04.18.362 - FAMILY HOME STUDY, APPLICATION PROCESS, AND CONTENT

Current through August 31, 2023
An agency must complete or obtain a home study and
				  application before approving the home for the placement of a child.
				  (4-6-23)
01.
Required
				Information
. The home study must include the following: (4-6-23)
a. When there is a change in persons residing
				in the home, the applicant must notify the agency of the change by the next
				working day, and the new adult member must complete a background check;
				(4-6-23)
b. Verification that the
				age of the applicant complies with Section
				16-1502, Idaho Code;
				(4-6-23)
c. Names, including maiden
				or other names used; (4-6-23)
d.
				Social Security Number; (4-6-23)
e.
				Education; (4-6-23)
f. Verification
				of marriages and divorces; (4-6-23)
g. Religious and cultural practices,
				including their willingness and ability to accommodate or provide care to a
				child of a different race, religion, or culture; (4-6-23)
h. A statement of income and financial
				resources and the family's management of these resources; (4-6-23)
i. Marital relationship, if applicable,
				including decision-making, communication, and roles within the family;
				(4-6-23)
j. Description of
				individuals and family dynamics with each member of the household;
				(4-6-23)
k. Documentation of any
				current or past family problems, including mental illness, substance abuse,
				addiction, and medical conditions; (4-6-23)
l. Previous criminal convictions of child
				abuse and neglect; (4-6-23)
m.
				Family history, including childhood experiences and the applicant's parents'
				methods of discipline and problem solving; (4-6-23)
n. Special needs of the applicant's children
				and a description of how they will adjust to a new member of the household;
				(4-6-23)
o. Interests and hobbies;
				(4-6-23)
p. Adequacy of the house,
				property, and neighborhood as determined by onsite observations;
				(4-6-23)
q. Child care and
				parenting skills; (4-6-23)
r.
				Current methods of discipline; (4-6-23)
s. Demonstrated understanding of the care
				that must be provided to the children served by the agency or express a
				willingness to learn how to provide that care; (4-6-23)
t. The applicant has adequate time to provide
				care and supervision for children; (4-6-23)
u. Demonstration of a home life that gives
				children the emotional stability they need. No marital or personal problems may
				exist within the family that would result in undue emotional strain in the home
				or be harmful to the interest of children placed in the home;
				(4-6-23)
v. A medical statement for
				each applicant and members of the household, signed by a medical professional,
				within the twelve (12) month period prior to initial approval for adoption,
				indicating they are in such physical and mental health so as to not adversely
				affect either the health or quality of care for children placed in the home;
				(4-6-23)
w. Three (3) satisfactory
				references, one (1) of which may be from a person related to the applicant(s);
				(4-6-23)
x. Names of each member of
				the household; this includes any persons who reside at the applicant's address;
				(4-6-23)
y. Each adoptive parent's
				reasons for applying to be an adoptive parent and prior efforts to adopt;
				(4-6-23)
z. Understanding of the
				permanence of adoption; (4-6-23)
aa. The family's prior and current
				experiences with adoption; (4-6-23)
bb. The attitudes toward adoption by
				immediate and extended members of the family and other persons who reside in
				the home; (4-6-23)
cc. Family's
				attitudes toward the adoptive child's birth family and willingness to allow
				them contact with the child after adoption; (4-6-23)
dd. Applicant's experience with other support
				agencies or resources in their communities and their comfort level in seeking
				help from services outside the family; (4-6-23)
ee. Applicant's awareness of the potential
				for the child to have identity issues and loss regarding separation from birth
				parents; (4-6-23)
ff. Applicant's
				ability to accept a child's background and help the child cope with their past;
				(4-6-23)
gg. Applicant's
				understanding that the child will have questions about birth parents and other
				relatives; (4-6-23)
hh.
				Specifications of children preferred by the family that include the number of
				children, and the age, gender, race, ethnic background, social, emotional, and
				educational characteristics; (4-6-23)
ii. Information on the adoptive family's
				medical insurance coverage including insurance carrier, policy number,
				eligibility of new adoptive family member(s), limitations, and exclusions; and
				(4-6-23)
jj. How the household will
				fulfill their transportation needs. (4-6-23)