[Kat-L]

Originally Posted by Abbe

Does anyone know - can you adopt without a home study? What if you don't pass because of something in your husband's past - will you never be able to adopt?

I appreciate any input even if it's not what I want to hear - I need to know the brutal truth.

Thank you,
Abbe

You cannot adopt without a homestudy. Even if you go through an attorney instead of an adoption agency, you need a homestudy. Even when adopting the child of a relative, a homestudy is required. You can't get around that. Whether or not your homestudy would be approved depends on what your husband did. Fingerprints are required for EVERY adoption. If your husband has been arrested, the truth will come out. Whether or not your homestudy is rejected depends on what he did. If smoked marijauana when he was 18 and he learned his lesson after being caught, then you would probably be approved. If he has any arrests for child abuse, sexual assault, (any crimes against children or if he was found guilty of any sexual or violent crimes against people such as assault with a deadly weapon ), then a social worker cannot place the child in the home. A child can't be adopted by a convicted felon or a sex offender.


Some serious crimes (like one DUI), they might consider the family if years have passed and the person is now sober, completed classes or attended AA and has had no arrests since. It's usually considered on a case by case basis.

If you've been arrested, it will show up on the fingerprint card. If you haven't previously disclosed this to the social worker so she's expecting it, she'll immediately reject your homestudy for being dishonest (by withholding information). So, the first thing you have to do is tell the person doing your homestudy, my husband did ________. If you are honest and upfront, depending on the crime, they may work with you. If you don't mention it and the social worker finds out later, you will not be approved.