6 Tips for Communicating with Your Adoption Social Worker

Always be open to the questions or topics the Social Worker may ask you for your home study. They will ask you about your medical background, finances, and criminal background. They will want to know about your home and neighborhood. They'll need to speak with references. They'll need to know about previous residences. This is not meant to be obtrusive or offensive, it is simply gathering the information required for the home study report.

It is expected that you are truthful to your assigned Social Worker. It is also an expectation that your Social Worker keeps your information and assessments fully confidential. You may ask your Social Worker early in the process on about the best way to communicate with them. If you feel that they don’t respond to you in a timely manner, or if they seem unprofessional in any way, contact their supervisor or someone else in the agency for advice or clarification.

If there is anything along the process that you don’t understand, feel free to ask your social worker. They are there to help you and be your advocate, so they should never be too busy to answer any questions you may have. In our personal adoption process, I wanted to know where we were in the process the entire time, so I asked a lot of questions. Be aware that some parts of the adoption process are simply beyond the social worker's control. Make sure to ask detailed questions if you feel something that is being asked is delaying (or will delay) the adoption process.

Your social worker is there to guide you through the entire adoption process, so don’t get offended if they tell you that there is another piece of paperwork to complete or something still missing or needed. They are just making sure they have everything that is needed legally for the adoption process. This information is required by state or federal law. Remember that laws will vary from state to state.

Families tend to be eager to keep the process moving, to minimize delay. Your social worker can only move as fast as they get the paperwork, information, assessments, etc. from you, so if they contact you asking for something, please respond to them in a timely manner.