The home study is a process which results in the court document called the “Home Study”. Louisiana requires an adoption orientation, and a minimum of two home visits and individual interviews with each applicant and other household members. There are also background checks, reference forms, medical forms, and copies of various documents such as your birth and marriage certificates, among others. We also have paperwork that you complete that allows us to get to know you better, assess your readiness to adopt, and your understanding of adoption, and so forth. Part of the home study process through our agency also is educational in nature to prepare you for the adoption experience, what you may feel and experience, what others may ask, address things you have questions about, and discuss a host of other topics. The home study is not a process to rule people out, but rather it is a process to assist a variety of appropriate families to optimize their adoption goal.