title: Home study methods for evaluating prospective resource families: history, current challenges, and promising approaches.
abstract: Every state requires a home study before the placement of foster children for adoption. This article examines the history of home studies, presents results from expert interviews on the changing processes and purposes of home studies, and explores current challenges for the field. The article also introduces the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE), a uniform home study format that encourages consistent family evaluations across workers, agencies, and jurisdictions. The article clarifies how SAFE may address challenges facing foster care and adoption practice.
authors.affiliation: Jordan Institute for Families, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Crea
authors.forename: Richard P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Barth
authors.forename: Laura K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Chintapalli
mesh_terms: D000300:Adoption; D002140:California; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005190:Family; D006664:History; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans