The international home study process includes a caseworker coming to your home for a minimum of three home visits in order to get to know your family, conduct in-person adoption training with you, complete individual interviews with household members, and conduct a home safety assessment. During the home study process, the adoptive family must also complete a variety of home study requirements such as getting fingerprinted for background clearances, getting medical evaluations, obtaining reference letters, completing online adoption training, etc. The home study process typically takes between 3-5 months.

Post placement supervision is mandated by the state of Illinois, placement agencies, and foreign countries. Each country has different post placement requirements. A caseworker will come to your home (over a period of several months or sometimes years) and conduct post placement visits with your family to determine how the adoptive placement is going and to provide resources and support to your family. ICM will complete post placement reports based on these visits.

During the intercountry adoption process, the adoptive family will work with several entities, including their home study agency, placement agency, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and foreign governments and organizations. ICM works cooperatively with these entities to ensure that the adoption process is navigated as smoothly as possible.

For additional information regarding the different countries available for intercountry adoption, and the requirements of each foreign country, please visit the United States Department of State website by clicking here.