Home Study Process

Before or shortly after a child or youth comes to live with you, a worker from DCYF comes to your home, and completes a home study. A home study is the process we use to get to know you, and help you prepare to meet the child or youth’s needs.

You must complete the home study process to keep the child or youth in your care, regardless of whether you want a kinship caregiver license or not.

Note

We’ll try to work with you, and support you to complete the home study process. Kinship caregivers come from all racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. They’re renters and homeowners, and people with different sexual orientations, and any education level. You can be single, partnered, or married.

In rare cases, we may approve an exemption to the kinship caregiver rules. We must find that you can provide for the safety, health, and well-being of the kinship child or youth.

Caregiver questions

We'll talk with you to learn about you and your family, your plan to care for the child or youth, and how we offer support. These conversations can happen over multiple visits, and be as long as two hours each. At least one of these conversations will be in person.

Our goal is to make sure you have the support and resources to meet the child or youth’s needs.

We’ll ask you about:

  • The people in your household
  • Your relationship with the child or youth and their parents
  • How the placement of the child or youth will change your life
  • Your plan to meet the child or youth’s health, education, and cultural or religious needs
  • How your physical and mental health, substance use, and relationships may affect your ability to care for the child or youth
  • Guiding child or youth behavior including positive discipline
  • Resources you have, or will need, to support the child or youth

We’ll interview the other people in your household, including children. These conversations can be as short as 5-10 minutes long. We must talk with children in person.

We’ll also interview all adult children you've parented. These conversations are usually over the phone.

Physical safety questions

We’ll walk through your home. We’ll identify safety improvements to make or items to get, to meet the child or youth’s needs.

If you need help improving the safety of your home, we can help. We can work with you to figure out any home adjustments you need to make, or get you physical items you need.

We’ll discuss caregiver roles and responsibilities related to health and safety:

Note

If you already have a kinship caregiver license, we’ll need to update your home study or do a new home study in these situations.

Related content

Read the regulations

For more information read the Washington Administrative Codes (WACs) related to these topics: