Colorado Adoption Home Study Services

Eligibility Requirements for Colorado Home Studies

Nightlight® Christian Adoptions Colorado adoption home study services is licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services to select suitable families for children needing adoption. The selection of adoptive parents is based on their eligibility to meet state and agency requirements, their capacity for adoptive parenthood, and the availability of children whose needs they can meet.

RESIDENCE

Nightlight’s Colorado office can complete home studies only for families living in Colorado.

RELIGION

Applicants must be committed to providing their child with a constructive, wholesome and spiritual home environment. We accept applicants of all faiths.

HEALTH

Applicants must provide medical reports, completed by a physician, indicating good physical, mental, and emotional health. If any health or psychological concerns become apparent during the application or home study process, further evaluations may be required.

AGE

Age eligibility depends on the requirements specific to each adoption program. However, Nightlight requires that at minimum applicants be between 21 and 62 years old, with not less than 15 years and not more than 45 years age difference between all adopted children and the adoptive parent(s).

MARRIAGE

Married couples must be married a minimum of two years prior to beginning the home study. Adults who have been divorced must have had counseling post divorce and three years must have passed since the legal divorce. If remarried at least two years of marriage must have passed before the home study can begin.

SINGLE

Singles may adopt, depending on the adoption program, but single males can adopt only child of the same gender.

FINANCES

Adopting parents must be able to provide a financially stable home, demonstrated by a solid credit history and ability to live within their means.

HOME STUDY SERVICES GETTING STARTED CHECKLIST

We would love to see you at one of our free information seminars! These seminars are an excellent way to have your preliminary questions answered, get to know the Nightlight staff and meet other families beginning the adoption process. Seminars are held every 2-3 months. Visit our Adoption Seminars Page or call the office for more information and to RSVP for an upcoming seminar. You can also call to speak with one of our experienced staff members to get more information about any of our adoption programs or about our home study process.

How do we get started?

  1. Complete the online application Home Study Application.
  2. After we review and accept the application, we will send you the list of initial application documents. The $1,000 Home Study Phase I payment is due with these documents. Please note that the approval of an application does not guarantee final approval of the home study. In addition, there is an application fee of $500.  This fee is only paid once, whether you are adopting Internationally, domestically, with Snowflakes, or are just doing a home study.
  3. Once the initial application documents and the Home Study Phase I payment are received, the home study checklist, which contains the necessary paperwork for completing the required home study documents, will be sent to you.
  4. Once we receive all of the home study paperwork and the $1,500 Home Study Phase II payment, we will assign you a home study social worker. The social worker will conduct a minimum of three interviews with you and write the home study report. The average time frame for a family to complete the home study documents is two to four months. Adoption education training must also be completed during this time. After the social worker is assigned, the average time frame for completing the interviews and written home study report is six to eight weeks.

If you have any questions, please contact Hilary Embrey, Home Study Coordinator, by phone at (970) 663-6799 or by email at [email protected].