What is post-placement supervision?
The purpose of post-placement supervision is to assess the well-being of the adoptive child. Post-placement supervision involves a visit and a typed report. Typically, the visit takes place at the clients home with everyone present who lives there. During this home visit questions center around how the adoptive family is doing post-adoption along with the baby/child’s status (adjustment, attachment, sleeping and eating habits, developmental status, and health status). If there are challenges or a need for community resources this is the time to address them and make a plan.
Post-placement supervision takes place after a child is placed for adoption and is residing with his/her adoptive family. Post-placement supervision is required for domestic adoption and international adoption. Embryo adoption typically does not require post-placement supervision.
How much supervision is needed?
The number of post-placement visits (and reports) vary. Adoptive parents who reside in Missouri can often finalize their domestic adoption in Missouri. Usually, three post-placement visits and reports are needed to legally finalize a domestic adoption in a Missouri court. However, sometimes the placing agency or sending state (where the baby was adopted) require additional post-placement supervision visits/reports and may even require that finalization of the adoption take place in the state where the baby was adopted. The placing agency informs their clients what post-placement supervision is required and where the adoption will be finalized either during the adoption or soon after so they are aware and can pursue post-placement supervision with a licensed social worker in their area.
International adoptions often require additional post-placement supervision. Since the adoption may have already been legally completed in the foreign country it is called post-adoption supervision. Clients will be advised by their placing program what is required for post-adoption supervision as well as any additional US court processes (referred to as recognition or readoption).
