About adoption practitioners

Adoption practitioners are social workers or other professionals with significant experience in adoption and/or child welfare.

They are approved by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to:

  • conduct homestudy assessments
  • supervise adoption placements for adoptions completed in Ontario
  • prepare a report on the child’s adjustment to the home based on their visits to the home
  • supervise probationary placements for international adoptions where a child returns to Ontario with the prospective adoptive parents before the adoption is finalized in the child’s country of origin
  • prepare post-adoption follow up reports for international adoptions where required by foreign jurisdictions

Cost

Approved adoption practitioners may charge prospective adoptive parents for expenses incurred in preparing a homestudy.

You might pay these costs through a licensed adoption agency/licensee if the agency or licensee has made arrangements for the homestudy on a fee-for-service basis with an approved adoption practitioner.

Homestudy assessment

When you are adopting a child, you must complete a homestudy. Adoption practitioners are approved by the ministry to conduct homestudy assessments to:

  • assess your home environment
  • evaluate your skills and readiness to parent a child through adoption
  • consider all pertinent issues prior to making a recommendation to the ministry about your suitability to adopt

Find an adoption practitioner

Contact a private adoption practitioner who is approved to conduct homestudies and supervise adoption placements.

Become an approved adoption practitioner

Qualified individuals who are interested in becoming approved private adoption practitioners in Ontario must complete the Adoption Practitioner Mentorship program. The updated mentorship program has three stages.

1. Application process

If you meet the qualifications you can then make an inquiry by contacting adoption.unit@ontario.ca. We will provide a response within five business days.

Acceptance of new applicants is dependent on current need in specific regions. If we are accepting new applicants in the region you live in, we will provide you with an application package. The application process also involves an initial screening interview.

2. Mentorship period

During the mentorship period, a ministry-approved adoption practitioner acts as a mentor to an adoption practitioner-in-mentorship (APM) to complete a required number of clinical assessments for private domestic and intercountry adoptions.

The mentorship helps the APM to learn how to:

  • efficiently, effectively and professionally manage the general assessment process
  • apply clinical best practices
  • provide reliable and accurate information to clients
  • manage client expectations

This will provide the direct adoption experience necessary to become an approved adoption practitioner working in private domestic and international adoption.

3. Final evaluation

An evaluation completed by the mentor is required to be submitted during this stage, along with required clinical documentation. Based on submission of these final documents, we decide whether the APM is suitable to be an approved private adoption practitioner in Ontario.

Eligibility

To become an approved private adoption practitioner, you must have each of the following:

  • a Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Social Work or Ph.D. in Social Work
  • three years of experience completing homestudy assessments or other related clinical assessments and/or reviewing these assessments at a supervisory level
  • membership in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) or eligible for membership

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