Which fees may be collected before the home study is completed?

• A. Reasonable application fees, home study fees, and education and training fees.
• B. Any fees at any time.
• C. Only fees for birth parents.
• D. All fees must wait until completion.

Answer: (A)

The fees that may be collected before the home study is completed include reasonable application fees, home study fees, and education and training fees. Collecting an application fee helps cover the administrative work to process your inquiry and eligibility review. The home study fee pays for the professional time and resources required to begin and conduct the home assessment, which can start before the final evaluation is finished. Education and training fees are for required trainings that applicants must complete as part of the process and can be charged upfront as these are prerequisites to moving forward.

Others don’t fit because charging any fee at any time ignores regulatory limits on when fees can be collected; limiting fees only to birth parents is unnecessarily narrow, and requiring all fees to wait until the home study’s completion would delay essential processing and training costs.