In an agency adoption, the agency must be licensed by the State of California. The California State Department of Social Services offers a website with a listing of licensed agencies. Caution must be exercised that the entity is indeed a licensed agency and not a business using a name which implies it is an agency. California permits "facilitators" to assist in adoptions (businesses not licensed to perform home studies or take relinquishments or do legal work, but permitted to aid in the process in other ways). Agency adoption first requires that the adoptive parent have a home study completed prior to the placement of a child. The agency then takes the relinquishment of the birth mother (and father if available). For six months following the adoptive placement, the agency supervises the placement, and then can write to the court to approve the adoption. In a typical home study, the adoptive parents are fingerprinted (run through the child abuse registry and criminal index), provide letters of reference, provide proof of marriage if married (although singles may adopt), complete a health and social history, and demonstrate a preparedness to provide a loving home. A court can then grant the adoption in a simple court hearing in which both adoptive parents and the child appear.