Any person desiring to take a child from said institute by agreement or adoption shall apply for that purpose in writing, on such form as said commission shall prescribe, to the superintendent or to the judge of probate of the county in which the applicant resides. The superintendent of said institute shall require an investigation of the home of the applicant upon such forms as the commission shall prescribe. Said commission shall procure 1 or more reports, at least 4 times each year, for each child placed in a home for adoption or on an agreement, either from the county agent, officer of the institute or the person with whom the child is placed, and at such times as the superintendent of said institute may direct.

     It shall be the duty of county agents or child welfare workers of the state department of social welfare in their respective counties, to visit the wards of the said institute at such times as they are requested to do so, by said superintendent, and to report on said homes and children to said institute.