I have written a lot about how to choose an adoption agency and there is a lot of attention given to the topic of choosing the agency that will process your adoption because choosing the right agency to handle your adoption is essential and vital to your adoption experience.

However I think that discussing how to specifically choose the agency that will do your homestudy, is often overlooked.

I wrote about starting your homestudy in this post, and I wrote about what... more

In my last two posts I have discussed the fear of adoption scams, and a recent article showing how ugly things can be when families put their money and trust into unethical agencies.

Here are some tips to avoid being scammed…

-Research, Research and Research! Look into agencies and programs. Talk to references (those provided by the agencies and those that are not). Join email lists and talk to parents that have used a variety of agencies. Find out why the happy families are happy, and why the dissatisfied or... more

The best way to avoid the type of situations that I mentioned in the last post is for adoptive and perspective adoptive families to ask questions.

Once you determine that an agency is ethical, that is a great starting point. But then you need to determine if the agency is the right fit for you.

First, you need to decide what type of child (what age, gender, level of special needs, etc.) you feel is right for your family, and why.

Then you need to ask question to the agency you are considering. What questions you ask will depend on what unique situations your family has and what type of child you hope to adopt.

Here are some questions to ask that I have found... more

So once you decide that you have found one or more ethical agencies to choose from (and there are many out there), you must then check the agency for “fit”.

Even the best agency is not going to be right for every family. Each agency has their own rules, regulations and practices that they have developed, that they believe are in the best interest of adoption. These vary greatly from agency to agency.

You want to know before you sign on with an agency and have started sending them money, that they will be able to help you adopt the right child for your family.

Here is an example. I know a family that wanted to adopt a baby. They very much want a baby girl. They chose... more

So how do you know if an agency is ethical? Here are some tips.

-Ask for references. Any good agency will willingly provide you with references. Talk to people who have recently completed an adoption, as well as people who completed an adoption some time ago to get “the big picture.”

-Get references beyond what the agency gives you. Join a Yahoo group or message forum appropriate for your adoption program, and inquire about the agency you are considering. Families very happy with their agency will definitely come forth and let you know, and families who were unhappy with their agency choice will come forth just as quickly and let you know that as well.

-When talking... more

There are two important aspects of choosing an adoption agency. There is “ethics” and there is “fit”. Both are equally essential to your adoption experience.

Ethics is a big one. All adoption agencies have nice names, pictures of beautiful children on the websites and magazine ads and claim to be in the business to help children and families. The truth is, unfortunately, that adoption is a big business, and any time there is money to be made in a business, you risk unethical people and practices. Adoption is no exception.

All adoptive or perspective adoptive parents owe it not only to themselves, but to adoption in general, to only work with an agency that they know is 100%... more

Ok…new topic to keep my mind busy. :)

I have to say that I have met/run into/heard from/spoken with more than a few adoptive families lately that have realized well into their adoption processes that the agency they chose was not the right or best choice for them. Finding out that the agency you have chosen isn’t a good fit for you for whatever reason AFTER you have given them your hard-earned money and oh so precious paperwork is not a good thing.

I am surprised, considering what a huge decision adoption is, and the great amount of money... more

I have talked a lot in my posts about choosing an adoption program, but have not touched very much on the choosing of an agency. This is perhaps one of the biggest decisions adoptive parents will make during their process, and a choice that can very well define the type of adoption experience they will have. A good agency can make an adoption process as smooth as possible, make the adoptive parents feel confident and secure and handle the bumps in the road, (that often occur in adoption) with professionalism. On the flip side, a less-than-good agency can not only make the adoption process extremely stressful, but can also lead to parents being out large amounts of money and still not have... more