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 a child placed with them. Even worse, corruption in adoption has led to entire countries being closed to the U.S. for adoption.

Whenever someone approaches me and tells me that they want to adopt, my first advice is research, research, research, and then I give them some starting places. With the internet readily available almost everywhere today, there is a world of information waiting at your fingertips.

A great place to start is this article, which advises parents on how to choose an adoption agency. The article is presented by Ethica, whose motto is “A Voice for Ethical Child Placement”. If you are just starting out the adoption process, I strongly encourage you to read the above article and get an idea of what to look for in an agency.

From my own experiences, I also have some recommendations on choosing an agency. For one, there should be no such thing as a bad question. Starting an adoption, even if you have adopted before, is a huge decision and I don’t know any adoptive parent who did not have oodles of questions. The agency you choose should answer your questions honestly, easily and happily and you should feel comfortable in asking them. Any agency that ignores, dances around or refuses to answer your questions should be avoided.

Another piece of advice is to talk to parents who have used the agency. Talk to parents who already have their children home, and talk to parents who are in the process. Ask them what they like about the agency and what they don’t like. Ask them if they would use the agency again. That is a big teller of how happy they are with their adoption experience.

Join email groups and read the archives. Read about other people’s experiences and ask questions. Many (if not all) agencies have some adoptions that don’t go perfectly. I believe that the test of a good agency is not IF they have adoptions that don’t go smoothly, but how they handle it when such situations arise.

It is also important to remember that different people choose different agencies for different reasons. There are large agencies with long-standing programs and huge client bases and excellent reputations, and there are smaller, more personal agencies that are also very good. What matters is that you choose an agency that you can trust.

A good agency does what they do for the children. While their “clients” are the adoptive parents, the “business” of adoption should always be finding parents for children, and not the other way around. When pleasing adoptive parents becomes more important than the children that are in need, corruption tends to take place. As adoptive parents, it is all of our duty to ensure that the agencies that we use are doing everything ethically and legally.

Happy hunting! Remember, questions are good. When choosing an agency, research, research, research and then go with your gut.

Here are a few more links that will help you in checking out agencies…
Joint Council on International Children’s Services
The Better Business Bureau
Find an Agency on Rainbowkids.com