If you are in the process of finding out information about adoption and the adoption process, then you undoubtedly know that there are many agencies to choose from to help you adopt.  As you begin this exploration of agencies, there are some basic things that you need to think about before choosing an agency.

Before you begin doing research on agencies, you need to consider what kind of adoption is right for you.  Obviously you are considering domestic adoption since you are reading his article, so the first decision many couples make is whether to adopt domestically or internationally.  Some agencies do both and some agencies do one or the other.  Do you want to adopt an infant, older child or sibling group?  Would you consider a child with special needs?  Are you considering adopting transracially?  How much contact would you like to have with the birthfamily?  Do you want your agency to have a particular religious affiliation?  These are just an example of some of the questions you should ask yourself before contacting agencies.  Not only does it help you to have answers to these questions it helps the agencies you contact to be able to give you the correct information.

The first step in contacting agencies is to call and ask for either an information packet or the date of their next information meeting.  You can review the packet or attend the meeting to get more information about their program.  I always find information meetings to be more helpful than a packet of information because you have a chance to meet staff members face to face and other couples attend the meetings so they might think to ask a question that you haven’t thought of.

After attending the meeting or receiving the packet in the mail, you can ask to set up a meeting with one of the counselors/caseworkers at the agency to discuss things in more detail if need be.  Many times your questions are already answered and you can decide if that agency is right for you based on the information you received.  If you have some basic questions about adoption or are considering a specific type of adoption, such as adopting an older child, a child of color or adopting transracially, you can call agencies to get details about their program.  A simple phone call might weed out agencies that don’t do the type of adoption you are considering.

I have compiled a list of questions that are good to ask when calling an agency for the first time on the phone.  They are as follows: How many adoptions do they do per year?  How many of those are minority race adoptions?  What is their average wait once your Home Study is complete and you are on there waiting list?  Do they open, semi-open or closed adoptions?  Do they have an age restriction on adoptive families?  Can a single person adopt?  How much do adoptions cost at their agency?  How many birthparents do they work with at any given time?  How soon can you start the Home Study process?  The agency should be able to answer all of these questions and any other ones that you come up with.  After all you are putting your trust in them as an agency to help you connect with your child.

The most important thing I can tell you when searching for an agency is to trust your instinct.  If something doesn’t seem right, if you don’t feel comfortable with them, if all their statistics and information seem too good to be true then you probably want to consider another agency.  A truly good agency will have your best interest and the best interest of the birthparents at heart.  They will work hard to ensure that everyone gets the appropriate counseling and support throughout the process and even after the adoption is complete.  An agency that works for a friend might not be the right one for you, so you need to explore the agencies yourself and make up your own mind about choosing a domestic adoption agency.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 6th, 2006 at 1:49 am and is filed under Adoption. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.