Questions for Adoption Agency

What is the best way to pick an adoption agency? I have made a list of questions for adoptive parents to help select an agency. These questions are written specifically for domestic adoptions in the United States.

* How long have you been in business?
I would recommend that you find an agency that has been doing domestic adoptions for at least five years. It takes awhile to market an agency and if no one knows them, they will have few expectant parents coming in.

* Are you a non-profit?
Some adoption grants require that you work with a non-profit agency.

* How many children have you placed in each of the last five years? How many of these were situations where the adoptive parents had found the birthmother on their own?

Some agencies really push networking (this is not bad). If the number of adoptive parents finding their own birthmother is high, they are most likely encouraging networking and you should plan on creating a website for your adoption, contacting everyone you know, etc.


* What is the average wait?
While this is a good guideline, the more open you are on race and other factors will significantly impact your wait. If you are pursuing a Caucasian child only, make sure that the agency you select primarily places Caucasian children. Otherwise, your average wait could be significantly longer.


* What is the longest wait?
Somebody always has to wait longer than others. This will give you an idea of what your longest wait could be. Find out more abou the families that have waited the longest. Are they only open to a Caucasian child, do they have biological children, are they over 45, etc. This will give you an idea of where you fall - good or bad.


* If you are open to all races, ask the same questions for families open to all races?

* What is the average total cost for adoptions completed by your agency?
The cost of open domestic adoptions can vary greatly. Our second adoption was less than $10,000. This was a situation where her birthparents found us on the Internet. I have seen open domestic adoptions run over $40,000. My personal opinion is that open domestic adoptions should never be more than $25,000. and generally less. There may be unique circumstances that cause an specific adoption to be higher but it should be the exception to the rule.