Issues to Explore
- Does the adoption professional or agency have any eligibility
requirements for adopting?
- Can they provide references?
- Will they provide a complete list of all fees?
- How long have they been in business?
- How many adoptions have they successfully completed?
- If not an agency, who does their home studies and who
provides pre and post-placement services?
- What is the typical wait for a referral?
- How are the birth parents involved?
- What kind of contract do you sign?
- How are fees affected if the adoption is not
successful?
- How likely are you to receive a child of the
age/gender/race you would like?
- What are their time frames for processing your
paperwork, getting home studies done, etc?
Depending on the
type of adoption you are interested in, you may have additional questions as
well.
Make the final
decision based on a combination of the facts and your gut feeling about the
person or people you have met and will work with throughout the adoption process. They
don’t have to be best friend material but you need to feel comfortable telling
them your problems, relying on them to work in your best interest and receiving
counsel from them.
For so many
adoptive families, their agency social worker, private attorney or facilitator
remains a special person in their life for a long time. After all, they have
gone through a life-changing experience with you; select someone who will serve
you well.
Once your adoption professional or agency is selected, you will be
asked to fill out a lengthy application form that gathers biographical
information, financial data, etc.
