1. Get references and contact them. Get references who are at different stages in the process and who have completed adoptions at different times. This is important to detect any changes in treatment as the process progresses and any changes in the agency/facilitator/attorney. Know what questions to ask. Try to get references of people who had problems along the way but were able to overcome them and complete a successful adoption so you can see how the agency responds to and handles problems.
2. Join local and internet adoptive parent support groups. Network as much as you possibly can. Listen, learn and ask questions. There are no stupid questions, just people too stupid to ask them. List serves and the various Internet bulletin boards are invaluable.  Use search engines such as Google, Dogpile, Yahoo and Webferret to search for information on any agency you are considering.  Search for complaints.  Search the names of agency principals, workers and facilitators.  Several hours invested in research can save you tens of thousands of dollars and a lifetime of emotional pain.

3. Check an adoption professional or agency out with the licensing authority in its home state. Ask for a record of complaints. The authority is usually the state's Dept. of Social Services or Dept. of Health and Human Services, except in the case of an adoption agency operating under a lawyer's license, in which case the authority is the state's Bar Association.  Remember, facilitators are usually unlicensed, unregulated and even illegal in some states.  A good source for this and other state specific information is http://web.archive.org/web/20020827095405/http:/www.stateinformation.com/.

4. Check an adoption professional or agency with its home state's Attorney General's office. Ask if there are any criminal actions or complaints.