Selecting the adoption professional(s) who will be with you during your adoption journey is one of the most important decisions you will make on the road for forming your family. Agencies, attorneys, and facilitators come in all shapes and sizes, each offering advantages and disadvantages; attorneys the same. Experienced adoptive parents strongly recommend keeping two things in mind:

1. You are the potential client and your comfort level is top priority.
2. Trust your instincts. If something doesn't seem "quite right," look elsewhere.

Best Resource: Directory of Professionals

Overview
Questions to Ask an Agency
Working with a Private Adoption Attorney

Overview

1. Get referrals from former clients and other adoption professionals.
2. Ask for literature.
3. Compile a list of the adoption professionals that appear to meet your basic requirements (type of adoption, location, cost etc.).
4. What are the adoptive parent requirements of this professional concerning marital status, age, income, health, etc.?
5. How long on average do adoptive parents wait to adopt when using this adoption professional?
6. What pre-adoption and post-adoption services are provided to adoptive parents and birthparents?
7. Does the adoption professional offer a free consultation or orientation?
8. How long has the adoption professional been in business and how many adoptions have they completed? How many have failed?
9. What is the average wait time?
10. Get an itemized list of costs and fees, including all expenses and make sure you clearly understand exactly what is included and what is not. Are birthparent expenses are included?
11. Does the adoption professional involve the birthparents' parents? Adoption results are generally better if they are involved.
12. How does the adoption professional receive medical information on the children?
13. What is their policy on preserving birthfathers' rights?
14. How does the adoption professional work with open adoptions and what are the recommended guidelines?
15. If you are interested in international adoption, has someone in the adoption professional’s office traveled to visit the orphanages where the children reside?
16. Ask to see the contract.
17. Has the adoption professional had any adoptions overturned, and if so, why?
18. Who does the counseling for the adoption professional and what are their qualifications?
19. Ask if there is anything else you haven’t asked that the adoption professional feels would be important for you to know.

Questions to Ask an Agency

When seeking to adopt using an adoption agency, it's adviseable to use a reputable agency with experience in the type of adoption you are pursuing. Agencies are regulated by state governments but services and fees can vary widely.

1. Ask for referrals from friends, adoptive parent groups, clergy, doctors and adoption attorneys.
2. Compile a list of the agencies that appear to meet your basic requirements (type of adoption, domestic, international).
3. Verify the license. Call your state adoption agency licensing specialist to make sure the license is current and no complaints have been filed.
4. Do a background check. To check for complaints and lawsuits, ask the licensing specialist (above), the Better Business Bureau and/or your state Attorney General's office.
5. Ask the agency about adoptive parent requirements concerning marital status, age, income, health, etc.
6. Ask about pre-adoption and post-adoption services, and services provided to birth parents.
7. Ask about up-front fees. Large amounts of money required before any services are provided should set off alarms and should be thoroughly investigated and compared with other agency fees.
8. Request written materials and references from client families. Remember, an agency is not likely to refer you to someone who had a bad experience.
9. Ask if the agency offers a free orientation.
10. Ask how long the agency has been in business and how many adoptions they have completed. Don't forget to ask about the percentage of adoptions that have failed.
11. Ask the length of the average wait.
12. Ask for an itemized list of costs and fees, including expenses for the placing parents, and understand clearly what is included and what is not.
13. Ask for the agency's professional affiliations and standards of practice.

Tips:

• Trust your instincts. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• Don't work with an agency you haven't personally investigated.
• Stay positive. The road to adoption may be delayed slightly by your attention to detail, but you owe it to your future family to take every reasonable precaution.

Working with a Private Adoption Attorney

If you've decided to pursue an independent adoption with the help of an adoption attorney, there are several steps you will need to take.

1. Ask members of adoptive parent support groups for referrals to attorneys they worked with successfully.
2. Contact the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys or your State Bar Association for adoption specialists.
3. Other sources of referrals can include judges, friends, family, and doctors.
4. Ask the attorney what percentage of his/her practice is devoted to adoptions.
5. Find out how many adoptions the attorney handles a year, as well as the total over the course of his/her career.
6. Adoptions through private attorneys can cost between $15,000 - $20,000. Ask how payment is expected and what it covers.
7. Make sure the attorney will be accessible to you outside normal business hours. This is not a 9-5 proposition.
8. Once you decide on the attorney who is right for you, listen to him/her! That's what you're paying for.
9. Don't be afraid to pester your attorney (within reason). It's healthy to indicate your ongoing impatience and interest.

Tips:

• Beware of something that sounds too easy, inexpensive, or quick to be true.
• Adoption and family law are specialized practice areas. It is not recommended that you use an attorney without this experience.
• Find resources for pre-adoption education and post-adoption services which may not be provided by the attorney's legal practice.

Additional Resources:

• What About Adoption Facilitators?