Choosing An Adoption Agency

Many people prefer using adoption agencies to help them with the adoption process. The agencies can offer a variety of services and have years of experience in handling the process. Using an adoption agency can certainly make your life a little easier but it is very important that you choose the right adoption agency. This will mean doing a little research into various agencies and figuring out which one suits you best. Here are a few tips that will help you choose the right adoption agency for you.

• Begin by enquiring into the length of time the adoption agency has been working in this area. Though this is not an indicator in itself as to how good the agency is, if the agency has been around for some time, it means that it has some credibility. Also, the longer the agency has been around, the more their experience of handling different situations and hence more their value. However, new agencies tend to specialize in certain fields. For example, if you are looking to adopt a child with special needs, you might find that a new adoption agency has more information on this than older agencies.
• Once you have a list of a few agencies, try to speak them to understand how exactly they will helping you in the process, what services they will be providing and what they will be charging you for those services? Make sure that there are no hidden charges and that you get the services that you are paying for. Just because an agency is charging high fees, does mean that they will offer all services or that their services are good. Similarly, just because some agency is offering you all the services at a much lower price need not mean that they will not offer quality services. Only by speaking to the staff themselves will you get a sense of how well they know the process and how well they will be able to help you. In fact, some non-profit organizations helping families with adoption do not charge anything for their services.
• Next, you can obtain a list of references from these agencies so that you speak to families who have used their services. Get to speak to as many of them as possible. Ask them if they were happy with the services that were provided to them, if they had any complaints and how serious they were and if there was anything else that you should know about the agency.
• As you are making enquiries with the families, take the time to check up what the standing of the agency is by contacting the Better Business Bureau. Make sure that they have a valid license for the state they are operating in. Also, see if there have been any complaints recorded against them for improper behavior or for bad business practices.

Remember – no adoption agency can ever assure you of 100% success, but a good adoption agency will do all it can to help you and your family achieve a successful outcome.