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AGENCY ADOPTION
(Copyright 2008, Adoption101.com)

There are two types of adoption agencies - private and public. As the name implies, private agencies are privately-operated businesses (although most states require that they be not-for-profit). They are licensed by the state in which they operate to conduct adoptive parent home studies and/or place children for adoption. They are principally supported by the fees they receive from adoptive parents. A helpful listing of every licensed adoption agency within each state (they total more than 1,000), as well as each agency’s phone number, can be found in THE COMPLETE ADOPTION BOOK by Paula and Raymond Godwin, THE ADOPTION RESOURCE BOOK by Lois Gilman, and ADOPTION: The Essential Guide to Adopting Quickly and Safely by Randall Hicks. Each book also provides the state office overseeing adoptions with each state. THE COMPLETE ADOPTION BOOK also includes information on Canadian agencies and procedures.

Public adoption agencies are operated by the county or state in which they are located and are supported by tax dollars. The main function of public agencies is to find homes for children for whom the county or state has assumed responsibility.

Private and public adoption agencies vary dramatically in what they do—as well as when, and how, they do it. The book, ADOPTION: The Essential Guide to Adopting Quickly and Safely, provides an excellent outline of the agency process, and it is summarized throughout this seminar.

Eligibility Requirements of Adoptive Parents

Although private and public adoption agencies may differ greatly in some ways, they also have a great deal in common. Each agency will set its own eligibility requirements for adoptive parents who can apply to the agency. Let's first talk about what typical guidelines employed by many adoption agencies were, the we will talk about what they are. Traditionally, agencies required:

• Both adoptive parents must be no more than 40 years of age older than the child they will be adopting. This means that many agencies will require those seeking to adopt a newborn to be under 40 years of age. If the child to be adopted were age 8, the adoptive parents must be no more than 48 years of age.
• Married at least three years without an excessive number of prior terminated marriages.
• Be medically unable to conceive a child, or show it is physically unsafe to give birth.
• Live in a home suitable for a child. (Owning a home is rarely required—renting a house or apartment is usually acceptable as long as the housing is suitable.)
• Be of reasonably good health to care for a child.
• At least one spouse be securely employed, or otherwise have sufficient income to support a child. Most agencies do not require a full-time, stay-at-home parent once past the child's initial months in the home. It is understood in today's world it is often necessary for both spouses to be employed. However, a permanent stay-at-home parent is often encouraged by some agencies, as one of many factors contributing to the best interests of the child.
• No criminal record or child abuse allegations.
• Have no more than one child already.

Agencies have broadened quite a bit over the years. Although some agencies still use the guidelines above, many now offer great flexibility regarding such issues as the age of the adoptive parents, number of existing children, required length of marriage, et cetera. Some agencies are as flexible as independent adoption.

Pre-Placement Requirements

All agency adoptions, whether they are through a private or public agency, require a home study of the adoptive parents. The home study is in two parts. Initially, there is a preplacement home study to determine whether it appears you would be appropriate parents based upon the agency's evaluation of you and your background. The satisfactory completion of the preplacement home study is a prerequisite to having a child placed in your home.

An agency caseworker will be assigned to do the preplacement home study and will want to have several meetings with you, some of which will be in your home. Home visits are normally required to see the potential environment for a child. Adoptive parents sometimes ask if they need to share every fact about themselves. They wonder, could it hurt their chances to admit something the agency may not otherwise discover? For example, a couple may ask, "will it hurt our chances to adopt if we had marriage counseling to help us resolve conflicts, or deal with stress at work," etc.). Of course, everyone would agree complete honesty is best, yet the question is a common one. Fortunately, adoption agencies are normally realistic and don’t expect adoptive parents to be superhuman, rather good people who are going to be dedicated parents. With that thought in mind, honesty is not to be feared. This concern is address in the book BEATING THE ADOPTION ODDS, by Cynthia Martin and Dru Groves, which contains an interesting section on this very issue, entitled "How Honest Should You Be?" (FYI, our opinion is "completely honest." You want honesty from your agency and the birth parents - they deserve it in return.)

Because most agencies operate with almost unlimited discretion regarding with which of their waiting families they will place a child for adoption, it is important to show the agency you are the best waiting adoptive parents. You can do this by attending all their available seminars, even the ones which are not required, but which will be helpful in parenting and adopting. Also, your familiarity with the commonly read, and respected adoption books within the adoption community, show your agency you are more motivated and informed than other waiting adoptive parents. Key books to assist you are mentioned throughout the Adoption101.com seminars.

These basic suggestions toward establishing a beneficial relationship with your agency may seem absurdly simple. Surprisingly, however, many caseworkers complain that many of their agency's waiting families fail to show their sincerity and readiness to adopt by such simple acts. Remember, an agency's goal is to find the best homes for the children they place. The more educated and prepared you show yourselves to be can only serve to impress your agency. Make their discretion benefit, not hurt, your chances to adopt quickly.

Of course, there is more to your preplacement home study than visits from your caseworker and the verification of your application information (marriage, employment, health, etc.) The following will also be done in most agency home studies:

• Your fingerprints will be taken and processed through the child abuse registry and federal or state crime index.
• Letters of reference from friends regarding your good character and ability to be excellent parents will be requested.
• You will usually be asked to provide a written biography describing: your childhood; your relationship with your parents; the strengths of your marriage and how you resolve conflicts within the marriage; how your extended family feels about your plans to adopt; how you plan to parent your child and how you will discuss adoption with your child.

Post-Placement Procedures

Once the child is born, some agencies will require the child to be placed in a foster care home until the birth parents have relinquished the child by signing a Consent to Adoption (often called a relinquishment or surrender), or the child is otherwise freed for adoption. This foster home period may be days, weeks or even months, depending upon the circumstances. Once the child is legally free for adoption, the child is then placed with the adoptive parents. To learn how much time your state requires to pass before the Consent to Adoption can be taken, and if there is a time period thereafter in which a birth mother can change her mind, consult the state-by-state legal review found in either ADOPTION: The Essential Guide to Adopting Quickly and Safely, or THE COMPLETE ADOPTION BOOK. Every state has different laws.

Over the last ten to twenty years, an overwhelming number of private adoption agencies have rejected the historically common practice of using a foster home until the child is completely free for adoption legally, before placing the child in the adoptive parent home. Technically this is usually done by making the adoptive parents the child's "foster parents" until the child is technically relinquished for adoption, at which time they officially become "adoptive parents." This new agency option is often called fost-adopt. Some agencies refer to these immediate placements as "at risk placements," due to the window of risk which exists until the Consent to Adoption forms have been signed by the birth parents. The practice of placing babies directly with adoptive parents from the hospital is a traditional element of independent adoption, a procedure now duplicated by many agencies.

Regardless of whether the placement is by the traditional delayed method, or the newer fost-adopt method, there will usually be several post-placement home visits by the agency caseworker to monitor the child's progress in the adoptive home. Usually six months after the child's placement with you the agency is ready to recommend the adoption be granted, allowing a local court to permanently approve the adoption.

Of course, how you arrive at that moment of completing your adoption will depend upon the type of agency you select: private or public, domestic or international, non-profit or for profit, denominational or nondenominational, open or closed, identified or non-identified. It is easy to see that when you select an agency, there are many decisions to make and a lot to learn. Let's get started!

Private Adoption Agencies

Private adoption agencies have widely different policies and services. In fact, some agencies will differ from other agencies so much the entire nature of the adoption will seem different. This is true even of agencies located in the same city and operating under the same state's laws, as there is much room for flexibility in how adoptions are arranged. Accordingly, it is very important to realize not all adoption agencies are "created equal." The services of one particular agency which are ideal for one couple may not meet the needs and desires of another.

The Agency's Licensing Status.

An initial inquiry to make of any agency is to determine exactly what it is licensed to do. For example, some agencies are only licensed to do home studies of adoptive parents hoping to adopt. They are not licensed to place children for adoption, meaning the adoptive parents must look to another agency for the actual placement of a child. Other agencies are licensed as full service adoption agencies and are permitted to perform adoptive parent home studies, as well as place children for adoption.

It is also critically important to verify the agency you are considering is licensed as an actual licensed adoption agency by the state in which it operates. Some individuals or organizations use names which sound like adoption agencies when in fact they are not. They are generally referred to as facilitators. Facilitators are those who render the limited service of finding a baby for a fee, and should be viewed with caution.

Many adoptive parents only consider adoption agencies located within their home state. This can be short-sighted, however, as you may be legally permitted to adopt a child born in another state. Some states even permit you to complete the entire adoption in the state where the agency is located and the child was born, even if you live in another state. This little known type of adoption is called " non resident adoption." ADOPTION: The Essential Guide to Adopting Quickly and Safely lists each state which permits non-residents to adopt in its detailed state-by-state review. (Non-resident agency and independent adoption is discussed in the Adoption101.com seminar "Keys to Success in Adoption."

Religious Affiliation.

Private agencies can be divided into denominational and nondenominational categories. Denominational agencies are those affiliated with a particular religious faith. Generally, these agencies are easy to recognize based upon the agency's name (i.e. Jewish Family Services, Christian Adoption Services, Latter Day Saints (LDS) Social Services etc.). Be aware, however, some private agencies employ religiously-oriented names with no official association with that faith. For these reasons it is necessary to look beyond the name and question individual agencies to determine their status.

An important fact about denominational agencies not known by most people is that some denominational agencies do not require adoptive parents to be of the faith with which the agency is affiliated. This may be beneficial when the adoptive parents live in a region where there are few agencies from which to choose, or if they find the policies of one particular agency match their desires, even though the agency is affiliated with a different religion.

Fees and Costs.

Like other businesses, private adoption agencies offer services for a fee and must make a sufficient profit to remain in operation. Most agencies are non-profit agencies. Non-profit agencies often receive financial assistance from charitable entities, such as a religious institution or the United Way. A very small number of states permit that agencies be operated on a for-profit basis. As long as the agency is licensed by the state as an adoption agency, there is usually little difference between the services of a non-profit and for-profit agency, although some view non-profit agencies as more altruistic and reliable. Often, for-profit agencies charge higher fees, as they are solely supported by the fees earned from adoptive parents. Many states require all agencies to be non-profit.

Fees can vary tremendously among private agencies. Depending upon the type of agency, the services being offered, and the state in which it is located, fees may range from approximately $500 to $25,000. The average fees fall between $2,000 and $9,000. Some agencies have a predetermined set fee while others use a sliding scale based upon the adoptive parents' income. This sliding scale fee may vary from 8% to 12% of the adoptive parents' joint pre-tax annual income. These fees are usually for "full service" adoption, as described below. If the agency is only doing a home study, the fees are substantially less in most cases.

The "full service agency" fee usually covers the adoptive parent preplacement home study, adoption education and counseling for the adoptive parents and birth parents, relinquishment-related services to the birth parents, and post-placement evaluation of the adopted child's progress in the adoptive home. Not all agencies offer these complete services, however, so each agency you are considering must be questioned. Usually a portion of the agency fee is paid when the preplacement home study is started, with the balance due when the child is placed in the adoptive home. Some private agencies request additional funds from the adoptive parents if the birth mother needs assistance with her medical expenses or other birth-related costs. Other agencies may include such costs in their agency fee and forbid any such expenditures by the adoptive parents.

The Children Available.

The children available for adoption through private adoption agencies handling domestic adoptions range in age from newborns to older children and are of all ethnic groups. Many agencies also handle the adoption of special-needs children. A special-needs child is usually a child the agency feels may require extraordinary parenting due to a physical, emotional or mental disability. Special-needs children may also include children without disabilities, but who fall into a category the agency believes will make an adoptive placement difficult.

Some agencies use the term hard-to-place interchangeably with special-needs. Other agencies may use the term to describe children without severe handicaps, but who may be difficult to place due to other factors (such as being over the age of six, being of a hard-to-place ethnic minority, being part of a sibling group to be adopted together). Accordingly, it is important to be sure you are using the same terminology as the agency. Special-needs and hard-to-place children are discussed in more detail later in this seminar.

In addition to the emotional rewards which can accompany adopting a special-needs child, adoptive parents usually benefit from the policy of most agencies to speed up special-needs adoptions. This is because many of these children are presently living in foster homes and awaiting an adoptive placement. To encourage special-needs adoptions, most agencies will waive many of their regular restrictions. For example, adoptive parents can often be more than 40 years of age older than the child, be unmarried, and need not be infertile. The agency's fees may also be reduced.

Waiting for a Child.

Agencies vary in how they determine which child will be placed with which waiting adoptive parents. Historically, all agencies maintained a waiting list. Couples would simply wait their turn to reach the top of the list for their turn to adopt, and waiting several years was not uncommon.

Although some agencies still maintain waiting lists, most will now only consider which waiting adoptive parents could most effectively meet the needs of the child to be adopted. This evaluation may include judging the readiness of the adoptive parents, matching the religion, ethnicity and physical characteristics of the child and the adoptive parents, as well as respecting the wishes of the birth parents regarding the type of home they would like for the child.

Regardless whether or not a waiting list is used, or only the child's best interests are considered, one of the most important differences from one agency to another is the time the adoptive parents must wait for a child. Some adoptive parents report waiting five years or more, perhaps even with no results at the end of that time, while others find success within a year. Unfortunately, some agencies are so busy adoptive parents must wait years just to start their preplacement home study - then the waiting starts all over again - this time for a child.

Fortunately, some adoption agencies have changed their policies to allow adoptive parents to speed up the process using their own contacts and initiative. These agencies will allow waiting adoptive parents to use their own efforts to locate a birth mother to select them as the planned adoptive parents, then complete the adoption as an agency adoption, even though they met outside the agency.

These adoptions, called identified, designated or collaborative adoptions, involve both the services of the agency doing the home study and an attorney specializing in adoption (who may help "match" the birth mother to the adoptive parents, and do all needed legal work).

The Openness of the Adoption.

Years ago most agencies arranged only closed adoptions. A closed adoption is one where the adoptive parents and birth mother would never meet and identities were not disclosed. Although some private agencies still do closed adoptions, many agencies now arrange open adoptions. Although the term "open adoption" can mean many things, normally it refers to an adoption where the birth mother and adoptive parents personally meet and exchange personal information before the birth to be sure each wishes to go forward.

Selecting an Adoption Agency

ADOPTING IN AMERICA: How To Adopt Within One Year provides a critical listing of actions and questions helping you determine the best agency for you. Here are a few of those suggestions:

Compile a list of adoption agencies you may consider. Don’t rely upon the small list in your local yellow pages. Use the larger listings of the books you will be reading, and those listed at Adoption101.com in "Selected Agencies and Attorneys," to compile a list of agencies in your home state, and other states of interest to you (either because they have favorable adoption laws to adoptive parents or a greater number of birth mothers than your home state).

Learn as much as you can about the agencies on your list from impartial sources. Contact Resolve to see if it has a local chapter in your area. (Resolve is an excellent infertility organization which offers a monthly magazine and membership for a very low fee. Visit Resolve.org.) Many of their members have adopted and will be an excellent source of reference regarding which agencies are the most, or least, effective. Also speak to your infertility doctor, or if you are not seeing one, your gynecologist. His or her other patients may have talked about good or bad experiences with particular agencies.

You may also wish to join your local adoptive parent association. Other adoptive parents—those who have already gone through the process you are just starting—are often your best source of information. A listing can be found in THE COMPLETE ADOPTION BOOK for each state. Also, Resolve maintains a list of many such organizations. (The importance of these groups is discussed in the Adoption101.com seminar "Secrets to Success in Adoption."

Call the agencies you are considering and request written information about their services, policies and fees. Ask if they have free introductory seminars to learn more.

When you have narrowed your list of agencies to a feasible number, obtain specific information by asking the following:

• Are they licensed as an adoption agency by your home state? If they are located out of state and licensed there, will they work in conjunction with certain agencies within your state to make a placement?
• Are they licensed to do adoption home studies and place children for adoption in your home county, or do they only do home studies?
• What are the eligibility restrictions they place on adoptive parents (i.e. age, marital status etc.)? Are there any exceptions to those restrictions, such as adopting special-needs children? What kind of children do they place in the special-needs category (older children, minority groups, sibling groups, emotional, mental or physical handicaps).
• How many children did they place for adoption last year? What percentage were newborns (if that is your preference)? In what percentage of those placements did the agency locate the baby for the adoptive parents, as opposed to "identified" adoptions where the adoptive parents locate the birth mother and thereafter have the agency process the adoption
• From the time of the initial application to adopt, how long do most adoptive parents wait before a child is placed with them? How many families do they have waiting for a child right now?
• Do they put adoptive parents on a waiting list or do they look to other factors in placing a child with adoptive parents? If other factors are used, what are they?
• What are the total agency fees? How much of that amount is for the home study? When do you pay for the home study? If you were honest in your application but are turned down by the agency, what happens to the home study fee you have paid them? Are many people turned down, and if so, for what reason?
• When is the remainder of the fee paid? What happens to your fee to the agency if something goes wrong in the adoption, such as a birth parent changing her mind or other unforeseen legal complication? Do you then get priority for another placement without having to repay any fees or do you start from scratch and pay the agency all over again?
• If the birth mother has no insurance or state-provided Medicaid, do you pay those fees for her or does the agency? What other expenses besides the agency fee could there be? Could this include food or rent expenses for the birth mother if she is unable to work, or other expenses (e.g. maternity clothes, counseling fees, etc.)?
• Does the agency have a staff attorney who prepares and files all the required court documents needed for you to complete the adoption, or do you retain an attorney at your own expense? Can the agency estimate the cost if you must retain an attorney?
• Are most of the adoptions arranged by the agency open or closed (ask for details as these are very vague terms)? Does the agency encourage open or closed adoptions?
• To speed up the process of having a baby placed with you, does the agency permit identified adoptions, allowing you to find your own birth mother by using an adoption attorney or personally networking to meet someone? If you locate a birth mother in this way, are there any assurances the agency will not place the baby with someone else?
• Can you be listed with other agencies besides theirs to decrease the time required in waiting for a child

The importance of "checking out" an agency before retaining one cannot be overestimated. The above is just a sampling of the tips offered in ADOPTING IN AMERICA: How To Adopt Within One Year. Also, The Adoption Resource Book offers an incredible 41 point inquiry designed to find the right agency for each adoptive parent. A partial list of licensed adoption agencies, as well as attorneys who are members of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, can be viewed by clicking here.

Public Agency Adoption

Each county or state has a government-operated agency to assist in placing children for adoption for whom it has assumed responsibility. These agencies, usually referred to as public adoption agencies, are often a branch of your local social services or child welfare office. Since public adoption agencies are too numerous to list, the books cited above do not list public agencies. However, THE COMPLETE ADOPTION BOOK gives you the specific contact person in each state’s adoption office from whom you can request a list or direct you to the public adoption agency serving your area.

Although public adoption agencies are usually licensed to accept birth mothers' relinquishment of newborns, their most important function has evolved in recent years to finding homes for special-needs or hard-to-place children. Although some special-needs children are placed through private agencies, most often they are placed through public agencies. Many of these children have been freed for adoption through the court system due to parental abandonment, abuse or neglect. These children are of all ethnic groups and of varying ages. Some of these children will need extraordinary parenting due to the problems suffered by the child prior to the adoption, whether it be emotional, physical or intellectual difficulties.

Some children are categorized as special-needs not due to any disability, rather because they fall into a category the agency recognizes will make it more difficult to find an adoptive home. These can include children over a certain age (often age six), sibling groups to be adopted together, or children of an ethnic minority in which there is a scarcity of adoptive parents. Sadly, a disproportionate percentage of minorities live in poverty in our nation, making adoption necessary for a large number of birth parents. Hispanic children are rarely considered hard-to-place solely due to ethnicity, as there are normally a sufficient number of Hispanic families waiting to adopt, or adoptive parents of other ethnic groups seeking to adopt Hispanic children.

Virtually all of these special-need children are presently in foster homes and awaiting immediate adoption. THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO ADOPTION by Chris Adamec provides an insightful chart showing each state’s average length of stay before finding an adoptive home concerning the reported 469,073 children in foster care nationally. Children in some states average only 9 months in foster care, while others report an average of 38 months. This interesting chart is not available in other adoption books and tells adoptive parents the effectiveness of their home state in placing these children.

For those interested in adopting a special-needs child through a public agency, often there is a substantially shorter waiting period for the adoptive placement once the home study is completed, as many such children are awaiting an adoptive home. Many public agencies are also willing to waive some of their normal restrictions regarding adoptive parents.

For example, if a couple is adopting an older child, the agency will often allow them to be more than 40 years of age older than the child. Single parents are also considered. In fact, some states report one of every five agency adoptions is by a single parent. Couples who already have several children, or who are not infertile but wish to adopt, are often also considered. Those not interested in adopting a special-needs child can still apply to adopt through the public adoption agency, although often long waits are reported by those waiting for a newborn.

An advantage to adopting through your local public agency is that there is very little cost. Usually, the total fee charged by the county does not exceed several hundred dollars. There are almost never any costs associated with a birth mother's medical or living expenses as most children come into the agency system after having been freed for adoption through the courts. For this reason most of these adoptions are closed, with no contact between the birth and the adoptive parents.

THE ADOPTION RESOURCE BOOK provides a very helpful 22 point list of questions you should ask yourself to help you determine if you are ready for a special-needs child. Here are just a couple:

• How do you measure success? Is it in terms of steady progress or achieving a goal? If your child had a problem with stealing, for example, what would you consider success: when he stops stealing or when he steals less? Can you accept a partial success?
• What’s your time frame? (Can you tolerate delays and wait for things to happen?) The progress of developmentally delayed children may be measured in tiny increments over an extended period of time. So too with children who are emotionally disabled. Says therapist Claudia Jewett Jarratt: "If you’ve got a child who’s had five years of instability in his life, you’ve got to give him ‘equal time’ to turn around. Think in terms of five years - not one year."

Special-Needs Exchanges

Because of the importance and difficulty of finding homes for hard-to-place children, special adoption exchanges (sometimes called "registries," as well as photo-listing books have been created to assist both public and private agencies in placing these children. THE ADOPTION RESOURCE BOOK, THE COMPLETE ADOPTION BOOK and ADOPTION: The Essential Guide to Adopting Quickly and Safely all give detailed information about these, and other organizations assisting in special-needs adoptions, as well as needed addresses and phone numbers.

To offset the financial expenses of adopting a special-needs child (possible physical therapy, counseling, special medical care etc., in more severe cases), either at present or anticipated sometime in the future, and to encourage the adoption of these children, the federal government created a program to provide monthly assistance to adoptive parents. There is also a ten thousand dollar tax credit. More information about this can be learned in ADOPTION: The Essential Guide to Adopting Quickly and Safely and THE COMPLETE ADOPTION BOOK.

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