Choosing an adoption agency and/or an attorney might seem overwhelming at times because you want to make certain that you choose the right one for your family. It is important to select the adoption professional that best meets the needs of both you and your potential birthmother.
You want to make sure that the agency is meeting the collective needs of your potential birth mother. Here is a list of suggestions to help prospective adoptive families make the right choice for their adoption professionals.
Suggestions:
- Get referrals from friends or others that have adopted or have placed their child for adoption
- Ask how long the agency has been working in adoption
- Find out what services they provide you and your potential birthmother before and after the adoption
- Make sure you have a complete understanding of the costs of the adoption including upfront fees, during the adoption, and up through finalization
- If interested, determine if the agency works with minority, biracial, or special needs children.
- Ask the adoption agency for a list of referrals
- Make a list of adoption professionals that seem to best meet your needs.
- Ask how long the average wait is for a couple in your situation
- Find out how the adoption professional works with birth fathers or absent or uncooperative birth fathers.
- Determine if the adoption professional works with open or closed adoption and the attorney’s views and experience with both types. The Christian Adoption Alliance recommends open adoptions wherever possible. It is the healthiest adoption option for all members of the triad, particularly the adopted child as they grow and learn more about who they are and where they came from.
- Inquire about the availability and credibility of counseling for you and the potential birth mother
- Learn about the adoption plan, contract, and decrees
- Determine what the procedures are for identifying the health of the child.
- Find a Christian adoption agency here.
