Picking an agency is likely the single most important thing for both side of adoption.

So today I am going to give my own personal answers to the question that I most often asked from both sides of those involved in adoption.

A birth mother must pick an agency to help her find what she considers the ideal family for her child and one that can help meet any contact requirements she would like to maintain. They rely on the agency to have a variety of searching families ready for them to look through so they can find their ideal family. This is crucial to a mother who is about to give an ultimate gift. The agency is the facilitator for this entire thing.

An adopting family must pick an agency that has an unmistakably clean record. While exploring their site can be helpful and they may even have families who you can talk with, it is always best to explore elsewhere. Forums are a great way to hear the things the agencies might not want you to hear. You should absolutely never have to pay to consult with an agency; there is no agency that is good enough that you should have to pay just to hear what they can do. (yes I have had this happen to families, and no it is not normal)

From either side of an adoption it is crucial that the agency you choose specializes in this type of adoption (be it domestic, or a specific country) you don’t want to part of a new program or something they are inexperienced at. Adoption can be unpredictable at best and you want someone who has likely faced many of the problems that can arise.

Something both side should also do is a basic search engine search of the names of the Owners of your chosen adoption agency and of your specific agent. The reason for this is that there have been many cases where an agency receives to many complaints under that agency name, well all they have to do is close down and re open under a different name and those complaints will no longer exist.

Try and find an agency who is paid for specific adoption services not one that is paid in full contingent on a final adoption, this can lead to them trying to rush through an adoption and not necessarily taking into account the journey that you had in mind or the child you were looking for.

Take your time when your picking your agency, it is one of the most important decisions that will directly affect the success of your adoption.