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Originally Posted by sandsstone1
Finally, what criteria did you all use to condense the list of agencies to a more managable level? Size, name, religious affiliation, location, etc.?
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I think that whether particular agencies get better/healthier referrals is a rather subjective question. I also think it depends on which region. I agree with Karen that in some regions, an agency has a 'loose agreement' with a baby home or hospital for the referrals from that facility. I don't know if that equates to better or healthier as much as it equates to potentially a higher volume of referrals.
Regarding your question of how do you condense the list: I requested packets from about 20 different agencies. Then I paged through their materials. If their packet appealed to me or contained the type of base information I was looking for, I set it aside. I kept going through it like this until I had it narrowed down to three. Then I started calling them and asking different questions. Because of different things that were said to me, I was able to start eliminating some agencies from my short list. In the end, the right agency for me was the last one standing. I have no regrets in the agency that I used because they met my needs. That doesn't mean they will meet everyone's needs.
It's probably a good idea to talk to different ones. But, keep in mind, everyone has their own experience on this journey. So two families that start with the same agency on the same day can have completely different timelines and expenses just because that's the way it is. And each person's opinion about their experience is based on the mindset and expectactions that they go into it with...which may or may not be similar to your own.
Good luck to you on this journey. Buckle up, its going to be a bumpy ride.
