[cbw]

Though I live in a big city, I'm only considering one agency that is near where I live. What are the benefits of having a local agency?

Thanks for your feedback!

[sfalone]

Hi Carey,

For Marco's adoption we used a small local agency and I loved it. I was able to run documents right to the office, even met at the local mall to exchange paperwork! The agency was able to do our homestudy and our post-placement so I have known our SW for almost three years.

For this adoption we are using a larger out of State agency. So far they have been great. I have no complaints. The personal touch isn't there, if I call they don't know who I am, but they are efficient and get back to me quickly, etc.

I don't think I've helped much but really I think it just depends on what your looking for with an agency.

Stacy

[imdmom]

We also live in a large Midwestern city and are using a local agency. In fact, it's about 15 minutes away from my house! That has been so useful for us. Here is my list for pros of a local agency:
* NO long distance phone calls
*You REALLY get to know the people at your agency (for us our agency is the home office where ALL of the dossiers are sent before being DTC)
*They can give more accurate info as to what your state expects during the hs and dossier process, etc.
*If you have a ? you can go straight to the source.
*When your paperwork is ready you can it to your agency. In my case, being local was critical for me to pay a lower fee. My DTC date was 12/15/06. My authenticated papers arrived at 9:37 that morning, raced to Kinko's to make copies, and got it to the agency at 10:45 (JUST beating the 11:00 deadline). My sw called me at noon to tell me things were fine, and my dossier would be out with the mail THAT DAY!!!
* Most of the papers were either brought in or picked up by me, thus saving money on postage.
* There are a lot of families I have met in my own backyard who have used the same agency, 3 families at my school I teach at that have used them, also. I now have a HUGE network of others who understand what we are going through with this adoption. For that I am VERY thankful!!!
NOW the most important advantage...
WHEN I get my referral I can go to the agency ON referral day and get my baby's info and pic...NO waiting on the DHL man!!!
All of these things were very important when choosing an agency. I requested packets from just about every agency! I kept going back to this particular agency. We have been extremely pleased with them. You just need to make a pro/con list for each agency. Check out and call the reference families. If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me!
Best wishes!!!
Nancy

[canthardlywait]

I am with a large out of state agency; the only real issues I have dealt with so far are we had to get a local homestudy and ensure they adhere to our agencies rules(harder than you might think) and of course the time change. We also couldnt just walk in our application, dossier, etc which costs us extra shipping fees(Fed Ex, etc). They are great with communication,however, and from what I understand they have a great relationship with the CCAA. Even though they are a bigger out of state agency, they always seem to know who I am when I contact them!

My good friend is also adopting from China. She is with a local agency. She loved that she didnt have to look for a social worker and that she can stop by the agency if she has questions;she was also able to hand deliver her dossier. When it is time for her referral, she will be able to go to that agency to view her childs profile, rather than wait for a delivery with the information. She is very happy with her agency as well.

The bottom line for us though was not location, it was reputation.

[Sheba]

We are with an agency outside our state and had no problems at all both times. They gave us the name of the agency that did our local homestudy and they new all their rules. Both were wonderful. The only difference we had was that our referral had to fedex overnight to us and that was a long night waiting to see our daughters pictures. Where the other couples close by went right in!

[Couchkat]

The location of the agency should not be the primary reason you choose them, especially if it's a small agency. I've heard plenty of horror stories. Go by reputation and do your research. Now, if the agency has a good reputation, then go for it. I decided to go with a very big agency because I knew I would have issues with my paperwork - and I did. I was thankful they were experienced. Even though they were big, I still felt like they gave personal touch. One thing I feel like I'm missing one is reunions. They're not close to us and harder to attend.

[sak9645]

If you live in an area where there are several agencies with China programs, and you find one that really seems to fit your needs, there are some advantages to using it, such as:

1. Ease of getting documents back and forth.
2. Access to meetings about "latest news", travel, etc.
3. Ability to get to know staff well, which builds your trust.
4. If agency has strong local client base, ability to get to know others from your dossier/travel group during the long wait. (Great source of support).
5. Ability to have face-to-face meeting with director or other key person if a problem arises with some aspect of the service you receive, or with your adoption process.
6. Ability to access post-adoption services, such as culture camps and classes, counseling, etc.
7. Ability to have the homestudy and post-placement reports done by the same folks who handle your placement, which can create efficiencies.

HOWEVER, if you do not live in an area with several agencies that have China programs, or if you do not feel comfortable with the agencies in your area, it is FAR BETTER to go with an agency in another state than to put up with one that just isn't a good fit with your needs.

Agencies nowadays are quite used to working with families from all over the country. Good agencies keep in frequent communication by email and phone, and send documents all over the country by overnight delivery service frequently. They often have private listservs for members and other ways in which families can get to know their groupmates. And if they are regularly involved in adoption professionals' associations, they probably know some good homestudy workers in your area, to whom they can refer you.

Many prospective parents on the East Coast have said that they actually like working with an agency on the West Coast, instead, because of the time difference. They can get home from work in time to call their agency before the agency closes for the day!

Sharon

[richard p.]

hi. As many have stated - reputation and experience are more important than location. The only advantage (in my opinion) to a local agency is saving money mailing documents. With email there is no need to make l.d. phone calls to ask questions. I email because I have a "trail" if there is a problem or misunderstanding. We got or referal via email and then a few days later the hard copies. We used a homestudy agency recommened by our adoption agency and had no problems at all. We used a small local agency for our first and a large out of state China onlty agency for our second, so we experienced both.

[jetgirl]

We chose based on reputation, not on location. The only thing is you have to get a local agency to do your homestudy and you may pay a bit more to Fed Ex/ UPS things. But in the scheme of things, I don't feel it makes a big difference and I am glad we went with the agency we felt was better rather than the ones that are closer.

[imdmom]

LOL! I didn't put in my post that my agency has a VERY good reputation, as well as, being close! I just ASSUME people would look for an agency with a good reputation. That just goes to show one should NEVER assume!!
The only bummer with our agency that it has in the agency contract that you cannot pursue a concurrent adoption. That's the one drawback I have found with this agency. That's it....that is it!
Hope your decision goes well!
Nancy
LID 1/30/07

[Andi72]

I am using a small, local agency. I love it! We were going to use a big, out of state agency, but chose the local one. It is nice, I can go over to my case worker's house whenever I need to. We can go out to dinner with her, she has become more of a friend. When we travel, there are only 10 families in our travel group, and 3 of them live within 30 miles of me. The best part for me, was having her close by when we were doing our dossier. It only took 5 minutes to run things over and have her approve them. I like dealing face to face much better!!!

[TaraL]

As someone who lost alot of money (and never receiving a referral) to a small local agency that lost their license to someone finally gaining the courage to start the adoption journey again with a very large agency across the country and having a wonderful experience I can tell you that the location of an agency is the least of an importance. Well, at least for me it was after having learned a very hard lesson.

When we started our adoption journey we were going to adopt from Guatemala and found a local agency (well about an hour driving distance away) who dealt with a few countries. Long story short just as we were changing our mind on what country to adopt from the agnecy lost their license and would not refund the $7K that we gave them even though they didnt' do anything with us yet except approve our application and take our check (we were using a different, closer homestudy agency).

I thought that by having a local agency I would have that "not a number" feeling and be able to closely work with the agency. Ha! What a difference we had when we found the large agency that helped to bring our daughter home. So professional and well-organized. They offered us so much more than the small agency did and they were clear across the country. Perhaps I was only a number but was never made to feel like one. I also found that this large agency offered so much more than the small one would have when we were traveling to CHina. To me, that is the key. You should have someone there to hold your hand when you are traveling and have a guide 24/7 who has all the resources needed and that is what we had. We didn't have to do anything but bond with our child as this agency took care of it all.

Disclaimer: There are many good small agencies and this is only my experience.