[crick]

Our adoption agency had to close after 22 years last month. In the article our news did on it, they said that by 2013, at least 50% of adoption agencies out there will close.

I don't know why I'm shocked by that number but guess seeing it in black and white made me go "huh...wow!"

I'm bummed about our agency closing though. It was one of the great ones and had a fantastic support program for parents/families.

Anyone else seeing their agency close or near by etc?

[Fran27]

I don't think ours is... I don't know what we would do if they did. It's the only link we have to my kids' birthparents. I would be bummed not to be able to send updates anymore (I don't know if they even get them, but at least I'm doing my part), but even worse, if they decided that they want contact, I would never know...

How are they handling that in your agency Crick? I'm kinda shocked that so many agencies would close though... any idea why?

[Sleeplvr]

Placements have been down for all agencies the past few years. I know with our agency there was a shift to offer more parenting services. For an agency to survive they have to take on new missions instead of newborn placements only. The agency we used for my DD's adoption has a contract with the state for foster placements and case management.

International adoptions are starting to dry up too so there's not much money to be made in adoptions anymore.

[Miss.M]

I wonder if the money part of adoption is taken out of the equation if more non-profits will take over and make it less expensive for PAP's. Or maybe finally the foster system will be able to adopt out more of the kids that are displaced and in need of loving families.

[crick]

Ya, international is the big money loss, as well as domestic placements being lower. I figured on some agencies closing. Didn't think 50% though..that seemed high! And for agencies like mine who did a lot of placements from foster care, I am sad it couldn't be saved. They too had a contract with the state, but guess it wasn't enough.

They sent us a letter saying they had transferred all finalized files to x and all open files were split amongst other agencies in the state. For communication purposes like yours Fran, they transferred those to another agency who will now accept that intermediary role.

They were very good about communicating everything and didn't just close up shop without a word etc.

[Nevada Jen]

Interesting. My agency closed and I did not even get notice of it. I always wondered what happened to our files. The drop in international adoptions has to have had a huge effect on many agencies. Even the coutries that are still open limit the agencies that they work with now. I am not at all suprised that 50% would go out of business.

[Fran27]

Originally Posted by Miss.M

I wonder if the money part of adoption is taken out of the equation if more non-profits will take over and make it less expensive for PAP's. Or maybe finally the foster system will be able to adopt out more of the kids that are displaced and in need of loving families.

It's really a misconception though... No profit doesn't mean cheap. It just means that the agency doesn't make any profit. So the money goes to the CEO, employees, and charity... and nothing prevents the CEO from getting a huge salary...

[ladyinred3333]

My agency did domestic infant adoptions and foster care for over 100 years and in July of 2010 closed to domestic infant adoptions. Ultimately saying that we were one of the last few families placed. They are still doing international adoptions.

[Hoping2adoptsibs]

I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the tax credit not being refundable anymore. I think they used that to justify the higher prices.

[ruth74]

The agency that did my homestudy closed while I was in process. They were a non-profit and had a big contract with the state foster care system. Their biggest problem was budget cuts at the state level. They lost their contract, and they couldn't remain viable with just private adoption (they did very few placements, mostly homestudies, for domestic infant and international). I think it isn't just private adoption placements being lower that makes a difference, but also budget cuts in foster care.

[MomAt41]

No one else has mentioned this yet - I want to adopt again - with 50% of agencies closing due fewer placements, doesn't that mean that it will be MUCH harder to be matched / a MUCH longer wait? Not due to fewer agencies but due to the lower number of placements? Or am I missing something?...

[mommy3]

The agency we worked with for our two adoptions continues to provide oustanding services, has increased expectant parents intakes by more than 100% in two years, has very reasonable costs and supports open adoption. They have been sharing about how many great local agencies have closed -- and that is such a tragedy on the whole. A few have closed that should have closed,, as well, IMHO. We also included a faciliator in our last adoption and they are also doing fine, I understand. That all said, this has been a very difficult time unless you garner grants for internet ads, really key in on market trends for networking and stay so current it's crazy. I think the cost of re-tooling for cyber connectivity caused many agencies to not reach enough clients and expectant parents, as well. There still are many stable agencies but, like many other organizations, making adoption connections has become much more challenging for us all. susan

[KLL08]

The agency that did our 1st adoption closed with no notice to us. It was alright in some ways because we have an open adoption with her first mom and we didn't use them as an intermediary. But we were hoping if she ever wanted to find birthfather they would be. We didn't plan on using them again as we didn't choose them the 1st time, but it was frustrating that we didn't receive notice since we still gave them an ungodly amount of money to be the intermediary in the future! Ugh. Anyways...it is sad that so many are closing.

[Hoping2adoptsibs]

Originally Posted by MomAt41

No one else has mentioned this yet - I want to adopt again - with 50% of agencies closing due fewer placements, doesn't that mean that it will be MUCH harder to be matched / a MUCH longer wait? Not due to fewer agencies but due to the lower number of placements? Or am I missing something?...

That's exactly right. And I think since there is less babies to go around and less agencies, the price will go higher IMO. Higher demand and less babies= higher $$.

[Dickons]

I would assume most states have similar provisions built into the codes as the state licenses agencies.

Adoption Agency Closing Policy - Executive Office of Education - Mass.Gov

Easiest would be for those whose agency closed without notice would be to contact the state AG to be advised where the files are or who to contact.

Kind regards,
Dickons

Edited to add: YOUR homestudy and all sorts of very private and financial information is still in those files - I would want to know who had access to it and that it was secure...