[yimnotamom]

I live in California and husband and I are now looking to start an adoption path. I don't know where to start as far as selecting the agency. What kind of questions do we ask them? How do we know what agency will take care of us? How do we interview and make the selection?
Here is what I want: domestic adoption. As fast as possible. Adoption at birth or maximum a few months.
Thank you to all who can share your wisdom, experience, and knowledge. If you have strong opinions of agencies that i should not or should use, please send me a private message. I am very open to listen.
Thank you
Y I am not a Mom

[Asha0314]

Hi,
I started by looking on the internet at all the agencies in my area and then calling or visiting their website for more information. I was adopting as a single parent so I had to make sure that the agency I choose was okay with that. Some agencies work with certain restrictions-like infertile couples only, etc. Cost is usually a big consideration, along with how the fees are distributed--how much is due before placement, how much afterwards, do fees received go towards a new placement if one fails, etc. How much is their application fee? How early in the expectant moms pregnancy do they match? (I would not go with a match before the 7thor 8th month) Do they ever match babies already born, which is my best scenario. The baby is still a newborn but you aren't matched until shortly before or after termination of parental rights. What other costs might come up such as expectant mother expenses?(I understand that sometimes things like this are state-regulated). How much counseling to they provide for the expectant mother before and after the adoption? What is their policy on open adoptions? Also, are you open to race or disabilities etc? How many placements have they made in the last year or so? The time for waiting, however, may vary considerably, but they should be able to give you a rough idea of the average wait. If they guarantee fast placements, I would be wary. Answers to these questions will probably cut down the list of agencies to consider. I do not reside in California and the regulations on adoption vary from state to state but these are general questions I think would apply to any agency.

ETA: Of course, you don't have to choose an agency in your area, but I believe in-state adoptions are less complicated, in many aspects (if I am mistaken, I hope someone will correct me on this) but I would not dismiss an out-of-state agency on that basis alone.

[ruth74]

When I was starting I checked out all the agencies licensed in my state (since there aren't a whole lot I did not go with my geographic area; we are sparsely populated enough that that wouldn't give me much choice). I also know a number of people who have adopted, and I checked in with them about what agency they used and what their experiences were. I read a number of books on adoption first; some of them had good input on things to think about when choosing an agency. I would recommend "Adoption for Dummies" (not comprehensive by any means, but had some good, succinct thoughts) and "The Complete Adoption Book" (more complete, as the title suggests, but also a bit more unwieldy because of that). I checked out how the different agencies operated and narrowed it down to two to interview. I asked questions about practices and such, but I also wanted to get a feel for the people I would be working with.

I chose interstate adoption, so I only had to pick the agency that did my homestudy; they actually helped me to find a placing agency. If you plan to adopt from within your state, most states require that the agency you adopt through be the agency that does your homestudy, so you would also want to ask about fees, what is included in those fees, what happens if a birthmom decides not to place, estimated wait times, and how the placement process works.

[yimnotamom]

Great feedback. Thank you so much.
Do you know what the standards are these days on open adoption. How involved is bmom after placement? Typically.
Thank you

[Asha0314]

Open adoption can range from pictures and letters only to regularly scheduled visits. The degree of contact is agreed on by the pre-adoptive parents and the expectant parents before the adoption takes place. I don't know if there is a typical amount of contact, maybe someone else can speak on that. I have learned alot about open adoption by just reading posts on this web site.