[planning2adopt]

Has anybody worked with Adoption Society International in Champlin, MN? I would love to hear your experience with this agency. Please PM me if you have any information. We are looking at using this agency for an international adoption and would love to hear of others' experiences.

Thanks

[sak9645]

There are some good ways to check out an agency.

First off, contact the licensing authorities in the state or states where it is licensed. Most will be able to tell you if the agency is in good standing, if it has ever had its license suspended, etc. They may also have a complaint registry, so you can see what sorts of complaints have been lodged against it. While even the best agency may have an occasional complaint, mainly because someone chose an agency that just wasn't a good fit, look for a PATTERN of SERIOUS complaints, especially complaints with regard to unexpected fees, failure to comply with contract terms, unethical conduct of an adoption, etc.

Also, contact the Better Business Bureau in each state where an agency maintains an office. (You can actually do this on-line, I believe) to check on complaints against the agency and how they were resolved.

Contact the U.S. Embassy in the country from which you will be adopting, and ask if the agency has had any trouble securing adoption visas for kids adopted from that country. A good agency will be very careful to determine that any child to be adopted meets the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act definition of an "eligible orphan" who is entitled to an adoption visa, and that the adoption has been conducted legally and ethically, so frequent denials of visas because a child doesn't meet the "orphan definition" or because the adoption process was determined to be flawed should raise huge red flags. The Embassy may also be able to tell you if there have been problems with any of the agency's in-country facilitators. This step is ESPECIALLY important if you are planning to adopt from a "high-risk" country such as Mexico, where there are frequent denials of adoption visas by the Embassy. It is also important if a foreign country accredits American agencies, since the U.S. Embassy will maintain a list of accredited agencies for that country.

Another thing you can do is see whether the agency is a member of the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS). JCICS is the world's oldest and largest membership association of international adoption agencies, and the leading advocate for ethical international adoption practices and a leading source of in-service education for international adoption professionals. It accepts ONLY licensed, 501(c)3 agencies to membership. There is really no excuse for an agency not to belong to JCICS, since membership fees are based on number of placements and not excessive, even for small agencies. You can find a list of member agencies on the JCICS website at JCICS2.

Membership in other reputable adoption advocacy organizations is also a plus. Look for membership in organizations like the National Council for Adoption, the Child Welfare League of American, or the North American Council on Adoptable Children.

Ideally, see if members of the adoption agency staff have served on the Board, or as conference presenters, at JCICS or other adoption organization conferences. This usually implies that the staffers are well-respected among their peers and at the forefront of their field. It is also good if the staff have published articles in recognized adoption publications.

See if an agency is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services to Families and Children (COA) in New York. Prior to the ratification of the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption by the U.S., which is expected next year, COA accreditation isn't "mandatory" for agencies; however, many agencies have gone through the process. By next year, any agency placing children from a country that has ratified the Hague WILL have to be COA-accredited, so be sure to check whether your country of choice has ratified.

Become an expert on adoption from your country of interest. Start by reading the website of the U.S. State Department, regarding adoption from that country, and go on from there. Then read the agency's literature and website with great care. If anything appears inconsistent with what you know to be the country's requirements, or if anything simply appears "too good to be true", be very suspicious.

Ask the agency for a list of references. In particular, ask for a list of people who have adopted from the specific country that interests you, and who have adopted recently. Contact those people to check references.

Also, remember that agencies tend to provide the names of their most satisfied customers. So go beyond the agency reference lists. Seek out other people in your local adoption support group or on-line who have used the agency for your chosen country, in the past year or so.

When you talk to people, be very specific. Remember that even the most ethical and honest agency isn't right for everyone, so make a list of questions that address your particular concerns.

As an example, if you have never traveled overseas before, and are a little scared about this aspect of adoption, be sure to ask a lot of questions about the in-country arrangements. You will want to know if someone met the person immediately upon arrival and stayed with him/her throughout the in-country stay, doing a lot of hand-holding. You will want to know if that guide was thoroughly familiar with the adoption and visa-issuance process, and was able to handle any problems that arose. Or if you tend to be easily "boggled" by paperwork, you will want to know how much help the agency provided during dossier preparation. And if you have constrained resources, as most parents do, you will want to know if there were any unpleasant financial "surprises", that could have been anticipated by the agency.

I do not know anything about the specific agency you mentioned, except that it works in some very high-risk countries. If you are interested in a high-risk country, you need to be especially cautious in selecting an agency, since so much can go wrong at all stages of the process. So I would strongly urge you to spend a lot of time on the tasks above, before sending any money or signing any contracts.

Sharon

[rmprhp]

If you are still looking for feedback on this agency, please feel free to contact me privately rmprhp @ yahoo.com

[valugirl]

Could you please tell me about A SI in MN. I am having a hard time finding info.