[sandsstone1]

While discussing the adoption agencies accreditted in Russia, the question came up as to wether or not some agencies get "the pick of the litter," so to speak, or if some orphanages are noted for having "healthier" children than others and therefore more adoptions. For instance, would we be handicapping ourselves by using a Christian agency because they tend to be more charitable and work more with children that others may not work with as opposed to a secular or non-faith/religion based service. Or is there some assurance or other factors involved that pretty much make it a "level" playing field? Is there such discrimination among either agencies or orphanages? Or is it all a part of our paranoia (FEAR - False Expectaions Appearing Real)? Has anyone seen any research on this topic?

Finally, what criteria did you all use to condense the list of agencies to a more managable level? Size, name, religious affiliation, location, etc.?

[kretzklan]

While some agencies may have a better working relationship in Russia, I do not believe that there is any proof of what you mention. All children from an orphange setting are considered special needs and in your home study and application paperwork, you will set the guidelines for the type of needs you are willing to consider.

If this is a major concern for you - I would ask for each agency you are considering how many referals they have received within your parameters in the last 6 months and I would ask to speak to people who have used those agencies - but be sure to speak to families that have completed adoptions in the last 6-9 months...things in Russia change alot and you will want pertinent information.

[Jim_in_PA]

Select your agency based on the merits of their ability to do the job, not because of any affiliation. Kretzklan is correct that relationships are part of that effectiveness, but there are many other factors. Do not consider any agency that is not accredited. Do not choose an agency based on emotion. Interview them like you would a prospective employee. Call them on the phone several times to see how consistently they respond to your questions. Send them email to see if they respond in a timely fashion. Check out their references...both agency supplied and by checking the agency thread in this forum for folks you can contact directly.

Do not sign with any agency before you thoroughly...and I really do mean thoroughly...review their agreement/contract. It's extremely important that you understand the terms of that legal agreement, what your responsibilities are; what the agency's responsibilities are and "how the money works". Don't sign with an agency that wants pretty much all the money up-front...pay as you go is absolutely preferable. Be sure you understand how the foreign fees are to be paid...some agencies require you to carry a ton of cash with you to Russia; some will handle it for you so you only need incidental food/leisure/getting-around money in your belt. (I prefer the latter and that is what we got with our excellent agency)

Be sure that the agency you are intending to sign with has explained the process clearly and completely...this is where a forum like this can help as you can "check" to be sure that you are getting a clear understanding. It totally amazes me at how many folks have to ask process questions online that should have been answered; make that clearly explained up-front by their agencies. Remember, your agency works for YOU. But I am not saying you have a whole lot of control over that process...you don't, so it's important to understand the process from the start.

As I read back over this post...the undeniable theme is "do your homework"!!

[Aphi86]

Amen Brother! Listen to Jim!!

[Ktates]

and another amen here! I agree with Kretz that there does not seem to be agencies that necessarily have healthier referrals than others - sometimes that agency does not know what type of health issues a child may have when they get the referral - that's why you want to line up a good IA doctor.

I would make sure you get recent (last year or so) referrences for any agency you are using - also be specific as to region - an agency can have great contacts in one region and terrible ones in another. Or another region can be less friendly to foreign adoption so a parent's experience could be different even though they are with the same agency. You may want to ask how long they have worked with that particlar team in region - but just because it's a new region doesn't necessarily mean that's a bad thing either.

Ultimately our decision came down to a gut feeling and our ability to chose what region we could go to. We had a great experience but we did a lot of research prior to chosing an agency - it's definitely time well spent!

[Schnooks]

I believe that certain agencies do have connections that allow them to get healthier referrals and as a result can be more expensive.. just my opinion.

[angelkisses0102]

My experience is that some agencies do have access to particular regions and orphanages which inherently will have healthier referrals....based on various factors such as the orphanage itself, the number of adoptions being done, the length of time it takes to get the child registered, time to first trip, court trip. The local economic condition and the general perception of adoption in the region also play a role.

It is my understanding that countries other than the US have stricter requirements for the health of the child being brought into their social health system...thus those orphanages used by those countries tend to have healthier referrals. Many regions and orphanages are only available to one agency...Samara is a perfect example. The two baby home within the actual city only refer to Frank agencies...the two outlying orphanages, Tolyatti and Syzran to Amrex agencies. The Tolyatti and Syzran orphanages being available to US agencies was a huge win, as they previously only referred to a Canadian agency. Canada has a higher health requirement than the US to allow the orphan into their country and health system.

I agree with Jim and everyone else...do your homework...and get recent feedback. My agency was great...very quick processes for both adoptions...very young referral for our son at just 4 months old(old laws)...when we used them in 2002 and 2004...now the simply stink!

All the best!!!

[pwnort64]

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.?

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.

[nungesser]

Originally Posted by Jim_in_PA

Select your agency based on the merits of their ability to do the job, not because of any affiliation. Kretzklan is correct that relationships are part of that effectiveness, but there are many other factors. Do not consider any agency that is not accredited. Do not choose an agency based on emotion. Interview them like you would a prospective employee. Call them on the phone several times to see how consistently they respond to your questions. Send them email to see if they respond in a timely fashion. Check out their references...both agency supplied and by checking the agency thread in this forum for folks you can contact directly.

Do not sign with any agency before you thoroughly...and I really do mean thoroughly...review their agreement/contract. It's extremely important that you understand the terms of that legal agreement, what your responsibilities are; what the agency's responsibilities are and "how the money works". Don't sign with an agency that wants pretty much all the money up-front...pay as you go is absolutely preferable. Be sure you understand how the foreign fees are to be paid...some agencies require you to carry a ton of cash with you to Russia; some will handle it for you so you only need incidental food/leisure/getting-around money in your belt. (I prefer the latter and that is what we got with our excellent agency)

Be sure that the agency you are intending to sign with has explained the process clearly and completely...this is where a forum like this can help as you can "check" to be sure that you are getting a clear understanding. It totally amazes me at how many folks have to ask process questions online that should have been answered; make that clearly explained up-front by their agencies. Remember, your agency works for YOU. But I am not saying you have a whole lot of control over that process...you don't, so it's important to understand the process from the start.

As I read back over this post...the undeniable theme is "do your homework"!!

I have to echo what Jim says. This may sound vulgar, but hiring an agency is like hiring a broker. They work for you and they are dealing with something far more precious. You owe it to yourself to put in at least as much due diligence on your agency as you would on a broker you hire to sell your house.

Frankly, a lot of agencies do a lot of blagging when trying to recruit you. My agency assured DW and I that they were among those with the best contacts in Russia and becuase of that usually got the "pick-of-the-litter" from orphanges where they had worked for years establishing "preferred realtionships" with the orphange staffs and local officials.

Well, it was a little different when we started getting our referrals. For each of our three referrals (declined first, lost second at start of trip #1, third is sleeping accross the corridor right now) we were, or would have been, the first PAPs that our agency sent to each region where they were. Because it all turned out OK, I'm willing to let it slide - selectively letting some things slide is something you get used to when you are a Russian PAP. But there was some blagging going on there.

Allow me to offer some gratouitious suggestions on agency selection:

• Accredited and accreditation will last for a good while is a must.
• Research the agency here using the agecny PM list.
• Research the agency on other Internet sources, the FRUA site is also a good place.
• Ask how many referrals from Russia the agency has given in the past year.
• Ask how many children have been successfully adopted from Russia through their agency in the past year.
• Ask them to put you in touch with the last three families that came home with children successfully. If you can only ask them one question, ask whether if they were going to start another adoption again, would they go back to their agency.
• Ask to speak with three families currently "waiting" too.
• Ask what regions the agency works in.

Don't be surprised if an agency is reluctant to be frothcoming in response to all of your questions. Just keep in mind, the less they are willing to tell you, the less you probably want to hire them.

[Ktates]

You know the other thing I was thinking - is talk to parents that had problems with agencies and find out how they were handled. It's great if everyone you talked to had no problems but sometimes things happen that are out of the agency's control - you want to know you can count on that agency to do everything possible for you. We are a good example of that actually - we actually started court but had to postpone it 3 times before we finished it due to the release letter not showing up. This was a problem out of our agency's and the judges hands. I didn't know if we were going to bring home my daughter - but I did know the agency was doing everything they could and called me 2x a day with updates. It was a scary time but at least I didn't have any doubts with my agency.

So I guess that's a really long winded way of saying - if references encountered problems that's not necessarily a bad sign depending on what they were and how the agency handled it.

[Kasey]

Another question which may help in your decision, like Nungesser said, how many regions (only one or two or twenty?), also do they assign you to a region, do they give you a choice of regions or do you not get assigned any regions unless you request and just go on general waiting list and find out your region at the time of your referral?
Also investigate the regions they work in--things like a very long in country flight to the Far east, may not appeal to you, do they know the time between trips with their regions (although this is variable now with russia), do those regions tend to waive the ten days on the second trip?
Ask what their policy is if you have to turn down your referral while in country on the first trip, will they make you come home and wait or will they work to find you another referral while in country.
Do they only do blind referrals (i.e you either know nothing, or you know basic, age and sex) or do you get referrals with photos and/or video and medical info?
These are just some other things to consider.
Best wishes!!

[Vicki H]

I agree with the above posters, I think some agencies have better working relationships with certain regions, but I don't think that they get healthier referrals than others.
I feel that researching an agency and talking to others that have used that same agency helps.
I think some maybe more strict with medicals before presenting a referral to their clients.
Jim and Kretz had some great advice.


Good luck to you.

Vicki

[waitinginnj]

Agencies have working relationships with the orphanages and many times subsidize the the orphanages, which can have an impact on the health and well being of the children in their care.

I gave donations and each time that I was at the orphanage, our driver was delivering different goods that the orphanage had requested. Made me feel that the donation money was getting to the orphanage.

I believe that there can be a difference based upon agency. Again, not guarantees.

[cathvash]

Do you see what a knowledgeable group of folks you have run across?!

One thought that might put a slightly different spin on your agency selection sequence: If you do not have a specific region in mind, you might do well to first research which regions are currently "adoption-friendly". So much of what I hear demonstrates very different processes and ease depending on the region. The region makes a HUGE difference. Once you identify some prospective regions, you can determine which agencies place children from there (This board would be one good place to ask the question). You will want to look at the number of children they have placed from there as well. This will give you a "short list". Then you can research these agencies according to the criteria described by others above.

My belief is that the Russians have worked very hard to make the process as objective as possible. That said, the workers there have some level of control over their jobs, just as we all do. I would question the agencies about what type of relationships they have with the powers-that-be in that area. If the agency is well-regarded and maintains close ties, it might work to your advantage at some point, as opposed to an agency that is not well known to the folks there...

[k8c]

If I've put out an agency on the boards both here and on FRUA and have gotten very few responses, what would you make of that?

This agency also umbrellas. From what everyone says, that's a big no these days, but the agency talks like it's no big deal. More blagging?

Cheers, all.