Adoption seems like one of those industries that, by nature, would only be populated by good people. However, adoption is not just good business, its also big business that is loosely regulated. Hopeful, prospective adoptive parents can be easy targets if theyre not careful.

In an article entitled "Ten Things Adoption Agencies Won't Say," on the website SmartMoney, writer Michelle Marchetti offered the following tips:

• Avoid searching the Web blindly. The Internet is replete with agencies that lack a physical location, which should be a major red flag.
• Instead, check out the National Foster Care & Adoption Directory, a database funded by the Department of Health and Human Services that lists licensed agencies by state.
• When agencies estimate time frames, they typically dont include the duration of a home study in their estimates, so be sure to factor in the four months it often takes.
• Ask prospective agencies for an itemized list of charges, and consider dropping any firm that wont cooperate
• To weed out the lesser agencies, ask for the names and phone numbers of three clients whose adoptions were completed at least three years ago. Contact those adoptive parents and inquire about how the agency handled both post-adoption services and the adoption process itself.

Marchetti's article also lists licensing specialists for each state, which can tell you how many complaints, if any, have been filed against an adoption agency.

Labels: tips, agencies

Posted By: Aspen/CRC