Copyright © 1996 by Cynthia Teeters. All rights reserved. 

As most prospective adoptive parents realize, choosing a good agency to work with will be one of the most important decisions made during the adoption. Unfortunately, international adoptions have become a lucrative business creating a great potential for fraudulent and unethical practices.

Two common abuses are 1) obtaining prepayment for adoption of a nonexistent or ineligible child and 2) knowingly offering a supposedly healthy child for adoption who is later found to be seriously ill. You can avoid the potential heartache of such fraud by using only reputable agencies, attorneys, and facilitators.

When first beginning, it is very tempting, therefore, to seek out people you trust to answer questions such as, "Can you give me the name of a reputable agency?" Unless these people are close to you already they will probably not know the information about you necessary to make a good referral. This information includes your family income and budget, ethnic heritage, motivations for wanting to become adoptive parents, current knowledge and understanding of intercountry adoption, restrictions on traveling, and desires for a certain age or sex or number of children. All of these factors help determine the right program for you.

Below are a series of questions the answers to which any ethical agency should be able to provide. Use them as a guide when requesting information about an agency’s adoption programs and services. Much of the information, especially about fees, should be contained in the agency’s contract. Much of the other information should be contained in the agency’s promotional material or on their official letter-head. If the answers to your questions appear to be contradictory, vague, unrealistic, or conflict with information you have received elsewhere; or if the agency requests large sums of money before services are rendered, beware.

Programs

What are the agency’s and country’s requirements for prospective adoptive parents? Some may have requirements about religion, marital status, age, nu mber of current children, and ethnic heritage. Will the agency place restrictions on you not placed on others?

How many adoptions has the agency processed from a particular country/region? Why that number? Remember each country and its laws are different. Sometimes even regions within a country will have different adoption laws and procedures.

What age ranges, sex and number of children may you request? How much experience does the agency have in placing these types of children?
How familiar are the in-country facilitators with the adoption procedures in their regions? How familiar is the agency with the facilitators? How is the agency informed about changes to foreign laws and procedures? How does the agency keep in contact with the in-country facilitator?

Does the agency have other programs in case serious problems arise in a particular country or region?

How long does an adoption take from time of application; completion of dossier; acceptance of a referral? Delays can and do occur in international adoption. Therefore, an agency’s reliance on such words such as 'fast' and 'guaranteed' should be seen as danger signs. Honest answers usually contain a range from best case to more problematic case scenarios.

How and when is a referral made? A referral made early in the application process may pose additional risk that a particular child will not be available at the time both US and foreign approval for the adoption have been obtained.

What happens if you feel a referral is not a good match?

Will you receive photographs (video is better) and medical and social information and be given adequate time to make a decision? Will the agency provide assistance in obtaining more information if needed? If an older child referral is made will there be psychological and emotional information made available as well?

If you are interested in an escort program, what is the cost and procedure involved in arranging an escort?

Are there travel restrictions which the escort can demand such as travel date or city of entry? Occasionally, parents have been required to travel to the city chosen by the escort.

Does the escort already have both an entrance visa for this country and a possible exit visa from the child’s country or will this be something that will have to be procured just before travel? How difficult will it be to get these visas in a timely manner?

If travel is required, what are the anticipated number of times and number of days that will be required? Will both spouses be required to travel? Will other family members be allowed to accompany you if this is your desire?

Will you be required by either state or US immigration laws to adopt or readopt the child(ren) here?

Finances

Are the agency fees commensurate to the services being provided?

Will the agency give an itemized estimate of the total cost of the adoption? Be aware that often agencies do not estimate costs such as local document preparation (including homestudy), traveling, and meeting post-placement requirements.

What type of payment schedule does an agency have? Most ethical agencies do not ask for large payments before services are rendered. Typical application fees are $500-$1500. Fee payments are then scheduled as the adoption progresses with the bulk of money due just before or at the time a child is actually placed.

What is the agency’s policy about fee payment if the adoption is not completed?

Can the agency give you estimates on associated costs? This should include the cost of services and expenses such as foster care, traveling, room and board, escort fees, translator, translation fees for documents, drivers, donations to orphanage, gifts to officials and host families, etc. These types of expenses add up and need to be estimated to budget your adoption.

How much money will you be required to carry with you while traveling? Some agencies require that you take thousands of dollars of foreign source fee with you while others do not.

Parental Support

How much and what type of parent education and preparation does the agency supply? Do the preparation resources offered match the type of child you are wishing to adopt? Note: older child, special needs and multiple placement adoptions will present unique challenges to adopting parents for which they must be prepared.

How much and what kind of support does the agency supply during different phases (application, dossier, referral, waiting, and post-placement) of the process? What are the typical times needed for different phases? Will you be informed of the status of the different phases of your adoption in a timely fashion?

Does the agency actively endorse adoptive family support groups (not directly related to the agency) and routinely makes support group contact information available to its clients?

If you apply, who will be assigned to your case? What is the experience and the typical caseload of such a person? Who will be the back-up during absences?

What role does the agency play in completing the homestudy? If this is an out-of-state agency can it provide recommendations for a homestudy agency? How much will the two agencies work together?

How will the agency assist in completing the dossier? Do they provide information about how to apply to INS approval? Do they provide forms and translations for documents required by the foreign government?

How will the agency insure that all paperwork has been prepared accurately and that you meet all local and foreign requirements for adoption.

If, when calling, you were required to leave a message, how quickly did someone respond? This is especially important for those of you who are trying to work with long distance agencies. It may also be very important while you are traveling.

How much hand-holding does the agency supply when traveling? Does the agency help with travel arrangements such as flight reservations and visa applications? Are you sent over there on your own or does an agency facilitator stay with you throughout the entire process? Will your US agency routinely contact you while you are abroad?

Did the agency provide information about possible orphanage donations and expected gift giving in the foreign country?

Will the agency provide you with contacts from others who have successfully adopted from a particular region or who live in your area and are willing to act as mentors?

Will you be provided with opportunities to visit the agency’s office?

Does the agency have special meetings just for waiting parents?

What post-placement services are available? Remember: older child, special needs and multiple placement adoptions will present unique challenges to adopting parents for which they must be prepared. The agency should be knowledgeable about post-placement issues related to potential emotional, behavioral and learning challenges and have a stated policy of how it will assist families in need.

Does the agency help in providing to families an understanding of the cultural, racial, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds of the children it places?

Does the agency print and distribute a newsletter? Can you get a copy or two of back issues?

Ethical Business Practices

How long has the agency been in business?

How satisfied are parents currently in the program; those who have completed the process? Would they use the agency again? The testimonials of families who have been there are the best indicators of a good agency. Find references not only through the agency but also through support groups.

What does the agency do to ensure that the child is a documented orphan and that the best needs of the child are being considered in an adoption?

What information was supplied by local and state authorities responsible for licensing when asked about a particular agency?

What information was supplied by the US State Department and the US embassy in the capital city of the foreign country when asked about a particular agency? Also take the opportunity to find out from these sources how adoptions in that country are going. Does that information match what you have been told by the agency?

Is the agency following the laws and guidelines established by both the domestic and foreign governments? The agency should be able to describe in detail how it meets these laws and guidelines and how it assists adopting families in making sure they also meet all laws and guidelines. If an agency places children in states other than where it is located, it should have a full understanding of adoption laws in those other states which may affect an intercountry adoption.

Is the agency non-profit? Will it provide to you a complete list of all employees and all board members?

Does the agency actively promote the placement of special needs and waiting children? Does it reduce fees for such placements?

Is the agency involved in child welfare in that country? How much of their resources are related to such work?