Adoption Agency Selection Checklist
It was March of 1996 that the
first draft of this checklist was
placed online. It has been used by thousands since then and, with the feedback
received since 1996, it has been shortened and simplified with more critical
areas included. There are now 5 questions most easily answered by using the yellow pages,
or other agency advertisements such as web pages,
and then 12 questions that will probably require a phone call to the agency. There is no difference if you are placing a child you are expecting
or if you are wanting to adopt a child into your family. The qualities involved
in a good agency are the same. You must carefully select that agency
for the sake of your child.
You must also be concerned as to
how the adopting parents of your child, or the birth family of your child, are treated by the agency you select. It is a VERY important decision.
As you are calling agencies and asking questions about the issues from this
checklist, it is very possible that the staff will recognize that you are using
this checklist. Do not let that distract you from the critical issues
addressed in the checklist. Just acknowledge that you are using the "openadoption.org
checklist" and that you want to go over the issues one by one. The issues are
infinitely more important than the source of the checklist you are using. The
way agency staff treats you and your concerns will tell you as much about an
agency as the written agency policy. It will tell you more than the public
image the agency attempts to advertise.
Linked
here is a PDF
copy of the Adoption Agency Selection Checklist for printing. It will print out to one page. You
may
then take notes on the printed copy as you study agency advertisements and call agencies.
This is the wording to the check list:
Adoption Agency
Selection Checklist
(2006)
After studying the
www.openadoption.org
web pages to understand the issues involved, this page can
be used to compare up to four agencies. Copies can be
printed from
http://www.openadoption.org/agencychecklist.pdf.
The more “Yes” answers to the questions that follow the
better an agency is. (Use the term attorney or adoption
intermediary, interchangeably with agency if such adoption
practitioners can still legally function similar to agencies
in your area.) Few agencies will get “Yes” answers to all 17
questions, and some questions are more important.
Most of the first 5 questions can be answered from agency
web sites, yellow pages, and other advertisements without
calling the agency. The other questions will probably
require a call to the agency, but count it as extra good if
positive answers can be found in agency advertisements
alone. Count it as negative if there is hesitation by agency
staff to answer questions on the phone.
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Date:
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Agency 1 |
Agency 2 |
Agency 3 |
Agency 4 |
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Do the agency
web site & advertisements make it clear that the
agency only does fully open, fully identified
adoptions?
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Is this agency
easy to drive to from your home?
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Do you have a
friend who knows or has used this agency and gives it
a very high recommendation?
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Are there other
agencies in your local yellow pages who have much
larger yellow page ads under the adoption heading?
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Is the agency a
church affiliated agency or is it over 30 years old?
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Does the agency
encourage maternity clients to parent and also offer
free support and guidance in how to parent a child?
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Did agency
staff make it clear that they prefer to do fully open
adoptions and rarely, if at all, will they serve an
adopting family wanting less than a fully open
adoption?
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Did agency
staff accurately define open adoption as involving no
secrets between birth and adopting families and
ongoing, direct, in person contact between them?
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Does the agency
strongly recommend, or even require, several
counseling sessions by their staff before a maternity
client starts considering the selection of a family
for their child?
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Does agency
require a minimum of 10 hours of training & counseling
for all adopting parents before they are approved for
placement?
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Does the agency
encourage matching between birth and adopting families
who live close enough to each other for easy visits?
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Does the agency
have fully identified resumes by families adopting,
with full names and addresses as well as local phone
numbers on them, freely available for the selection
process?
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Does the agency
always allow maternity clients selecting a family for
their child to be able to study every waiting family
available in the agency for their child and almost
never limit maternity clients to selecting from a few
waiting families chosen by agency staff?
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Does the agency
provide a copy of their fee agreement for adopting
parents with a clearly stated refund policy along with
a clarification that donations cannot be accepted
during the adoption process?
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Does the
original adopting parent fee include money for all
maternity client expenses anticipated with only the
agency paying all such expenses, even if they go above
that set amount?
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Is agency a
member of the Child Welfare League of America?
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Is the race of
the child expected one of the last questions asked?
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Total Number of
"Yes" answers, summary:
Email
bbetzen@openadoption.org with any questions or
comments.
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Remember to use the
PDF
copy of the Adoption Agency Selection Checklist linked here for printing a
copy of the above form limited to one page in length.
The above list deals with agency selection (as well
as adoption attorney or adoption intermediary where they are still allowed to
function similar to agencies.)
Below
are two related online lists that deal with the adoption decision itself and
are highly recommended for everyone to study in the adoption process:
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On the Concerned United Birth Parents
web site at
http://www.cubirthparents.org/ you will find the excellent document written
by Heather Lowe;
"What you should KNOW if
you're considering adoption for your baby", a CUB booklet in .pdf
form (362Kb).
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The other list is also by a respected triad member,
Sharon Kaplan Roszia,
who is also an open adoption pioneer and
professional. Her list is
called "Birthparent Check List: Questions to
Consider Prior to Making an Adoption Plan." It is
online at
http://www.adopting.org/silveroze/html/birthparent_checklist.html.
Anyone considering adoption should study these
documents before doing anything. Adopting parents who understand these issues
the birth parents of their child will face are urgently needed. All parents
considering the placement of their child need to understand each of the issues
these documents address before they finalize any adoption plan.
A child whose parents take the time necessary to study
these documents, and select the best agency, and/or adopting family,
will be the real winner!
Your comments and questions are welcome.
9-01-06
Bill Betzen, LMSW (Emeritus)
bbetzen@openadoption.org
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