Private Child Adoption Agencies: Are They Right for You?

Private agencies are typically full-service adoption agencies that the state licenses to place children for adoption. These agencies provide all the services necessary to facilitate adoption: They typically have a staff of social workers who provide supportive counseling and services to the birthparents, perform home studies, and educate and prepare adoptive families. They also have an attorney on staff or an attorney to recommend, who can handle the legal aspects of finalizing the adoption.

Birthparents (usually the birthmothers) contact these agencies on their own and ask for their services to help them understand their options and to plan an adoption that suits their needs. The birthparents rely on the agencies to properly screen the adoptive families and prepare them for adoption.

Here are some things to know about private agencies:

• Most usually place newborns. Some agencies prefer to place healthy infants, and other agencies may specialize in special needs. Some do both. Some agencies are medical-condition-specific, such as an agency with the sole purpose of finding homes for kids with Down syndrome.

• If you adopt through a private agency, expect to pay an application fee, a home study fee, a fee at placement, and legal fees. A typical range for all these fees is $7,500 to $15,000. Of course, some adoptions through private agencies cost more, and some cost less. Some private agencies may require you to pay other expenses as well, such as any medical costs not covered by insurance or Medicaid and some of the birthmother's living expenses.

• Private agencies have different criteria for which they'll accept as prospective adoptive parents. Some church-affiliated agencies, for example, accept applications only from people affiliated with that religion. Other agencies may have a marriage or age requirement. Be sure to find out what criteria the agency has before you submit an application.

• For an adoption through a private agency, the average time from start to finish is between six months and two years. That time range can vary, though, depending largely on two things:

o How flexible you are. The more conditions and situations you'll consider, the more frequently the agency will offer your profile to birth moms. Waits for minority infants, for example, are usually shorter than waits for white infants.

o The number of people the agency serves. Obviously, if the agency has lots of birthmothers and few adoptive families, your wait will be shorter. Conversely, an agency with few birthmothers and lots of adoptive families translates into a longer wait.

• Private agencies can be nonprofit agencies or for-profit agencies. To qualify for nonprofit status, an agency's purpose must be not to make money, but to fulfill some religious, charitable, educational, literary, or scientific purpose. In addition, no money that the organization makes can go to enrich people. This distinction may be important to you as you select an agency to work with.

• The important thing is the agency's license. All child-placing agencies must undergo annual license reviews to ensure that they're following the state adoption laws and facilitating adoption in an ethical manner. Before you select an agency, make sure it's licensed and that the license is current.