Knowing what to do when you start the adoption process is hard. (I spoke to two law firms and two agencies and I still didn’t know what was best until I sat down and weighed each option.) Finding these people isn’t easy and knowing who to trust and what will be best for you isn’t either. I had to choose what made the most sense for me and my family and you will too. 

Working with an Attorney or Family Law Care

My first step was to meet with someone who practiced family law and represented couples building their families through adoption. It didn’t work for me, personally, because I was told that I would need to find birth parents on my own. Not every lawyer works like that though and some law firms do work with birth families to match. 

Advantages

• You might have a personal connection to an attorney that you are more comfortable working with. 
• The legal process will be clearly explained to you to help ease your mind

Disadvantages

• You may have to seek your own birth family that is considering creating an adoption plan. To me, the risk here was huge and I was concerned about perceived coercion. 
• Lawyers may be costly. Make sure you are clear about billable hours. 
  • They won’t perform the home study–you will likely have to retain another agency or social worker for that as well, so add that to your cost. 

Working with a Social Worker

Many people choose to meet with a social worker who is independent of an agency. You will want to ensure that they are licensed prior to meeting with them.

Advantages

• You might receive a more personalized approach. If they’re local, the social worker may be able to come to you more and have more flexibility with their schedule. 
• If you have already been working with a social worker during your foster placement, you may want to stay with that individual as he or she will know your story and know you well. 

Disadvantages

• Like an attorney would, you may be billed hourly. Consider that rate and what it includes. 
• You might still be relying on social media, word of mouth, etc. to find a birth parent who is seeking to find a placement for their child. 

Working with a Licensed Agency

My husband and I went with a licensed agency because we needed more hand-holding and needed someone to tell us what to do. 

Advantages

• Most licensed agencies take care of everything from matching you with birth families to finding an attorney for your court hearing. They typically set up your home study, etc. We also knew what extra amount we might have to pay for birth parent support. 
• You will get a cost upfront and what it includes. (I was happy to see that our daughter’s birth mother would receive free counseling for life as a part of our fee). 

Disadvantages

• Since there are many families working with the agency, it may take longer for you to get a placement than you would if you are one of a few.
• You likely will have to schedule time to travel to the agency for meetings with adoption professionals and potential birth families. 

While there are numerous avenues you can take, people who choose an attorney or independent social worker may already have a relationship with that individual or have someone already asking them to parent their child. Curious about working with an adoption agency? Contact Adoption Choice, Inc.