wanted: one good agency
Its the most critical step on your international adoption journey.
Finding an experienced adoption facilitator/agency.
Someone who will not only want to help you find your child - but who will also have your best interests at heart.
During the adoption process, your agency's job is to answer your million questions, help you with paperwork; provide up-to-date information on changes in your country's adoption policies, procedures, or laws; and maintain contact with adoption officials and facilitators in the host country.
Then when it comes time they should make sure your travel within your child's birth country goes smoothly, and any problems in the adoption process -- either here or abroad -- are handled quickly.
A big job to be sure.
That's why your job of finding that most excellent agency/facilitator is so important. You need to find someone you not only feel comfortable with, but who will work hard for you.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
- References, references, references - Check not only the references the agency/facilitator gives you. Don't be afraid to call them and ask probing questions like...'What was the most stressful part of the process and how did your agency help,' 'Do you feel like you were listened to and that your concerns were addressed,' 'Did you feel comfortable with the in-country staff,' and most importantly, 'Would you use them again?'
- Don't stop there! Go on the discussion boards and ask for references. You're more likely to get truly honest opinions. But be prepared...you're also more likely to get sour grapes. Some people have incredibly high expectations for the money they are paying for a service - and if that isn't met, they aren't afraid to let everyone know. Take ALL of the feedback you get with a big grain of salt.
- Check with the BBB - As antiquated as it sounds, the Better Business Bureau can give you a good idea of whether an agency is on the up and up. Also check with the secretary of state in the area where your agency/facilitator is located. They'll have an idea as well.
- Consider it carefully - While you will more than likely get some mixed results from your searches, the thing to carefully consider is the circumstances...and look carefully for a pattern. If you see a number of people saying the stateside services were great, but the overseas workers were incompetent, then there's a good chance you'll see the same result.
2 comments:
Agencies vary a lot. One of the biggest variances is in cost. I am sick at heart that we didn't adopt for eight years because the first agency who sent us information told us it would cost nearly $30,000! Well, that was completely out of sight for us. Only 8 years later did I happen on information about another agency which is more of a mission, that has extremely small fees AND because we ended up adopting a child who came on a summer hosting trip and was not adopted by his original hosting family - our agency did our adoption for NOTHING! Also, because the host family paid the cost of the trip to the US, we also were spared the cost of a first trip to Russia! Our first adoption cost us no more than we got back via the tax refund! The subsequent three have only cost us perhaps $2,000 each... pretty much the cost of the "vacation" in Russia.
Agencies also vary on "extras". I was not interested in a lot of classes. Being professional educators (my husband is a counselor), parents of grown children, and avid readers (self-educators) we didn't really want to be run through a "program". Happily our agency is pretty bare bones that way. This was a good fit for us. Another family I know had a whole series of classes they were required to take - some on Russian geography, language, etc. Frankly, I thought this was probably a "service" intended to distract attention from their enormous fees and VERY LONG wait time (over two years!). However, for this couple this was the right approach. They were comforted by the classes instead of annoyed.
Also, I know that some agencies arrange everything when you go in-country. Ours did....and the fees were extremely reasonable. I was stunned to find out that other adoptive parents (some who paid very large fees for the "assistance") had to book their own hotel rooms, find their own transportation, etc.
Another thing to look into is how much help you get preparing your dossier. Our agency put everything together for us. We just had to acquire the documents and get them notarized. She got them apostilled, put them together and got them to Russia. I was shocked to find out that some families with other agencies just received a LIST and an address in Russia - and had to do the rest themselves!
These are all things to explore.
I agree that next after real life references, to check the discussion boards. Also look for recent threads or post your own questions for recent experiences. As quickly as Russian adoption is changing, I'd say that anything over 6 months old is too old.
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