Tips for Choosing an Ethical International Adoption Agency

1. Join online agency rating/discussion groups such as Adoption Agency Research, International Adoption Agency Feedback, Rate Your Vietnam Agency, Rate Your China Adoption Agency, Rate Your Chinese SN Adoption Agency, Adoption Scams and the websites ICAR and Adopting from Russia to find out what others think about the agency.

2. Ask around on adoption related message boards and chat rooms, and to people you know personally who have adopted (ask around at church, school, playgroups, families with internationally adopted children groups, etc) if anyone has any experience with or advice about agencies you are considering, good or bad. Keep in mind that some unethical agencies have people pose as clients giving glowing reviews to prospective clients to get more business for themselves. Offer an e-mail address (or suggest PM) even if public posting is possible. Some people with negative experiences are reluctant to post publicly.

3. Get a list of references from agencies you are considering, and actually call around. Remember that agencies may not add clients who have had a negative experience to their list of references.

4. Don't look just at how your agency does with an adoption program in the country you want to adopt from, see how well they do in all areas. Agencies with a great Vietnam program may have had corrupt dealings in others, or participate in coercing women into choosing adoption domestically.

5. Contact the BBB, but remember that just because the agency isn't listed does not mean it is ethical or good to work with.

6. Be wary of agencies that make 'too-good-to-be-true' claims, such as always having a short wait, having much 'better', cuter or younger babies than the competition.

7. Don't assume you will have an easy, event free adoption. Ask all sorts of questions about "what if this happens" and see how your agency answers that they would handle it.  Examples of “what if” questions to ask are:

A. What happens if this country shuts down the process while we are still waiting?

B. What if our referral is switched on us?

C. What if something happens to the child or the original family wants them back?

D. What if our child is found to have more severe needs than we knew about once we meet them?

E. What if we become pregnant or want to do an interim adoption during the wait?

8. What requirements does your agency have concerning educational training? It may seem like you would want to choose an agency that’s as easy to adopt from as possible, but in reality agencies who require very little, or no, educational training on the part of the adoptive parents show that they care very little for the well being of the child and family, and more about completing more adoptions.

9. What kind of post placement support will you have and can you have?  Do they have a list of attachment specialists and child mental health experts they can recommend if you have a problem? Do you feel you could go to this agency for support and help should you have issues with your child post adoption? If you feel an agency is too busy or too absent to listen to you in your time of need, that may be a red flag.

10. Do they have a representative in country to assist you when you are picking up your child?  What kind of training does that person have? If possible, find out what others experiences were using the same representative/guide. It is this person who will be with you at the most crucial time, so you will want to make sure they know what they are doing and will be able to help you should you need anything!

11. If possible, go visit the agency in person.  Spend some time talking with them (preferably several people – social worker, program director, etc).   This is not always possible but we found it to be very helpful.

12. BE SURE YOU KNOW HOW A COUNTRY PROGRAM WORKS BEFORE YOU TALK TO AGENCIES.  Look at the US embassy websites for that country, try Rainbow Kids, etc for the program info.  If an agency is telling you they have a China program but they aren't on the CCAA list or they say they use another agency for their referrals, you can bet it is an unethical agency.  (This is illegal in China adoptions.)

13. Get all contracts that need to be signed and read them thoroughly before signing up with an agency. Best, have an attorney read them. Never sign anything that is blank or incomplete.

14. Question unnecessary fee structures and fees such as sign-up fee and dossier fee. Those fees are usually designed to financially tie clients to the agency step by step so the prospective adoptive parents won't back out as easy if they hear bad things about the agency.

15.  Don't fall for advertising like Non-For-Profit and Tax exempt. Unethical agencies have ways of funneling high profits to sister companies or pay the board of directors’ outrageous salaries. Hold your agency accountable for the fees they charge. Ask where the money goes and ask to see financial reports as proof. Use Guidestar to verify a nonprofit's legitimacy, learn whether a contribution will be tax deductible, view a nonprofit's recent Forms 990, or find out more about its mission, programs, and finances.

16.  Don't automatically trust agencies with a religious affiliation without doing as much research as for any other agency and don't assume all adoption professionals are all saints since they try to help children. There is a lot of money to be made in adoptions and this money attracts all kinds of people.

17. Don't use only one agency for placement and homestudy, even if your agency offers it. In cases of conflict some agencies have been known to declare prospective adoptive parents unfit for adoption to get rid of the 'problem'. Another pitfall of using the same agency for the homestudy/placement is that if you find you need to switch agencies, your homestudy might not be "transferable."

18. For countries where the first/birth parents are known, find out what, if anything, the agencies do to help the first/birth families. Do they offer them any counseling? Do they provide any pre or post adoption support to them? Will they help you keep in contact? Will they help you obtain information on the first/birth family? What measures are taken to assure that the relinquishment is completely voluntary and the first/birth parents are not coerced into giving up their children?

19. Read websites such as Informed Adoption Advocates, Ethica, Adoption Agency Checklist, Fleas Biting, Bastard Nation, Selected Works of David M. Smolin, Adopting Internationally, PEAR, Evan B Donaldson Adoption Institute, and JCICS

20. Does the agency encourage you to steer clear of adoption groups, forums, and informational websites? This may be a red flag that they do not want you to know what is really going on.

21. What are the agencies policies on refunds? What if the country closes, you choose not to complete the adoption or something happens to your child or your family? Under what circumstances would you get your money back, and would it be a full or partial refund?

22. If an agency offers a grant or fee waiver for the adoption of a child, find out before you sign anything if there are stipulations and requirements to receive the grant/waiver. Many people have signed on to adopt a child thinking they would be getting such a fee reduction only to find out they did not qualify for it after they'd already committed.

23. RUN don't walk from any agency that encourages you to give bribes or cash gifts to anyone in the process.

24. Find out if the staff of the agency is paid a regular salary or on a "per child" basis. People who are paid per child may be more likely to use unethical means to procure a child, to get a larger paycheck.

25. Make sure you meet all of the requirements for the agency before you sign with them. I have heard of cases where a prospective adoptive couple/parent signed on to an agency and paid a non-refundable fee only to find out later that they did not meet all of the requirements by the agency. Do not just assume that since they took your application and money that they plan to approve you.