Choosing an agency

emca

Hi All!

 I just introduced myself yesterday, but of course I have already begun researching agencies and what might be best for us.  We are planning on pursuing domestic infant adoption.  I signed us up for an information session at an agency a bit south from us.  I thought that might be a good starting point. Then I got in contact with someone I know that runs another agency right in my area. I am also going to research some national agencies as well.   

How did you know that the agency you chose was right for you?  Is it like when you go pick out a wedding dress....when you know, you just know it's the right one?  I guess this is just the beginning of what I will be nervous about in this process?

Thanks so much and any help you can provide is much appreciated!

crene84

I attended a few agency seminars but in the end, DH and I decided to go independent (with an attorney).  The reason we did this was because we spoke to other people who had been working with the agencies we looked into and they had all been waiting quite a while and most decided to advertise on their own in addition to their agency costs. We figured if we were going to do that, we might as well save the money we'd use with an agency.  In NC, attorneys are much cheaper than the agencies so we are really happy with the decision we made.  Having said that, we didn't have the counseling, social workers to act as the middle man, etc, so we made some sacrifices going independent.

Dr.Loretta

We wanted someplace fairly local, and we had 3 options. One wouldn't return our calls, so they were out. One was small and fairly low cost, but I hated their attitude. DH liked their lower fee schedule. The 3rd was large and well established and I loved them, but their fees were higher.

DH mulled it over a couple of months (typical, it took him a month to pick bedroom furniture), and finally agreed with my pick when a coworker sang their praises.

But we asked both of them a lot of questions

emca

Thank you so much! 

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erinmc1

We spent 15 months with the first agency before we decided to start looking around.  They had some managerial turnover that resulted in us kind of "falling through the cracks" when it came to communication and personal service, although we'd chosen them because they had a great reputation.

We joined another agency about 3 weeks ago and matched almost immediately.  Honestly, we know we were very lucky in matching so quickly with any agency, and that definitely colors our perception, but for the communication, updates, and overall feeling that we were kept in the loop from the minute they got our paperwork, felt much better than with the first agency.