Apologies if the answer to this seems obvious to others, but I'm trying to figure out what parts of the adoption process beyond the match having an adoption agency helps the most with. For example, let's assume you are adopting from local foster care and can potentially find a match that way, would you still work with an agency for the home study, paperwork, etc? Also, does the agency replace the need for a lawyer during finalization?
Re: Question about adoption agencies.
We used an agency and we found it beneficial not only for the match, but they also provided support to us in this up and down process. They also provided support and counseling for the BM's. In our situation, BM was a minor, so the agency provided an attorney and a notary for the TPR. The agency also arranged the meeting of us with BM and the first year visit. We have a semi-open, so we do not have personal info, so the agency serves as our connection to BM for pictures/letters/visits. Plus, they completed our homestudy, etc.
We still needed an attorney for finalization.
I have no info on using an agency for foster/adopt - would the foster care agency offer those supports instead of finding a separate adoption agency?
Thank you for asking this question. I was wondering the same thing.
My understanding is you work with the state, or a foster agency, to do a homestudy, etc. for foster placement. But I'm no expert.
The agency doesn't replace the need for a lawyer, but they typically have lawyers who work for/with them to finalize. We had our choice of a half dozen lawyers who work with our agency to do TPR and finalization.