AGENCY OR ATTORNEY?

Adoptions continue during the pandemic. 

Deciding to adopt is a major step in your life's journey. Choosing those to help you, is one of the important decisions you will make early on in your adoption process. No one answer is correct and depends on how much you want to be involved and control the process (working with an attorney) or if you would rather turn the process over to agency personnel and protocol.

AGENCY: Someone else will be overseeing the matching process and all the steps of the adoption. They are also the conduit of all information. They make the decision if your profile will be shown to an expectant mother alone or along with other profiles. Therefore, it is important for you to ascertain how  many others are seeking a particular type of child with this agency as well as how many profiles are presented at one time. You also want to find out the typical length of time before a match/placement is made; how many matches they make in a year and how many families are in their program. You also want to be sure that if this agency does your homestudy, that you can access it for any other adoption that may come your way.

ATTORNEY: A more hands on approach. With legal guidance, you will control what happens and when, including the outreach efforts to find an expectant mother. You can do this yourself or hire a consultant to run the outreach campaign and screen calls and emails from expectant mothers. Yours will be the only profile seen at a time. Your attorney is your legal advocate throughout the process and will coordinate all needed services. You should confirm that  they have access to adoption attorneys in other states, in case it is needed.

While all states have agencies who do private, international and foster care adoption, each state has its own regulations.   For example, NYS has a limited number of agencies in state or authorized to place children into NYS. As a result, they can get glutted with waiting families. Because of this, many singles and couples choose the independent/attorney route.

I myself (a New York resident) adopted twice, starting with a private attorney and ending up needing an agency in the state where my daughters were born. My attorney remained involved and helped locate needed out of state services.

Over the years, I have counseled thousands of singles and couples as they decide early in the adoption process or reconsider their choice at a later date. Once in the adoption process, some find they want less oversight or more personal control. You can do that and adjust what services, professionals, etc. you need to complete a specific adoption.

Whichever way you choose, the best of luck, and remember, I am here to help you achieve your dream. 
Kathy Ann Brodsky, LCSW is a New York and New Jersey licensed social worker, adoptive mom and advocate for ethical adoption practice. Through her private practice and agency affiliations, she has prepared  thousands of adoption  homestudies, counseled  expectant, birth, pre/post adoptive parents and  adopted  persons, as  well  as trained  professionals  to  work  with  adoptive  families. She  was Director of the  Ametz  Adoption  Program of  JCCA and a member of the Advisory Board for POV’s Adoption  Series and the  Adoption  Advisory  Board  of  Path2Parenthood, She is currently a  Adoption   Professional   Advisory  Council  of  HelpUSAdopt , a member of the Advisory Board of the Family Equality Council and  active  in  the  Adoptive Parents Committee in  New  York.  Her  blogs  and  written contributions can be seen throughout the Internet, including  her  BLOG  and  as  Head  Writer  for  ADOPTION.NET   She  was  named  an  “Angel in Adoption” by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption in 2001. You can reach her directly.