There are the following advantages in an Agency Adoption.
1. The social workers who work for adoption agencies are trained professionals. They are generally highly qualified persons who are competent and sensitive.
2. Agencies advertise their services and generally have a large numberof contacts both with birth parents and prospective adoptive parents.
3. The birth parents do not have to assume the same level of personal responsibility for investigating prospective adoptive parents or for the ultimate decision concerning placing the child with them.
4. There is very little risk associated with agency adoptions. The placement does not occur until after parental rights have been terminated.
There are the following disadvantages to Agency Adoptions.
1. The costs of Agency Adoptions are usually substantially hgiher than the costs of Parental Placement Adoptions. The costs to the adoptive family generally run between $10,000 and $30,000. The primary reasons for these costs are the payment of salaries for the staff of the agency and the costs which the agency incurs for advertising.
2. Agencies are free to adopt their own sets of qualifications for adoptive families, as well as their own reasons for disqualifying certain families. A large percentage of agencies are associated with a particular religious denomination and will only place children with families who are members of that denomination. Many will disqualify a family because they think that the parents are too old to adopt, or for medical or other reasons. Many adoptive families may regard some of these reasons as arbitrary, although these decisions are not made lightly.
3. Some agencies stil lhave long waiting lists. However, this varies considerably.
4. Because the placement does not occur until after the termination of parental rights accurs, the child is placed in foster care for at least one month after birth. This can cause significant attachment and bonding problems for the child. Many birth mothers choose not to work with an agency because they do not want the child to be placed in foster care even for one month.
The Irving Law Firm
9253 Mosby St., 2nd Floor
Manassas, VA 20110
(703) 844-4118
