When I first started inquiring about international adoption several years ago, I quickly realized that no two adoption agencies are alike. Over the years I’ve heard more adoption agency horror stories than I care to count and come to the conclusion that there are far too many unethical, greedy, dishonest, unknowledgeable and irresponsible agencies handling adoptions, particularly Guatemalan adoptions.

This last year several corrupt adoption agencies were exposed and shut down. Unfortunately, there are still many more that should not be allowed to process adoptions, and not because they are stealing, but because they have no idea what they are doing. Some of these agencies were started by big hearted people who had honorable intentions, but unfortunately no idea of how to run a good agency. There are also agencies started by greedy people who saw that there was money to be made in international adoption.

It is often through online photo listing that people get involved with bad agencies, because they fall in love with a photograph. It is important to remember that a good agency generally doesn’t have to “advertise” their children like merchandise on a shelf to draw people to their agency. People choose a good agency because of its reputation and recommendations of their clients.

Here are some characteristics of lousy, irresponsible, unreliable, mismanaged and sub-standard agencies:

1. They make promises that sound too good to be true. For example, promising that your child will be home in record time.
2. They want all the money upfront and don’t send receipts.
3. They don’t explain the adoption process in detail and you just have to figure it out for yourself.
4. They have gag clauses in the contract and don't allow adoption supervisors.
5. They are wonderful when you first call, but once you’ve signed on it is hard to get hold of them.
6. When there are problems in the international adoption scene, such as in Guatemala right now, they “avoid” the parents. I’m hearing so much of this right now.
7. You don’t get monthly photographs and updates on your child.
8. They don’t have much information on the foster mother or orphanage,,and they won’t go out of their way to provide it.
9. They use unethical and immoral lawyers and know it.
10. They offer a quicker process through PGN if you pay more (YES, this still goes on; I’ve had emails from people telling me about it.)
11. They do not have in country staff (in Guatemala) to help you when you are picking up your child.
12.There is constant staff turnover at the agency.
13. They don’t turn away applications even when they don’t have the staff to handle them.
14. They continue giving referrals when it is no longer advisable to do so.
15. They do not sufficiently educate prospective adopting parents on the challenges they face with international adoption.
16. Once you bring your child home, they aren’t interested in problems you are having with paperwork or with your child.
17. They don’t train their staff well.
18. They are ignorant of the culture and politics of the country you are adopting from.
19. They are disrespectful and unpleasant to their clients.

I could go on and on but you get the idea. Feel free to add to this list in the comment section. With the implementation of the Hague Treaty in the US, agencies are in the process of being recertified. Unfortunately, many that shouldn’t get recertified are slipping through the cracks.

Although adopting parents use life savings, get second mortgages, borrow from family and friends, do fundraisers, and take out expensive loans to complete the adoption process, they often aren’t savvy shoppers when it comes to agencies.

Recommendations are important, but you always need to ask more than one family. After all even bad agencies bring children home although often after unnecessary delays, lost referrals, and unethical adoption practices. Ask the prospective agency for names of people who had problems during the process and find out how the agency handled that.

Make sure to call the Better Business Bureau in the community of the agency to get further information on the agency's business reputation. Use all the online resources for choosing an agency. Talk to the agency director and interview the director of the program for the country you are adopting from. In the links below there are questions to ask agencies.

A good agency keeps a close watch on every aspect of the adoption: the child’s health and welfare, the foster family (even if they are hired and paid by the lawyer), the lawyer, the paperwork, the politics in the country of adoption. They communicate regularly with their clients.

Adoptions are like high risk pregnancies. Personally, I’ve experienced both. You don’t know from one day to the next what is going to happen. Until that child is in your arms, you are not sure of the outcome. A good obstetrician will provide the best medical care and help ease the stress of a high risk pregnancy by giving you the confidence that they are doing their best. A reliable adoption agency will train their staff to be experts in the adoption process so that they can handle your adoption in an orderly, responsible and ethical manner, doing all they can to bring your child home as efficiently and painlessly as possible.

Important Reading:

The Adoption Agency Checklist
Another Adoption Agency Checklist (by a parent who was a victim of fraud)
What to Ask Before Choosing an Adoption Agency (from Adoptive Families Magazine)
Adoption Agency Research Group (online Yahoo forum)


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