Interviewing Adoption Agencies

As a prospective adoptive parent, one of the first decisions you will have to make is which adoption agency you would like to work with. It is extremely important that you feel comfortable and confident with the agency you decide to work with.

Before you make this decision, it is smart to meet with a few different agencies to find which will be the right fit for your family. You should view these meetings as an interview, where you are the one interviewing each agency.

We have compiled a list of important questions that you can use to get to know any agency.

Can I have a copy of my home study?

The answer to this question should always be yes. When a home study is done, it should be yours to view and keep. It is paid for by you, and you are entitled to a copy.  

What is the best way to communicate with you?

This might seem like an odd question, but it will give you insight to the relational level of the agency.

An agency should have at least two readily available forms of communication, Likely phone and email. Choosing Hope also does a lot of texting with our adoptive families, and we make sure our families have access to both our office staff and their Licensed Adoption Assessor.  

At what stage of the pregnancy do expecting parents begin the process of choosing adoptive parents?

The first priority of an adoption agency should always be to exhaust every possibility of an expecting parent choosing to parent. This takes time. It is so important that expecting parents have seen their baby on an ultrasound, felt the baby move, and really experienced their pregnancy before making an adoption plan and engaging with prospective adoptive parents.

Choosing adoptive parents any time before 20 weeks doesn’t allow expecting parents the proper time to “get to know” their baby before making an adoption plan. In most cases we wait until closer to 30 weeks to begin this process.   

Once our home study is approved, can we share it with other agencies?

This answer should be a quick “yes.”

The more agencies you are able to work with, the more likely you are to be placed with a baby. At Choosing Hope, we will be cheerleaders, advocates, and prayer warriors for our adoptive parents no matter where they adopt from.

How long will our wait be?

This is the most common question we receive, yet it is nearly impossible to answer. We can give averages. We can tell you we’ve had families wait just a couple days, and we have had families wait years.  

There are many things that may play into how long you wait. Are you open to both genders, all races, any special needs, drug and alcohol exposure, an older child? The more you are open to, the more often your profile will be shown to expectant and birth parents.

But your wait really comes down to what a birth parent desires in a family for their child. Maybe they want a family that already has kids, or a family with no kids, or one that lives on farm, or likes football.

It is impossible for an agency to determine how long your wait will be. The waiting period is stretching. A time to press into the Lord, be patient, and trust that The One who put the stars in the sky is writing a story for your family in His timing.

We sincerely hope these questions help you to find the right Christian adoption agency around Columbus, Ohio to walk you through the process of expanding your family.

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