Questions for Private Adoption Agencies

Here are some suggestions for questions to ask private agencies:


1) What will be the total cost?
            A) Who will pay the expectant mother’s medical expenses?
            B) What personal expenses for the expectant mother will we be required to pay?
            C) How will the funds for the expectant parent's expenses be managed?
            D) Will you give us an itemized statement of costs? When?
            E) What fees are expected to be paid right now? When are additional fees due?
            F) What will happen to our money if the adoption does not work out?


2) Will you accept a home study from LDS Family Services? Will this decrease our fees?


3) Was the expectant mother married when she conceived or during the pregnancy?
            A) Will her husband sign relinquishment documents?
            B) If not, how will the legal father's rights be terminated?


4) How will the putative/alleged father’s rights be terminated?
            A) When will that be done?
            B) Is there the possibility of more than one putative/alleged father?


5) Are there any Indian Child Welfare issues? If so, how will they be resolved?


6) When will we get a copy of the expectant parent’s social and health history?
            A) What do you know about the social and health history of the expectant parents?
            B) What race(s) are the expectant parents?
            C) What are their medical and emotional issues?
            D) Are they using or have they used drugs, tobacco, or alcohol?


7) Is the expectant mother a resident of this state, or is she coming to this state to give birth or place the child for adoption?
            A) What states are involved and which state laws will be used to terminate birth parent rights?
            B) When will she come to the state?
            C) What are the legal implications of this to us?
            D) Will the agency comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)?


8) How will ICPC be handled if it is an interstate placement? (LDS Family Services does not provide ICPC services for adoptions not completed through our agency).


9) Are there any other legal issues?
            A) What are they?
            B) How will they be resolved?
            C) What will the agency do if the adoption is contested by a biological parent?


10) When do we need to hire an attorney?


11) Who will do the required supervisory visits? (In some situations, after the placing agency consults with the appropriate adoption manager about the situation, and with the adoption group manager’s permission, LDS Family Services may be able to provide supervisory visits. These are charged at the current counseling rate per hour.)


12) If correspondence and boundary issues arise during and after the pregnancy, who will help us manage them?


13) What type of counseling has the birth mother had? How much? Do the birth parents have access to post-placement counseling? Is that part of our fee?