The Beginner’s Guide to International Adoption Agencies

Summary: There are many reasons behind why a family from another country may put their child up for adoption. International adoption agencies are the bridge between these families and yours. Some international adoption agencies directly supervise families in their respective countries, while some simply manage things from their desks.

Adopting a child from another country is a very tricky business: there is so much paperwork required and legal business to attend to that it is sometimes too much of an effort to adopt personally. This, then, is why international adoption agencies exist: these organizations take care of most of the difficult work behind the process of adoption, in order to make the whole process much easier for both the adopting family and the family putting the child up for adoption.

There are many reasons behind why a family from another country may put their child up for adoption. China, for example, has several strict policies on family size, which make Chinese parents consider the idea of putting their children up for adoption (which is a much better, not to mention healthier alternative than, say, aborting the child). In South Korea, to give another example, unmarried women who keep their children need to face a lot of social prejudice, whereas if they put their children up for adoption, they save face and get a lot of financial support for their trouble. Lastly, families from extremely poor countries such as Russia may put their children up for adoption because of the simple fact that they could not support them. These and many other possibilities open up adoption opportunities for you and your family.

International adoption agencies are the bridge between these families and yours. They are often managed by social workers and other people with similar professions, who find the families, counsel them and eventually create listings of children needy of adoption. Different agencies have varying practices too: some prefer to concentrate on one particular large country (ex. China or Russia), while some source from many different ones. These differences will also inevitably affect your adoption experience, so here are a few things to consider when looking for an adoption agency to consult with:

Date of state license – This will give you an idea of approximately how long the agency has been in operation. Try to look around for one that has been operating for some time, as their greater experience may help in some situations in your adoption.

Number of children placed – Again, this will chalk up to experience. The more children the agency has placed into adoptive families, the more experience it obviously has with arrangements and the like. Look for one that has placed quite a number of children into families, as chances are they will be able to help you more.

Supervision – Some international adoption agencies directly supervise families in their respective countries, while some simply manage things from their desks. It is almost always a good idea to look for an agency which has had numerous experiences with the country of your intended adoption, as this helps a lot regarding explanations of things such as culture and social standards, which may turn out difficult for one without such experience.