Are adoption agencies in business because of $$'s or do they truely care?

Question

I am just curious what others opinions are on this subject.

Answer 1

I think both..

Did you ever see the movie: "Blossoms in the Dust"?

If you haven't you should...

Answer 2

money.  in truth, adoption shouldn't cost that much.  pay for the care of the mother while pregnant and through birth, and some legal fees of signing over ownership.  and yet adoption costs thousands and thousands of dollars.  in family adoptions costs almost nothing.

Answer 3

it's a billion dollar business.  you do the math.

Answer 4

Depends on the agency.  There are good ones out there and there are bad ones out there.

To some extent, an adoption agency must operate as a business, even a non-profit one.  They need to be able to pay the rent on their office, keep the lights on and compensate their employees.  I certainly don't begrudge any agency that gets a fair compensation for services rendered.

Some people believe that this means that it is always in the agency's best interest for an adoption to happen, therefore they can never be trusted to act fairly.  As a blanket statement, I disagree with it.  An agency can be sued if they operate illegally, coerce a woman to relinquish a child, etc.  It's in the agency's best interest to operate legally and ethically, not leaving behind a big mess.  It's not in the agency's best interest to have mothers suing because they were coerced and adoptive parents suing because they were misled about the willingness of the first parents to place.  

The same argument could be made by doctors, lawyers, car mechanics, any profession really.  There are doctors that will order some tests that aren't absolutely necessary, for money.  If that happens, there are steps you can take.  It's not in the doctor's best interest to keep ordering medically unnecessary treatments.

Same principle applies.  

But again, that's not to suggest that every agency out there is operating above board.  It is the responsibility of the adoptive parents to ensure that they are not coroborating a bad practice.

Answer 5

Nobody should make generalized statements about all adoption agencies.  But I know the values of the one I used.  It is called MN Adopt.  

Every employee has a connection to adoption, whether they have been adopted, are birth mothers, or are adoptive parents.  

They provided a counselor and a lawyer for me, the birth mother, and separate ones for the adoptive parents.

My counselor made it clear that everything was about me and my choices.  She was there to help me decide what was best for me.  She told me straight-up that nobody got paid more if I placed my child.  She was there for me literally 24/7.  I could call her at 4am if I wanted to.  She gave me tons of literature, and put me into contact with other birth mothers.  She gave me every opportunity to change my mind and provided a plan for me to raise my son if I did change my mind.  

Furthermore, they did all those things for my boyfriend, the father also.

They weren't predatory in any way, I contacted them after doing some research on different agencies.

I know the adoptive parents of my son had a wonderful experience with them too, whereas they had tried other agencies before and found them less appealing.  

So my advice is, you have to do your homework if you want a good agency.  There are good ones, and I am sure there are bad ones too.  It is the same way with anything.

Answer 6

Its all about money with almost all agencies.

In certain countries the birth parents receive nothing, the people that get the children get a finders fee, and the attorneys get the rest to pay off officials to look the other way and fatten their wallets. Its a racket.

Adoption today in certain countries can be compared to the corrupt housing industry in the US. Fraudulent documents, bribes, and lies. Whose to blame the parasite real estate agents, the criminal mortgage brokers, appraisers, and lenders or the self absorbed, irresponsible buyers (oh, I mean victims because they didn't know) and refused to say not interested.

Answer 7

ehh...

Unfortunately, I feel that agencies are mostly out for the money. Not that they don't help or don't set out to help children....but ultimately their job is to do what is best for the child...

What is best for the child is his original birth parents when at all possible. It is far more difficult to find/create services and funds to help first parents be great at parenting....than to charge 30,000 to have someone new adopt the child. I think adoptive parents can be wonderful parents and be loving and supportive and nurturing....but they aren't the birth parents...i.e. they are a "if the best case scenario doesn't work out" option. I think we should try more diligently to work on making the best case scenario work out, before placing children with strangers.

<<adoptive mommy through foster care.

Answer 8

I believe that they care about the children they are dealing with or they would not be able to stay certified and/or in business.  With that being said though, they are a business and have to operate like one or they will not be able to function for long.

Answer 9

I think it doesn't matter what there intentions are, they are helping babies and families and i think that is a great thing. I also think you cannot judge adoption agencies as a whole. If you wanted to judge you should do it on a case by case basis. Not all are good and not all are bad

Answer 10

If they truly wanted to help families, then they would do everything they could to support the mothers to take care of their children.

Yes some would still be up for adoption, but a lot more would be with their mothers if they had the proper financial support, which is far better for everyone.

Answer 11

I don't know about other agencies but mine is out for the money My husband and I have been waiting for a about 6 month completed all the paper work and thought we had all the finances under control. We both took on second jobs to help out financially but them last month they sent us a memo that the price went up two thousand dollars. I don't know about other agencies but mine seems less then stable. We have had discussion that new adoptive parents coming in should have the price increase not us in the middle of the process.

I guess there are some good agencies but we also need to do more research before you get started.

Answer 12

some adoption agencies truely do care but im sure not all of them, such orphanages in other countries are prolly not even herd of because they are so isolated but it depends on the person whos in charge and that makes all the difference =]

Answer 13

Well, ya know the bottom line is strongly influenced by the bottom line.  $$$. However, I do believe that reputable agencies do have the benefit of child as foremost/

Answer 14

EVERY business is about money.

If they 'cared', they'd be preserving families by keeping mothers and children together.

But there's no money in that, is there?

Answer 15

Some agencies are better than others.  That is the case with any industry.

Also - some agencies fall into the Non-profit sector.  FYI

Answer 16

It's a BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY. There are lobbiest for adoption. If that's caring, I'm God.

Best wishes.

ETA:

"Blossoms in the Dust", the story of Edna Gladney was a Hollywood production. Many parts were fictionalized. I have always loved the movie, but there's more to adoption than that one movie that was based on the historical fictionalized story of one persons life. Adoption has changed RADICALLY. The main difference between the movie made in the 1940's and now, is that the children who were adopted in the movie were for the most part orphaned or abandoned. Adoption was not a "newborn factory" outlet.

Answer 17

It's about the money.  

If adoption agencies really cared about women and children, they'd be family preservation agencies.  

If there were no money in adoption, the agencies would disappear.  If an agency makes a profit off adoptions, you can bet that's why they're doing it.  Period.

Answer 18

Let's compare.  How many adoption agencies in the US actually spend their efforts to help mothers keep their children?  None.  Who pays their salaries? A-parents.  If you want to stay employed, you would go with what brings in the money.  Creative accounting keeps them non-profit.  

In India, the Mother Theresa Society bends over backwards to help mothers keep their own babies, even going so far as to find husbands for the girls (as many would be rejected from their villages).  She did this for DECADES.  Only when it is not possible, were children offered for adoption.

I would exempt agencies that primarily work to place foster children since they aren't responsible for the parent's loss of parental rights.

Answer 19

The US adoption INDUSTRY is worth an estimated $1.4 BILLION a year.

You win.

Answer 20

I think some are purely for profit. They see a big market (those hoping to adopt) and a big money industry, where fees are pretty much unregulated, and just go for it.

Others I think truly believe they are doing the "right thing", according to their own values.

Answer 21

Depends on the agency, like anything/anyone else in this world some are in for the money and some are in to honestly help you. You have to speak to the people there to get a real feel for how they operate. If they are a non-profit then they are there to help you. If they are profit, then it's questionable. I would flat out ask about their profits and how much of what you pay goes to their profit margin. Then make my decision to use them or not.