I am looking for the highest rated adoption agency for Domestic?

Question

I am looking for the best adoption agency or service in order to adopt in the US.The parent would be a single mother.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

If you are hoping to adopt through your local government (Dept. of Human Services/Dept of Family Svcs/etc), you really don't have much of a choice... you go with the agency that serves your city/county.

If you are hoping to complete a private adoption, you should also be looking within your immediate jurisdiction.  The reason is that the adoption social worker will need to meet with you face-to-face several times, at least once in your home to complete a home inspection.  It will have to be an agency nearby and one that is licensed in your jurisdiction.

Adoption is a state-by-state matter and depending on where you live, your status as a single mother may hinder your plans.  If you live in California, for example, this would not be an issue.  Other states vary on their acceptance of single or same-s*x couple households.

Things to be sure of:  No criminal history involving violence or drugs (a dwi from 20 years ago might be exemptable), and, if adopting through a government agency, make sure you have an extra bedroom for the child (under 5 usually can share a room with a child of the same or opposite s*x, and older children of the same s*x can always share a room, up to 2 children per room), third, make sure you can support yourself financially.  One bonus of adopting through your local government agency is that there is almost always federal Adoption Assistance funds available to the child along with Medic-aid/Medi-Cal until they're 18 years old, even after the adoption is finalized.  The downside, is you need to be willing to consider children who are older, of minority ethnicity, and may have a history of abuse or neglect.

All said, adoption is a great way to have a family and in my years of experience with govt and private adoption, I rarely see children who don't thrive once removed from abusive/neglectful situations... but that doesn't cancel out the typical child/teen issues you WILL encounter.  

Good luck!

Answer 2

There are a lot of good agencies - the concept of "highest rated" really doesn't apply.

Two agencies that are on almost every list of excellent agencies are Gladney and Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota. You do not have to be from Fort Worth or St. Paul to use them.

Being single is not a huge issue - sometimes the judges get a little silly about it.

We have single friends who adopted from Colombia - faster, cheaper, and in some respects safer.

Good luck to you

Answer 3

I suggest that you check out this website where adoptive parents AND parents who have given their children up for adoption are allowed to share their experiences.

http://www.adoptionagencyratings.com/

Answer 4

What do you mean by "the best"?  Are you looking for the adoption agency that will give the parent a child for the lowest price?  The agency that is most concerned with ethics?  The agency that is most interested in meeting the desires of the prospective parents?  An agency that won't voice their concerns over the parent being single?

If you're interested in providing a family for a child who needs one, I'd suggest giving your local DHS a call.  There are over 100,000 children waiting for homes in foster care.

Answer 5

I think it depends where you lived. Our agency was in San Francisco and as far as I know they are restricted to a certain geographical area - at least for somethings like home studies. I don't know about placements. They are very supportive of single parents. The agency is adoptionconnection.org. There is also a popular adoption lawyer in SF named Susan Romer who works with a lot of singles.