Adoption Agency vs Adoption Lawyer.

Hi, I used both an attorney and an agency.(You will always need an attorney for any adoption, and all agencies have attorneys that they work with, although you're welcome to use your own.) My situation was unique, in that the adoption attorney was a family friend, and once she knew I was open to any race child, she offered to notify me if an expectant mom came her way that none of her clients were interested in, at no cost.

So I signed with Family Resource Center here in Chicago, but also had the private adoption attorney "looking" for me. In the end, she found my daughter before the agency did, but I still had the agency do my home study.

By law, you must complete parenting courses and do a home study, and these are done by adoption agencies. But you can still use an adoption attorney to find your baby. You will pay for ads in newspapers, and it can get costly. The advantage to using an agency over an attorney is that you pay one fee, and if the birthmother changes her mind, you get put "back in line" for another baby. With an attorney, you often pay birthmother expenses, which are non-refundable if the birthmother changes her mind. So the agency financials are fixed.

I hope this makes sense. If you are open to transracial adoption, and open to gender, your adoption will take much less time. I got my daughter 10 days after speaking to my attorney!! (I do think this was a fluke.) My daughter is African-American, and the light of my life. If you have any questions about trans-racial adoption, or would like the name of my attorney I'd be happy to share lots of info.

Good luck! Your child is out there!

S.

I will confess that we did an international adoption 7 years ago (when it was a very different climate). We used the Cradle for our home study and all the US stuff. We have a great relationship with our social worker there and it was a fantastic experience. They have been around for many, many years and know what they are doing. Your situation is different than ours but I still suggest you check them out.

Hi, K.. I am an adoptive parent and am on the board of Chicago Area Families For Adoption and invite you to check out our website at www.caffa.org for information that could be helpful at this stage of the adoption process. The Adoption Links tab lists several adoption agencies and generally specifies if the agency has a domestic program and their website so you can see when they have an upcoming information meeting to learn more about them and their programs. Best wishes!

I've been an adoption specialist for 13 years. I can tell you that the way Illinois state law works, you have to use a licensed adoption agency. An attorney can not facilitate an adoption on his or her own. An adoption attoney is only used once you have had a child placed in your home. At that point you would work with the attorney to finalize the adoption, which takes 6 months from the time the baby is placed. Please let me know if you would like to talk to me further; I would be happy to put in you touch with an agency that will best fit your needs. Best of wishes to you!

My husband and I have adopted 4 children. I personally would recommend an adoption agency especially one that provides "adoption classes" for the prospective adopting parents. There is so much information about adopting that you do not even realize would be helpful to know! For example, use the words "birthmother" and "adoption" at early ages so the child is use to the words and the words do not seem odd/strange and talk about the child being adopted early on so the child doesn't feel that this makes him/her odd/strange. We went through Catholic Charities and they were wonderful and I don't think you have to be Catholic. Good luck with the process.

We adopted 10 years ago, and used an attorney who uses an agency. The attorney used ads in the newspapers and requires spending a certain amount in advertising per month. The attorney screens the potential birthmoms and show them photo albums of the couples she is representing. The agency does the home study and counsels both the adoptive family and the birthparents. Although the process was grueling, we adopted a baby within 18 months of applying. Now, we have an open adoption and we have a good relationship with our birthmom. God had a sweet surprise for us....after adopting our first child, our birthmom had another baby eleven months later, so we adopted two within a year! If you want to contact me privately, for our attorneys name, please send me an e-mail.