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... is any indication that the organization is licensed. Remember that states license adoption agencies. Some states (but not all) allow unlicensed providers to operate, but they may not use the term "agency"; they are facilitators. When you work with a licensed agency, there is at least some degree of accountability. It has to meet certain minimum standards and to be non-profit, and it can be delicensed if there is evidence of improper conduct.
Some facilitators are ethical and honest providers of adoption services. However, you need to ask yourself why they have chosen not to be licensed. There may be valid reasons, but there may be such reasons as: a) failure to have trained staff; b) inability to qualify for non-profit status; c) failure to maintain appropriate financial records; d) a history of operating an adoption agency that was closed down for improper practices; etc.
You also need to understand that organizations like the Joint Council on International Children's Services, which advocate for ethical intercountry adoption and which provide a great deal of inservice education for adoption professionals, do not admit facilitators to membership.
Working with a facilitator is not necessarily cheaper than working with a licensed agency. In fact, if you choose the wrong facilitator, you could find that your adoption becomes extremely expensive.
Yes, there are "bad" agencies, too. But at least when you choose an agency, you have a state agency to turn to if you have a serious complaint and want to prevent other families from making the same mistake that you did, in using the agency.
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... is any indication that the organization is licensed. Perhaps it is, and perhaps it has 501(c)3 charitable status with the INS, but I don't see any evidence of it. I also don't see any sign that the group belongs to any of the major adoption advocacy/education organizations, such as the National Council for Adoption and the Joint Council on International Children's Services.
Remember that states license adoption agencies. Some states (but not all) allow unlicensed providers to operate, but they may not use the term "agency"; they are facilitators. When you work with a licensed agency, there is at least some degree of accountability. It has to meet certain minimum standards and to be non-profit, and it can be delicensed if there is evidence of improper conduct.
Some facilitators are ethical and honest providers of adoption services. However, you need to ask yourself why they have chosen not to be licensed. There may be perfectly valid reasons, but there may be such reasons as: a) failure to have trained staff; b) inability to qualify for non-profit status; c) failure to maintain appropriate financial records; d) a history of operating an adoption agency that was closed down for improper practices; etc.
You also need to understand that organizations like the Joint Council on International Children's Services, which advocate for ethical intercountry adoption and which provide a great deal of inservice education for adoption professionals, do not admit facilitators to membership.
Working with a facilitator is not necessarily cheaper than working with a licensed agency. In fact, if you choose the wrong facilitator, you could find that your adoption becomes extremely expensive.
Yes, there are "bad" agencies, too -- plenty of them. But at least when you choose an agency, you have a state agency to turn to if you have a serious complaint and want to prevent other families from making the same mistake that you did, in using the agency.
Sharon