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I am wondering whether we should pay a consultation fee to an adoption agency that was referred to us even though we have not yet decided to work with them. I am concerned about the fee and wondering if this is the norm. The Agency is Georgia and they assist mainly African American families. We live on Massachusetts.
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Hello. Thanks for responding to my inquiry. They do not indicate what the fee is for/what it covers. I was given their name by another lady on this board and I emailed them for information. They sent me a huge PDF file and and the introducation letter states that if I am ready to proceed, to login and pay a consultation fee. I found that odd in that it appears I cannot ask any questions without paying the fee.
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I might try calling and asking some questions about the agency, their practices, etc. It could just be a misunderstanding due to unclear paperwork, but if they won't talk to you without you paying a fee, I agree - RUN. That doesn't seem ethical or legitimate in any way. I know it can seem hopeless when something like that comes up, but there are lots of agencies out there that will treat you right and have reasonable expectations. Remember that you are the consumer, and it's your needs, not theirs, that are important. A good agency will work with you to make sure it is the right fit.
I think I know which agency in Georgia....we used them and they were wonderful!!! They are probably assuming that you are home study ready and want to be shown ASAP. We paid the fee is 2 installments and were matched before we paid the final installment. We signed up with them on a Monday and had our baby in our arms on Saturday.
They will answer any questions you have before you pay a dime, but more than likely the questions you have are covered in the PDF.
Hi Jedidah,
I'm guessing it might be the consulting agency I told you about in a PM. Definitely don't pay any sort of fee before you've asked all of the questions you have and feel comfortable that this is the way you want to go. I talked with them by phone and communicated by email for a few weeks before we decided to sign with them.
Good luck to you.
I live in Georgia. PM me the name of the agency and I can find out what's going on with them. I think I've already talked to just about every agency in Georgia since I live here. There are certain agencies that place the highest number of AA infants here.
Try not to try yourself up financially with one agency. Most AA adoptions tend to be baby born situations.
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That agency has two programs. A consulting program where you pay them a fee and there is no cap on the placement fees... The baby could be in another state via their networking services.
Then there is the Georgia Domestic Program which is on a sliding fee scale. The baby will be born in Georgia...most likely the Atlanta metro area.
Go for the sliding scale program and request zero bmom expenses. Revocation is 10 days in Georgia.
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