Adoption Facilitator (Glossary)

Adoption Facilitator: Adoption facilitators are adoption professionals that focus on helping families find and match with adoption situations. They focus on finding an acceptable situation for both parties, often referred to as the hardest part of adoption.

Facilitators have the freedom to work with families in most every state, and typically families will be matched much more quickly with one. They can also work with birth mothers in any state.

Before you work with a facilitator or ANY adoption professional, be sure that you thoroughly research them. At a minimum you should expect to receive:

• A list of references of past clients.
• A listing with the BBB or similar agency.
• A contract to review ahead of time.
• Answers to all of your questions.

In addition, be sure you find answers to these questions:

• How long have you been in the field of adoption?
• How many adoptions do you participate in per year?
• How many birth mothers are you working with right now?
• What is the estimated wait for a family with our preferences?
• Do you work with your own birth mothers?

These questions are important because there are some people out there who refer to themselves as "facilitators," but who truly are not. They don't work hands on with birth mothers, but rather "shop" situations for agencies and then simply stack their own fee on top of the agency fee, referred to as "fee stacking".

There are good, solid adoption facilitators out there who have built families for many, many years. Regardless of who you choose to work with, be sure to check them out thoroughly.