Agency Adoptions
In each state, public and/or private agencies are licensed by the state to serve as adoption agencies. The public agencies are usually subsidiaries of the state, and are operated by the state's department of social services, or similarly entitled governmental entity. In some states, this is called the state welfare department; others call it the child welfare department. In the more populous states such as California and New York, adoption agencies are usually operated by both the state and the counties. Private adoption agencies typically are nonprofit corporations. Many of them are operated by churches or denominations for the benefit of their membership.
In both public and private adoption agencies, the essential procedure of an agency adoption is the same. In each case, the birth mother signs legal documents relinquishing her rights to the child in favor of the agency. The agency then places the child with the adopting parents it has selected. After a waiting period to see if the placement is successful usually 6 to 12 months the agency then legally relinquishes its rights to the child to the adopting parents. Thus, the primary function of the adoption agency is to serve as an intermediary or middleman. In most states, the agency serves as legal custodian and guardian of the child for the 6 to 12 months it takes to complete the adoption.
Advantages
There are some significant advantages to an agency adoption from the standpoint of the birth mother. First, if the birth mother desires anonymity, the agency can act as an intermediary, shielding the parties from contact or obtaining more information about the other than is considered desirable under the facts and conditions of that particular case. A second advantage is that the agencies typically attempt to screen the adopting parents to make sure that each home receiving a child is a good home and can meet the child's physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Generally, before a couple is approved for adoption by an agency, the couple goes through a screening process referred to as a "home study." The steps and requirements for a home study vary from state to state and from agency to agency, but a fairly typical home study begins with several counseling sessions between the adoption case worker and the prospective adopting parents.
During these initial visits, the case worker attempts to make sure that neither of the prospective adopting parents has a criminal record, particularly a criminal record for child abuse, child neglect or nonsupport of a child by a prior marriage. The case worker also makes sure that the couple is truly married, and usually requires the prospective adopting parents to provide a certified copy of their marriage certificate, and certified copies of the final divorce decree and also a copy of the marriage license for each prior marriage of each spouse. The prospective adopting parents usually also have to provide proof of employment and copies of their tax returns to prove their income level. Most states also require that the adopting parents have physical exams to prove that they are in good health. Perfect health is not required to be an adopting parent, but a serious health problem could cause an agency to determine not to place a child with that couple.
The home study also includes a visit by the case worker to the home of the prospective adopting parents. This is not intended as a 'white glove inspection" to determine how clean the house is. Rather, it is intended simply to assure the case worker that the home meets minimally acceptable legal standards for size and cleanliness. The home visit need not be a cause for anxiety, provided the home indicates a modicum of concern for cleanliness, health and hygiene.
The home study in an agency adoption is completed prior to the placement of the child. Most agencies try to place a child in the home of the prospective adopting parents within one year of the date of the completion of the home study. In most states, a home study that is more than one year old is not considered 'current" and must be updated.
From the standpoint of both the birth mother and the adopting parents, an advantage of an agency adoption is that counseling is provided by the agency. The adopting parents receive their counseling as part of their home study, prior to the placement of the child into their home. The birth mother typically receives counseling prior to the birth of her child. A fairly typical private agency requires that the birth mother have at least three sessions with the agency's staff counselor prior to the placement of the child for adoption.
Disadvantages
The primary disadvantage of an agency adoption, from the standpoint of the adopting parents, is the delay typically encountered. With so many people looking for children to adopt and so few babies available, agencies often quote a waiting period of anywhere from five to eight years. Another problem is that most agencies have age limits and will not place a child with a couple if either spouse exceeds the limit. In most agencies, this age limit is 40.
The agency age limits combined with the typical five-to eight-year wait for an adoption prevent many infertile couples from adopting through an agency. If a husband and wife are both age 36, most agencies will not even bother to talk to them because they will not be receiving a child for at least five years, by which time they will be over age 40 and ineligible under the rules of the agency. Although these age limits have come under increasing criticism, most agencies continue to enforce them.
Another disadvantage of an agency adoption is that many agencies are unable, or unwilling, to assist the birth mother with medical bills related to the pregnancy and the delivery of the child. This can be a very important even overriding consideration for a woman considering placing a child for adoption. In many areas of the country, the medical bills for a normal, noncesarean delivery without complications will run approximately $7,000 at this writing (1996), and this expense is rising each year. If a birth mother has no health insurance and if she does not qualify for any state or federal welfare or assistance programs, her single greatest concern may be how the medical bills will be paid.
Trends in adoption
Historically, virtually all agency adoptions have been 'closed adoptions," meaning the birth mother and adopting parents did not exchange last names, did not meet, and were generally told very little, or nothing, about each other. The term 'closed" is taken from the fact that the adoption records are sealed, usually by virtue of both the internal rules of the agency and state law.
Almost every adopting parent fears that a birth mother or birth father will at some point re-enter the adopted child's life and interfere with the parenting by the adopting parents. It is not uncommon for adopting parents to actually have nightmares about a woman knocking on the door five years after the couple has received the baby, demanding to see her child. Many adopting couples prefer agency adoptions because it is extremely difficult for a birth mother to find the adopting parents after the adoption is completed. Occasionally, a birth mother will also express great fear that, at some point in time, the adopted child or the adopting parents may attempt to re-enter the birth mother's life after the adoption is complete. For those birth mothers who find this a major consideration, an agency adoption may be preferable to its alternatives.
In the classic (or traditional) agency adoption, the agency selects the adopting parents. If the birth mother has specified certain criteria for the home into which the child is to be placed, the agency typically will endeavor to comply with those requests, but it is not legally bound to do so. This can create some serious problems, such as when the birth mother specifies that she wishes her child to be placed in a Christian home. A great many social workers are very unsophisticated theologically. In one case, a birth mother asked an agency social worker if the child would be placed in a Christian home. The social worker replied that finding a Christian home would be no problem, as the agency had many Christian couples then available. The social worker then proceeded to describe prospective adopting parents who were members of a cult that called themselves Christian. The birth mother, being strongly convinced that not all groups calling themselves Christian deserve the title, chose not to place her child through that agency.
A new trend in agency adoptions began in California and is gradually spreading throughout the country. This trend is for the agency to allow the birth mother to exercise some degree of control in the selection of the adopting parents. For instance, an agency might compile r??sum??s of several pre-approved and prescreened couples, then present those r??sum??s to the birth mother and allow her to select between the couples. Adoptions arranged in this fashion are sometimes referred to as 'identified," 'designated," or 'agency open adoptions." Agency adoptions of this kind represent a growing trend within the adoption field.
In a traditional agency adoption, after birth the child is placed into a foster home, where he remains until all legal papers regarding his status are signed by the birth mother and father, where appropriate. This typically takes anywhere from 10 days to 2 months. Once the child is free for adoption, either through a written relinquishment of parental rights in favor of the agency or through court action, the adopting parents are notified and advised for the first time that a child is available for them.
Another trend affecting agency adoptions is an increasing tendency to avoid foster care, whenever possible. Many agencies have had to review their policies on this issue because of widespread criticism by birth mothers and adopting parents that the child spends the critical first few weeks or months of life in foster care. As a result, some agencies have recently begun experimenting with 'direct placements," in which the child goes directly from the hospital to the home of the adopting parents after birth.
There is an element of risk in doing this. Agencies have historically placed children into foster care until the relinquishment paperwork was signed because the agencies feared placing a child into a home, and then having to remove him if some legal problem arose, or if the birth mother changed her mind. Therefore, when the adopting parents in an agency adoption accept the child into their home in a 'direct placement" immediately after birth, they must bear in mind that this is done at some risk.
In conclusion, the American system of agency adoptions has served us very well. Throughout this century, literally millions of children have been placed in outstanding homes, and have been provided with excellent care because women have chosen to place their children for adoption through agencies, and because agency social workers have done their jobs with professionalism and concern.
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