Adoption Agency Fraud

The following information was compiled through various online sources. It covers ways to protect yourself against potential agency fraud.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
— Anonymous

Agency Fraud (domestic & international):

Get references and contact them. Get references who are at different stages in the process and who have completed adoptions at different times. This is important to detect any changes in treatment as the process progresses and any changes in the agency, facilitator or attorney. Try to get references of people who had problems along the way but were able to overcome them and complete a successful adoption so you can see how the agency responds to and handles problems.

Check an adoption professional or agency out with the licensing authority in its home state. Ask for a record of complaints. The authority is usually the state’s Dept. of Social Services or Dept. of Health and Human Services, except in the case of an adoption agency operating under a lawyer’s license, in which case the authority is the state’s Bar Association. Remember, facilitators are usually unlicensed, unregulated and even illegal in some states.

Check with the foreign country’s US consulate. They may be aware of any problems with the professionals you are considering.

Use the INS and State Dept. websites to be up on all the rules, regulations and situations in whatever country you are considering. In programs where you are allowed to visit the referred child prior to finalizing the adoption, take all possible measures to insure that the adoption will, in fact, be finalized, prior to visiting. This means that you should be sure the child meets the INS definition of an orphan and that other country-specific criteria, such as DNA matching in Guatemala, have been met.

In cases where the biological mother is identified, ask the agency what kind of counseling and support their program offers to biological mothers. The answer may help reveal the agency’s commitment to fair and ethical practices.

Ask about up-front fees. Large amounts of money required before any services are provided should set off alarms and should be thoroughly investigated and compared with other agency fees.

Tags: adoption agency, adoption scams

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