adoptionfbclodi: Fost-Adopt: County or Agency

Fost – Adopt: County or Agency

When we started our adoption journey, the first big decision (after deciding to pursue a larger family) was whether we should go through the County or an Agency. This was a difficult decision because information gathering wasn’t an exact science. Some people have very strong feelings regarding this choice. My personal opinion is that they both serve a purpose and the “right” choice depends on your goals, your family, your personality, etc… I will try to present pros and cons with both choices and if you read this and think of something I should add, please let me know and I will amend it!! Here is some background information:

County: Many people call the county to start the adoption process. The county has Social Workers dedicated to families who are pursuing adoption and children who are likely going to be placed for adoption. When children come into the Foster Care system, they are processed through the county. The Judge overseeing the case of a specific child directs the care and placement of the child through the County Social Workers. Each child is assigned a social worker. These workers are a gate-keeper for the child’s care. The county also recruits parents to provide care for these children through foster care and adoption. The county will first consider parents who have come directly to the county for placement of the children. Often, the county doesn’t have a suitable placement for the child. That is where the agencies come in. I will get to those next. Because the County begins working with the children from the time they are placed in the foster care system, they are working with all types of children in all types of situations. The children can be completely free for adoption or they can be working toward reunification with a biological relative.

Agency: Agencies step in to help promote and recruit. They work with county social workers to help find families for the children currently in the system. The agencies work with more than one county, so the children they serve can be local or can have come from anywhere in the state (and sometimes country, but I am finding that is rare and complicated.) The children placed in the foster care system are assigned a social worker who remains their advocate through the adoption process. When a family decides to use an agency, the agency provides the family with a social worker to be the family’s advocate. Social workers have the goal of making sure there is a good fit for the child and the family

Pros County:
• First awareness of child’s needs means they will place the youngest of the children with families who are currently working with them (if there is a good match for the child available.)
• Social Workers will look for a match for a child within the families registered with the county first – before considering families with an agency.
• One Social Worker (usually) to communicate with
• Free (or very little money out of pocket.)
• Although they often place children who are working toward reunification, they also consider the desires of an adoptive family who may not be open to that kind of placement.

Cons County:
• PRIDE classes can take 12 weeks to complete (once a week.)
• Social Workers are not necessarily the family advocate
• Social Workers are completely over-worked. 
• Often work with children early in the process, increasing the risk of the child being reunified with a biological family member (this can take years)
• Limited to one county
• If a family moves to a new county during the process, they may have to begin at the beginning with a new county.

Pros Agency:
• Social Worker who is a family advocate
• Some agencies work only with children who are already past the reunification phase so there is little to no chance of the children being returned to a biological family member
• Classes are often held over a weekend instead of over 12 weeks
• Children from all counties in CA are available to families for consideration (families are not limited to the county where they reside.
• Some are Christian agencies

Cons Agency:
• Two Social Workers (sometimes that means double the home visits. Ug.)
• Agencies have to maintain a positive working relationship with the counties in order for the county workers to want to place a child in a home that is registered with that agency
• Can cost (sometimes up to a couple of thousand dollars) - Some are FREE…so do your homework.

What is homework?

PRAY PRAY PRAY

Call the county

Call agencies

Call people you know who have used both

Go on-line and read blogs, read group discussions, etc…
Unfortunately, you can’t compare these two lists side by side to make your decision. Some items may have no weight for your family and some may be (as my dad would say) deal breakers. For us, we wanted as much certainty as possible, that the kids that were placed with us were going to be available for adoption. That outweighed the desire for an infant. (I am glad. I am too tired for an infant.)  I have to admit that I hated having two Social Worker visits, though.

You may have figured out that we did go through an agency. We are talking about our next adoption and we are back to trying to decide if we will pursue that adoption through the same agency or directly though the county. I have talked with many county workers and they are so wonderful, but yet the path I have already traveled is well known. I will let you know what we choose, but I promise – there is NO “right choice” for everyone.

Resources:

http://www.sjgov.org/hsa/Childrens_Services/Foster_Care/index.htm

http://www.sacdhhs.com/article.asp?contentid=926

http://www.lilliput.org/default.aspx

http://www.sierraadoption.org/

http://www.kfh.org/ (Christian)