Why Some Families Wait Months, and Others Wait Years

Families we talk to often come to us having experienced unnecessary failures with other agencies. We don't want you to have the same experience, feeling like adoption is an endless wait, because your current agency doesn’t reach enough pregnant women.

Whether you're coming to us after your last agency let you down, or you're new to adoption, the truth is simple: your wait time depends on visibility. If your agency isn’t connecting with enough women considering adoption, you’ll spend years waiting for a match that may never come.

That’s why, whether you choose American Adoptions or consider another professional, you should always ask: What are they doing to give my family the shortest wait possible?

The Roadblock Keeping Families Waiting

2 Important Adoption Facts

• Fact:  For every 100 women who consider adoption, only about 1 will move forward with placement. 
• Fact:  95% of expectant mothers begin their journey online via search engines, social media or digital ads.

When Agencies Don't Reach Enough Women, Families Pay the Price

Result #1: Too Many Families Waiting in Line

Without strong outreach, families get stuck on long waiting lists with little chance of success.

Below is a real-life example of a smaller agency that carries 26 families on its list, but only completes 3 adoption placements per year.

Key Takeaways: 

1. At first glance, a waiting list of 26 families doesn’t seem like a lot until you consider the number of placements, and in this case, you're talking about waiting 3-10 years. You can get lucky and get matched sooner, but that's likely the only way your wait time shrinks.
2. Ballooning lists of waiting families are a common result of low marketing and a direct cause of long wait times. Additionally, agencies with long lists and wait times will knowingly match families in higher-risk situations to try to alleviate the wait. 

Result #2: Fewer, Less Committed Birth Mothers

A smaller pool of pregnant women considering adoption leads to less certain matches and higher legal risks. If your agency reaches only 20 women per waiting family instead of the 100 needed, your likelihood of success is low. 

By reaching more pregnant women and having an agency assess the situation early, you are connected to more opportunities faster. Conversely, an agency that reaches low numbers of pregnant women and doesn't properly vet situations subjects their families to higher risk and longer waits.

Result #3: Paying Money with No Results

Another common symptom of low marketing is families paying large upfront fees and assessment costs with no results to show for it.

Riskier matches often disrupt, leaving families devastated. Not only are you potentially paying upfront fees, but you're stuck with the assessment costs for every situation you're given. And the losses aren’t just financial—they’re emotional and drain years of time and hope from families who already feel stretched thin.

The funnel below shows an example of the path families take from first contact to finding a pregnant mom. Every situation requires an assessment to ensure the best chance of success, and with most agencies, families are on the hook for those costs.

Quick fact:  American Adoptions filters out hundreds of adoption opportunities each year that pose elevated legal risks to our clients. In most cases, those higher-risk opportunities end up with agencies that don't market and don't assess situations for success.

How many times can you pay expensive fees and assessment costs for a failed match before you can no longer afford adoption?

Adoption Agency Comparison: Traffic vs. Upfront Fees

The Two Biggest Things to Watch

When comparing agencies, two numbers matter more than anything else:

1. Marketing Traffic – Does the agency reach at least 5,000 visitors a month? If not, your opportunities will be limited.
2. Upfront Fees – Is the upfront fee appropriate for the traffic they reach? Compare their fees against their actual traffic.

Here's what to watch for:

• Small agencies often have low traffic numbers, so large upfront fees with these agencies are a red flag.
• Agencies with disproportionate traffic and fees. Fees should be proportionate to traffic numbers. If fees are high and traffic is low, they are unlikely to find a quality opportunity.

If they are charging you an upfront fee that is too high, where is the value?

Bottom line: Traffic shows you how many opportunities exist. Fees show you how much risk you carry. Look at both together, and you’ll quickly see which agencies are worth trusting with your family’s future. 

If you would like us to run an independent report on an agency you are considering, you can set up a free consult here.