The 4 Questions You Need to Ask to Avoid Adoption Scams

Most families don’t realize they’re at risk of adoption scams until it’s too late.

For decades, major outlets like CBS, TIME, and The New Yorker have reported on families who lost years of time and tens of thousands of dollars working with unlicensed or misleading adoption professionals. These organizations often promise fast wait times and low costs, but quietly rely on enrolling far more families than they can realistically serve.

They look legitimate. They sound confident. And they know exactly what families want to hear.

We're tired of seeing families get scammed by their professionals, then call us after losing thousands of dollars and months to years due to repeated failures.

So, how do you protect yourself before you commit?

The answer isn’t instinct. It’s asking the right questions. Ethical, well-structured adoption professionals will answer them clearly. Unlicensed providers touting misleading costs, estimates, and wait times won’t.

Question 1: How Many Families Are Currently Waiting?

Why this matters

If you don’t know how many families are waiting, you can’t know whether the wait time you’re being promised is realistic.

Some organizations may have 100 waiting families but complete only 20 adoptions per year. For the average family, that could mean waiting five years or longer, regardless of what they were told upfront.

This is one of the most common ways families lose time they can never get back.

Red flag: If an adoption professional avoids answering this question or provides vague estimates instead of real numbers, they may be hiding wait times that don’t align with their promises.

Question 2: How Many Adoptions Did You Complete Last Year?

Why this matters

This question works together with the first one.

When you know:

• How many families are waiting, and
• How many adoptions were completed last year

You can begin assessing whether wait-time claims are grounded in reality.

Adoption scams often avoid answering this directly. Instead, they may:

• Quote a generic average wait.
• Highlight a single success story or only reference successful adoption cases.
• Redirect the conversation away from data and use their own obscure metrics.

This keeps families focused on hope rather than probability.

Red flag: If placement numbers are avoided or obscured, there is usually a reason.

Question 3: What Happens Financially If an Adoption Doesn’t Work Out?

Why this matters

Most families plan their adoption budget around the cost of a successful adoption. What they are rarely prepared for is the cost of adoptions that fail.

Many adoption professionals do not offer financial protection when an adoption disrupts. When that happens, families are often required to repay large portions of their fees to continue pursuing adoption.

These repeated costs add up quickly.

A successful adoption in the United States typically costs between $40,000 and $85,000, regardless of the professional you work with. When families experience multiple failed adoption situations and are required to repay fees each time, they often exceed the top of that range before ever bringing a child home.

This is how adoption becomes unaffordable.
Not because families planned poorly, but because they were never prepared to pay the same costs over and over again.

Red flag: If an adoption professional cannot clearly explain what happens financially when an adoption disrupts, or places the full burden of repayment on families, you are facing significantly higher risk.

Understanding costs is crucial to your success. We highly encourage you explore our complete guids to understanding adoption costs.

Question 4: Are You a Licensed Adoption Agency?

Why this matters

Licensed adoption agencies are monitored by state authorities. If they misrepresent wait times, costs, or services, they can be investigated, fined, or shut down.

Unlicensed organizations do not face that level of oversight.

Many adoption scams attempt to blur this distinction by pointing to:

• Licensed attorneys on staff.
• Licensed social workers they contract with.

Individual licenses do not provide oversight of the organization itself.

Nearly every state requires an official license to perform adoption-related services beyond advertising. Recently, more states are ramping up regulations against unlicensed providers, prohibiting advertising.

Red flags:

• The organization is not licensed as an adoption agency.
• They avoid discussing licensure clearly.
• They were included in recent FTC warning letters issued to adoption intermediaries for deceptive practices.

Unlicensed professionals can operate for years without accountability, even while families are harmed.

Why These Questions Matter More Than Ever

Families don’t fail at adoption because they didn’t want it badly enough.

They unfortunately face failed adoptions because a professional provided misleading information about their ability to achieve success.

• Oversold their ability to deliver.
• Understated wait times and financial risk.
• Shifted the cost of disruptions entirely onto families.

When families lose time and money early in the process, they may never recover the ability to adopt again.

These four questions aren’t about catching someone in a lie. They’re about protecting your future.

Choosing a Professional You Don’t Have to Second-Guess

At American Adoptions, families don’t have to keep sorting through conflicting claims or wondering what happens if something goes wrong.

Our program is built to address the exact risks these questions reveal:

• Clear, data-backed wait time information.
• Transparent adoption costs to help prepare your budget.
• Financial protection if an adoption disrupts.
• Licensure across numerous states to operate legally and consistently.

This structure allows families to move forward with confidence, knowing their adoption is supported from start to finish.

If you’d like to talk through these questions with an adoption specialist and get clear answers, contact us today.

Disclaimer
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