Picking the Right Professionals: Comparing Your Options
Why this matters: Advertising in jurisdictions where a provider isn’t licensed is increasingly restricted by new state laws, stepped-up FTC enforcement, and proposed federal legislation (The ADOPT Act). If you don’t want long waits—or to end up with a provider who can’t legally operate—choose an organization whose advertising coverage aligns with its licensed authority. The four professional types and risk level: If these answers don’t line up, your family is at risk of longer waits, legal problems, and higher financial exposure.How to Judge a Professional: 2 Crucial Factors
Who are they? Established agencies licensed in many states (often 10–15+), advertising nationally and completing the vast majority of placements in states where they’re licensed. Strong screening; many offer financial protection programs.
Who are they? Agencies licensed in one state that advertise and operate only within that state. Solid compliance, but opportunities are limited to a local pool, so waits can be longer.
Who are they? National advertisers with only a few licenses (e.g., 1–3). They market nationwide but can legally operate in only a small set of states, often handing cases to local providers and facing constraints as laws tighten.
Who are they? Consultants/facilitators or advertising platforms operating without licenses while promoting nationwide. Minimal screening, little accountability, and most legal/financial risk is shifted to families.The Three Questions That Protect You: Ask Before You Commit
What to Know About Each Type of Adoption Professional: A Comprehensive Checklist
Here is a visual to help break down where agencies and professionals succeed and where they put families at moderate to severe risk:
Comparing Adoption Professionals: The Four Types (and Their Rank)
#1 Broad Licensure — Safest, Most Reliable
Who are they?
Established agencies licensed in many states (often 10–15+), advertising mainly in the states where they are licensed. They often have strong support services for birth parents; many offer financial protection programs for families.
Impact on families: Shorter, more predictable waits, lower risk (including ICPC/legal), greater financial protection, and more peace of mind.
Checklist:
- Advertising and their service area: FTC action and pending federal law change will likely not impact these agencies. That’s because most primarily advertise and work with birth mothers in the states where they are fully licensed. Their offices and local staff also strengthen marketing exposure and community outreach, creating both compliance and stability.
- Marketing to reach enough birth parents: These agencies typically offer high marketing outreach, which positively impacts your wait time and quality connections.
- Staff with birth parent expertise and experience: Licensed professionals across multiple offices/regions offering extensive cross-state experience and ensuring safer and more supported adoptions. If you’d like to compare options, ask for annual adoption numbers to compare expertise between professionals.
- Cost / financial risk: Higher fees reflect robust marketing/community outreach along with qualified staff; some of these organizations protect you from financial risks when adoptions fall through.
#2 Single-State — Legal but Limited
Who are they?
Agencies licensed in one state that advertise and operate only within that state. Solid compliance with state and federal law, but adoption opportunities are limited by local outreach and lower marketing budgeting, so waits can be much longer.
Impact on families: Legally safe, but fewer opportunities can mean multi-year waits and stop-and-start timelines. Financial risk on unsuccessful matches remains.
Checklist:
- Advertising and their service area: These agencies are legal within their state and typically only advertise in their service area or immediately outside of it in a neighboring state.
- Marketing to reach enough birth parents: Usually low. These local agencies struggle to reach birth mothers online. That limited outreach means fewer (and often lower-quality) adoption connections.
- Staff with birth parent expertise and experience: Licensed staff often in small teams that specialize in home studies more so than birth-parent work. Ask about coverage during fluctuations/turnover.
- Cost / financial risk: Lower upfront fees; you still often risk agency, legal, and living/medical costs on matches that don’t proceed. Make sure you are prepared for these financial risks when budgeting your adoption.
#3 Limited Licensure / National Ads — Proceed With Caution
Who are they?
These are national advertisers with only a few licenses (often just 1–3). While they often market nationwide, new state laws and proposed federal laws are aiming to restrict their operations to the states in which they are licensed.
Impact on families: Families often face unpredictable waits and riskier adoptions and may see service areas shrink as new laws take effect. Because these providers rely on frequent handoffs to local professionals, the risk of failed matches and higher costs increases.
Key challenges include:
- Errors in cross-state adoptions.
- Matches made with birth mothers that should not proceed.
- New laws that could drastically restrict their coverage area.
Checklist:
- Advertising and their service area: State laws, FTC and pending federal law would confine them to only their licensed states, shrinking coverage significantly. This could lead to a severe drop in the number of adoptions completed.
- Marketing to reach enough birth parents: Typically high, but illegally advertising to birth parents in unlicensed states.
- Staff with birth parent expertise and experience: Very few licensed staff compared to the number of adoptions. Limited cross-state depth; frequent handoffs to local providers raise financial risks while lowering legal adoption success. This often means early connections are made without proper guidance, leading to a higher risk of failed matches and greater emotional and financial loss for families.
- Cost / financial risk: Moderate fees, often with much better marketing outreach than local licensed providers. However, insufficient licensed support may correlate with more unsuccessful outcomes, burdening families with higher financial loss (check third-party forums/reviews).
#4 Unlicensed — The Highest Risk
Who are they?
Consultants/facilitators or advertising platforms operating without licenses while promoting nationwide. Minimal screening, little accountability, and most legal/financial risk is shifted to families.
Impact on families: Most are considered illegal by the FTC. Even if they are legal in some areas, families often face long waits, higher financial exposure, and legal vulnerability. With little accountability, many find their path forward stalling or requiring them to restart elsewhere.
Checklist:
- Advertising and their service area: Illegal in many states; FTC warning against deceptive practices; proposed federal law would make unlicensed operation illegal nationwide.
- Marketing to reach enough birth parents: Often, little to no real advertising. They aim for “emotional manipulation” and advertise on generic terms like “adoption help now.” They do not invest in understanding the adoption audience nor do they find committed birth parents actually considering adoption.
- Staff with birth parent expertise and experience: Few (if any) licensed social workers. Low experience and expertise jeopardize the safety and success of adoptions.
- Cost / financial risk: Enticingly low fees up front, but families often carry agency, legal, and birth-mother expenses per match. Families often find they are put in riskier adoption situations. This means $10k - $40k losses for every match.
- What to watch for: “We’re not licensed, we just give advice.” (You still carry the legal/financial risk.)
Why Licensure and Advertising Alignment Matter
Two questions reveal more about safety and reliability than anything else:
- Licensure Territory: In how many states is the provider legally licensed to offer adoption services?
- Advertising Coverage: In how many states do they actively market and work with expectant mothers?
When these two don’t align, families risk longer waits, financial loss, and potential legal complications.
Your Three Questions to Ask Before Signing
- What states are you licensed in to provide adoption services?
- In what states are you currently advertising and working with expectant mothers?
- What percentage of your placements occur in states where you’re licensed?
If You Remember One Thing
The safest predictor is alignment—an organization’s advertising coverage should match its licensed territory.
Very few organizations meet both criteria at scale. Choosing one that protects your family from long waits, unnecessary costs, and legal risk.
Here are a few resources to get you moving forward in your pursuit of building your family through adoption. They'll educate you on the crucial ins and outs of adoption success and show you how we guide our families on a path to success. You can also contact us directly to get started today.The Resources You Need to Get Started
Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. American Adoptions provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.
