What is the difference between an agency adoptions and an independent adoption?

You must be advised of your legal rights at least one calendar day prior to signing the final adoption paperwork.

You must be advised of your legal rights at least ten calendar days prior to signing the final adoption paperwork,  absent exigent circumstances.

You decide whether to select an adoptive family, or whether you want the agency to select an adoptive family.

You are legally required to personally select the adoptive family, either in person or by receiving certain identifying information about them through a third party.

You decide whether to disclose your name to the prospective adoptive parents, and how much information to receive about them.

You and the prospective adoptive parents are legally required to exchange certain personally identifying information, including your full name.

You may select an open or closed adoption, and do not need to disclose your name or learn the names of the adoptive parents if you do not wish to do so.

Your adoption must be open at least to the extent that you and the adoptive parents are required to exchange some personally identifying information with one another. 

Your consent becomes final 2-10 business days after signing the paperwork, unless you request that it be held for a longer period of time.

Your consent becomes final 30 days after signing, unless you sign a Waiver of the Right to Revoke, in which case it is final either immediately or the next business day.

The adoptive family must be fingerprinted and formally pre-approved to adopt, prior to accepting physical custody of your baby.

The adoptive family does not need to be fingerprinted or pre-approved by any agency before accepting physical custody of your baby.

Before approving a family for adoption, the adoption agency completes a very thorough investigation of the adoptive family, and usually requires some pre-adoption education. 

The state or county social worker who investigates the family for adoption completes a very basic background check. No pre-adoption education is provided or required.

After the child is placed with the family, the adoption agency will complete four post-placement visits to make sure that things are going well. The family cannot finalize the adoption until the fourth visit and a medical report have been completed.

After the child is placed with the family, a state or county social worker will only visit the child once in the family home before approving the finalization of the adoption.