Adoption Agencies in California

Adoption agencies in California have certain qualities that make them stand out among other types of adoption professionals. Most importantly: Adoption agencies are the only fully licensed type of adoption professional. Working with a licensed agency means putting the future of your family in safe hands.

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There’s nothing more important than the future of your family. When you choose an adoption professional to work with for your process, you are placing that future in their hands.

That’s why we have provided this comprehensive guide for finding the best adoption agencies in California. If you have any questions as you read along, then feel free to contact us online to get more adoption information now.  

Meanwhile, you can learn all that you need to know about choosing among the top-rated adoption agencies.

What Are the Best Domestic Infant Adoption Agencies in CA?

Before you begin your search for an adoption agency, let’s explain what an adoption agency is. These are licensed, regulated adoption professionals, and they’ll help you complete the adoption process if they are licensed in your state. Agencies are the only type of adoption professional that undergoes regular, governmental checks, which makes them the most reputable.

You may come across professionals such as adoption law centers or facilitators during your research. Unlike adoption agencies, they are not licensed or regulated, which means working with them can often be an unreliable and confusing experience.

How to Choose an Adoption Agency

Although it’s always a good idea to work with an agency rather than a facilitator or law center, some adoption agencies in California are better than others. To ensure that you make the best decision for your circumstances, we’ve provided a list of questions to ask an adoption agency below.

Are you fully licensed?

Adoption agencies are the only type of adoption professional that is licensed to perform all of the required services to complete an adoption. But, you may find other professionals that make it seem like they can do something similar to agencies.

However, this isn’t the case. Ask, “Are you a fully licensed adoption agency?” and look for the answer, “Yes.” Otherwise, you may be placing the future of your family in the hands of a professional who cannot deliver on their promises.

How Many Hopeful Adoptive Families Are on Your Waiting List?

While you determine how to pick an adoption agency in California, be on the lookout for transparency and exact numbers. For example, ask how many families they have on their waiting list right now.

If they’re vague and avoid a direct answer, then that could be a red flag.

Are All of Your Adoption Fees Upfront?

Some adoption agencies in California don’t list all of their fees at the outset, providing hopeful families with a best-case scenario cost estimate. This can result in surprise fees later in the process.

Additionally, ask if the agency’s contracts expire. An expiring contract puts a deadline on your adoption, and you will have to re-pay all of your fees if the wait is longer than expected.

So, pay attention to how long their wait times are and ask how long families spend waiting on average.

How Many Adoptions Did You Complete Last Year?

Just as we mentioned earlier, exact numbers are paramount. If the professional’s response is either vague or irrelevant to the question, then that is often a bad sign. They might not give you a number but start detailing various stories from adoptive families they’ve worked with before. The top-rated adoption agencies in California, though, will always provide accurate figures.

This is important for two primary reasons:

  1. It speaks to the experience of the agency. More experience means more confidence in the success of your adoption process.
  2. Taking the number of waiting families and the number of adoptions completed, you can determine if the wait times you are given are accurate.

FCCA’s Adoption Agency Services

We offer legal and case-management services for several adoption processes. Our adoption professionals can always discuss your adoption goals and preferences to help you determine which path is best for you. When you do decide, we can help you through this journey with our adoption services:

Foster care adoption: We are best known for our “fos-adopt” program, which connects children waiting in the foster care system with permanent, supportive families. Unlike many other adoption agencies in California, we are licensed in every county of the state. So, no matter where you live in the Golden State, FCCA can help you on this selfless, beautiful journey.

For instance, throughout every step of your process, we’ll provide:

  • Coordination with an adoption attorney
  • Case management
  • Matching services
  • Free, 24/7 counseling
  • And much more

We want to help welcome a wonderful foster child into your family. This is an incredibly heroic path you’ve chosen, and we want to help you on this mission as much as we can.

Private domestic infant adoption: If you want to work with one of the best domestic infant adoption agencies in California, then look no further than our agency.

At FCCA, we provide everything you’ll need in private domestic infant adoption, including:

  • Post-placement visits
  • Finalization assistance
  • Home study procedures and interviews

Plenty of adoption agencies in California don’t have the wide-ranging scope that we do, as they’re licensed in only a handful of counties. This means you would need to work with an additional matching professional to find an adoption opportunity. When you work with us, though, you can complete the entire process under a single roof.

International adoption: For hopeful adoptive families interested in international adoption, our agency provides a direct placement program in Hong Kong. Still, if you wish to adopt from somewhere else in the world, FCCA can help.

We can complete your home study and help you find a Hague-accredited agency with a placement program in your desired country. After the child returns home with you, we’ll provide the necessary post-placement services to ensure that the adoption meets U.S. requirements, too.

Speak with an Agency

If you have any more questions about how to find the best adoption agencies in California, then we are always happy to help you out. You can complete our online contact form at any time to get free adoption information now. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!