You have many choices.... In some ways there are too many choices and not enough protections for the adoptive parent.

The theme of this blog is take the time to do your research. It can save you a world of grief. Don't just read a web site and decide this agency or state-side help or facilitator is for you. Ask the agency/facilitator for references. Ask for references on different email lists. Ask for references on Adoption.com's Ukrainian adoption board.

Adoption.com's board rules doesn't allow you to discuss the pros or cons of any paid services. This is because of past bad behavior. Some in-dud-vivduals would pretend to be adoptive parents and they would shill their agency or service.

You can ask for bad and good references. And they can send a "private" reply to your adoption.com account or provide your email address.



That brings up another point... your email address. You want to create an anonymous email account (gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc...) just for adoption emails. This email account is just used for posting on various email lists and chat boards.

Use a different email account when interacting with agencies, facilitators, etc... Too many people have gotten slammed by their agency or facilitator for email postings. Once you hire these folks they have a lot of influence over your adoption. You don't want to upset them, but you need information.



Also something else to keep in mind... Google your current email account. What did you just learn about yourself? And do you want to share that with anyone? I am not telling anyone they need to hide their life. But you should considered keeping your private and professional lives separate. Maybe you need a second anonymous email account to communicate with your agency or facilitator.

Here is a concrete example of why you want to take your time in doing research. I researched my adoption options for 6 months before I decided to adopt independently (without an adoption agency) from Ukraine.

David Bentley (formerly named David Dolinsky) set up an adoption agency and a Hair Club For Men in New Jersey. He ran them out of the same office. His prior career involved porn web sites. He ran a fairly popular email list called EEAD.

New Jersey's Human Services Commission ordered the international adoption agency, A Child's Hope, to close for various violations, including lack of necessary qualifications and fraudulent advertising, reports an August 9, 2002 Star-Ledger article, "State Tells Adoption Agency to Close." A Child's Hope is run by David Bentley, who started the agency with no child welfare education or training, and who operated pornographic websites. Despite his background, the state gave the agency temporary certification and has repeatedly renewed it, even though the agency had 22 violations in a single year. The case has prompted the Commissioner to order a full internal review of the Division of Youth and Family Services.

From: The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Newsletter -September 2002

How to Select a Ukrainian Adoption Facilitator
How to Select a Ukrainian Adoption Facilitator
Options
Take Your Time
David Bentley