choosing an agency

[rosievalentine]

Hello!

My husband and I are in the very early stages of considering whether adoption is right for our family. We already have a birth daughter who is 18 months and are looking at adoption as a way to expand our family. There are a wide range of agencies that we are able to choose from. I have made initial enquiries with four agencies and have had positive feedback as my husband and I have extensive experience in caring for children through our professions. However, I have had mixed advice about when to begin the process. Two of the agencies suggested starting the adoption process when she is two and would like us to attend their information evenings and the other two agencies advised starting the process when she is three. We are in no rush so this is not a major issue but I'm not sure where to start. I know that one important factor for us is post-adoption support but was wondering whether anyone here had any advice about other factors to take into consideration when choosing an agency.

Thanks for your help.

Hiya,

I have been to a fair few meetings and this is brought up all the time. All have said they would need to have a 2 years age gap against any other child either BC or AC.

Personally, I would keep looking at agencys, go to information events and then you can start narrowing the search as you cant change agencys once you have started the process. Then atleast your daughter will be 2yrs old when you officially start the proceedings but possibly by the time you have completed stage 1 and stage 2 she may be closer to 3yrs old and closer if not at looking at matching with a child.

Hope this helps, Good luck to your expanding family xxx