How to choose an agency...

[LemonSqueezy0]

Hi everyone.. My partner and I are at the very start of the process to adopt.

There are 3 options local to us, one LA and 2 VA. The VA are more proactive and we are meeting one this week on a 1-2-1 basis (they arranged a time to suit us) and the other VA has a monthly open day so only a couple of weeks to wait for that. They've also made it clear they are happy to 'start the conversation' via email in the meantime.

The LA has an open event, but it's in another 2.5 months (just over) . You have to attend this before moving forward...

Ideally we would meet with all 3 before making a decision but a nearly 3 month wait has made me wonder what we could be doing proactively to make sure we make the right decision and obviously conscious we could be deep Into the process with one of the VAs in the intervening months...

Has anyone got any advice?
Is it a case of wait it out, as I know patience is absolutely key in the adoption process or move forward if we are happy with either of the VA? They both have good feedback. What questions could we be asking to make sure we make the right choices?

(for clarity, we are looking for a young child/ren as we have another DC to consider, and we are a mixed race family)

I met with several LAs and a VA, and I chose a LA (not the one I'm in). I really struggled to choose - they all seemed the same. I liked the VA a lot, but I felt (possibly incorrectly) that they'd only place children that a LA couldn't place. Also, I felt a little on a conveyor belt with them although their post adoption support is excellent.

I chose my LA because they are a big area geographically, have a lot of children in their care and not enough adoptive parents (which I think is true nationally), and offer good post adoption support too. Ultimately I liked how they dealt with me when I was choosing who to go with and it felt right ... like it does when you're looking for somewhere to live and you just prefer one house to the other, even though they're the same on paper.

In terms of waiting it out, a few months here or there really isn't anything in the grand scheme of going through this process. I did two months of research and meetings and interviews with all of the agencies before going with the LA I first spoke with. It helped me to make my decision, but if you're confident with one of your VAs I think just go for it!

Good luck - it's exciting times!

Hi Lemon Squeezy

I researched both LA and VA's too when we first started our adoption journey 18 months ago. We were was drawn to the VA initially but after weighing up the pro's and con's LA was the best option for us.

The positive side of VA is that they have the time to soley dedicate to family finding whereas the LA process can be slightly longer because their social workers are dealing with all aspects of family services.

We discovered that VA do have access to a large pool of children so to speak, as they are connected with most LA's throughout the UK.
However from my understanding they only really have access to children that the LA's have been unable to easily place.

We were also approved for FFA (Foster for Adoption) which I don't believe VA's can facilitate.

We wanted to adopt a young baby so in the end LA was a better option for us.

I hope this helps a little with your decision making. I remember what a mine field it felt going into this at the beginning. You will be surprised at how much you learn very quickly, especially after the training groups you will attend.

Good luck with everything!

Thank you both for taking the time to respond!

I think we will see the 2 VAs and then take a view whether to wait to see the LA or not.. It's such a big decision but I don't want to be terrified to make a choice and overthink every single adapecy otherwise I'd freeze into inaction!

I'm currently researching how F2A could impact on the DC (my Stepchild) as although we would prefer a younger child F2A has that extra layer of risk, and I don't want to expose them to that, on top of making massive changes..we may not get approved for it, which I would understand.

Thanks both, lots of good advice and food for thought