So here it is - our first real step in the direction of adoption. Choosing an agency. It may seem like a fairly easy thing to decide on, just go with who seems the most professional and of course, the most affordable. Right? Piece of cake. Not exactly. This is a very important choice to make. Choosing the right or wrong agency will dictate how smooth the process will go, how long it will take, and ultimately if we will end up with our perfect match. 

If there is any doubt about how many choices there are, just type a d o p t i o n in any search bar and WHAM - 10,000 links pop up instantly. Agencies are like children - they come in all different shapes, sizes, colors, locations.
There is also the added chore of deciding if we want to go with an all "in house" agency or use several specialty companies and piece them together to do the whole process. 

Here's a quick lesson on agencies - some do everything, background check, home study, marketing, activation, birth mom matching, post adoption legal process. Others do only the home study or only the matching and legal end, etc. We have at least narrowed that down - all in-house agency is the way we will go. We definitely feel more comfortable, with this being our first adoption, to be led by the hand every step of the way. One thing checked off our list! 

Now time for Research Research Research. Our plan is to check for referrals with all the people we know who have adopted as well as contacts we have made along the way, adoption support groups, seminars, etc. We will also be checking agencies out on the Better Business Bureau and through a website called Agency Ratings. And of course, we will be utilizing my dad's old tried and true method - the Ben T pro/con model. With luck, our next post will be to announce our new adoption agency!