How to Choose an Adoption Agency: 9 Questions to Ask First

Whether you're an expectant mother considering adoption or a family hoping to adopt, the agency you choose shapes everything that follows: how you're treated, what it costs, what support you get, and whether the people you're talking to will still answer the phone a year later. These are the questions we'd want our own family members to ask, including of us.

1. Is the agency licensed, and in which state?

A licensed agency is inspected and regulated by its state. Ask for the license, the licensing state, and the office that issued it, then verify it yourself. In Utah, child-placing agencies are licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Licensing. An organization that can't tell you who licenses it is a facilitator or a marketing company, not an agency.

2. Is it non-profit or for-profit?

Both can be licensed. The difference is where the money goes. A non-profit reinvests fees in services like counseling and birth-mother support; a for-profit returns profit to owners. Utah's 2026 adoption law moves the state toward non-profit child-placing agencies, which tells you where regulators think the incentives are healthier.

3. What counseling does the agency provide, and who provides it?

Ask whether counselors are licensed social workers or clinicians, whether counseling is available before any decision is made, and whether it continues after placement. For birth mothers it should be free and unconditional, available whether or not you choose adoption. For families, ask what preparation and post-placement support looks like.

4. How does the agency talk about money?

For families: ask for a complete written fee schedule and what happens to fees if a match disrupts. For birth mothers: an agency should say clearly that all services are free, that any living-expense help is only what state law allows, is paid to providers rather than as cash, and is never conditioned on placing. An agency that leads with money, in either direction, is a red flag.

5. How are birth mothers and families matched?

The expectant mother should choose the family, from real profiles and letters, with a counselor's help and no pressure. Ask families whether they can be shown to more than one mother at a time and how they're notified. Ask mothers whether they can meet a family before deciding and whether they can change their mind.

6. What does post-placement contact look like?

Most adoptions today are open or semi-open. Ask how the agency helps set expectations, whether it mediates contact, and whether post-adoption contact agreements are used. In Utah, those agreements can be legally enforceable when properly documented.

7. Is someone available outside office hours?

Babies arrive at 3 a.m. and hard moments don't keep business hours. An agency serving birth mothers should have a real person reachable 24/7, not a voicemail.

8. What do their reviews actually say?

Read the Google reviews, not just the testimonials on the website, and read the critical ones. Look for how the agency responds to complaints. Also check the state licensing office for any public actions. Our own reviews page links to our Google profile so you can read everything, not a selection.

9. How long have they been doing this?

Longevity isn't everything, but an agency with decades of placements has seen the hard cases and has relationships with hospitals, attorneys, and other states' agencies that newer organizations don't. Ask how many years, and how many placements.

Red Flags That Should End the Conversation

• ●Promising a birth mother money, or implying support depends on placing
• ●Guaranteeing families a timeline or a baby
• ●No license, or vague answers about who licenses them
• ●Pressure to sign anything before birth, or discouraging independent legal counsel
• ●Counseling that only begins after a decision is made
• ●Fees that aren't in writing, or change after you've committed

If you're comparing agencies in Utah specifically, our Utah adoption agencies compared article lays the licensed agencies side by side. And whatever agency you choose, make sure the answers above are in writing.