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The following are some basic guidelines for setting up your own adoption agency. Though not exhaustive, this outline will help those who are contemplating setting up their own agencies.
The first move should be to outline a business plan and budget for the first two years. The outline should specify the nature of child placement/adoption, facilitation services you or your agency will provide, a marketing plan, appropriate training for your staff, expected sources of income and expected expenses, the market niche that your agency is planning to occupy, and the differences between your agency and other agencies existing in your area.
Learn about relevant state laws and regulations governing the placement of children for adoption in your state; these laws vary greatly from state to state. This information can be obtained from state licensing specialists. If you decide to become a licensed agency, you must obtain an agency licensing application packet from the State Licensing Specialist. Also, equip yourself on the "interstate compact for the placement of children" (ICPC) regulations, ICAMA (interstate compact on adoption medical assistance) provisions of the ICPC, and regulations operative in other states for out-of-state agencies.
If you wish to incorporate your agency under the laws of your state and the regulations of the Federal IRS Code, you should check state laws and adoption-policy regulations to see if there are any regulations or restrictions on the type of incorporation agencies you must have in order to obtain an adoption license. In most states, it is a criterion for the agency casework supervisor to hold a master's degree in social work (M.S.W.) or an equivalent degree in a related field such as psychology or counseling. You should also be updated on current practices, research, and information in the fields of family assessment, post-placement supervision, and post-adoption service resources.
If you are new to the adoption field, it would be extremely helpful to enrich your knowledge and to get firsthand information on what you need to know from the experts themselves: Child Welfare, Child Welfare League of America, social workers, the National Association of Social Workers, Roundtable, National Resource Center for Special Needs Adoption, Children & Youth Services Review, Pergamon Press, Adoption Quarterly, Adoption Studies Institute, Adoptalk, North American Council on Adoptable Children, Adoptive Families, and Adoptive Families of America.
Other useful reading should include predictable issues for adopted children and their families at different ages and stages of development, cross-cultural issues, family dynamics in adoptive families, effects of early environmental deprivation, health issues for adopted children, and recommended health and developmental screenings for internationally adopted children. Check out training opportunities that are available at adoption conferences such as the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC), which holds the largest adoption training conference in North America every August, and The Joint Council for International Children's Services (JCICS), a membership organization for agencies working in international adoption that has a conference each April, in Washington, D.C.
For further information, one can contact directors of other local child-placement agencies and ascertain their views on critical success factors for start-up agencies. The State Licensing Specialist can also recommend agencies to contact. Another crucial source of information on standards for adoption services can be obtained from the Child Welfare League of America. You can obtain more information on agency licensing by contacting the State Adoption Specialist or State Licensing Specialist in your state. The contact information can be obtained from the National Adoption Directory.