Horror stories are all too common especially in situations where an adopting person or family is not fully knowledgeable about adoption and about many of the risks involved in adopting a child either domestically or internationally. 

Imagine paying all the fees involved to adopt a child and then months later, after the child has become part of your family, having to give the child back.  You can lose the child and all of your adoption savings. It happens, but it is possible to avoid both of these tragedies and avoid many other potential problems as well.

Horror stories abound about people who have to wait years and years to adopt a healthy child.  People who have lost thousands and thousands of dollars because they were taken advantage of by a birth parent, adoption facilitator, agency or attorney.  About someone who has a child with them for literally months or even years only to have a birth mother or birth father come back and legally take back the child.  Situations where a birth mother has been receiving money from multiple families and may not even be pregnant.  Families who have already paid large sums of money to a facilitator, birth parent, adoption attorney or agency and then just when they are ready to get the baby "more unexpected fees" are suddenly required.  Families who have taken custody of a newborn baby in a state other than where they live, only to find that they are stuck in that state for a month or two because they were not aware of interstate laws and procedures.  Situations where a child has Native American heritage and the family did not follow the requirement of the Indian Child Welfare Ac and, as a result, lost the child after months of having custody and months of loving and bonding with the child. The list of horror stories goes on and on and over the past 40 years I have heard so many that break the heart of everyone involved.

As a PhD Psychologist I have helped over 9,000 adopting families, birth parents, pregnant women and children over the past 40 years.  I am the founder of Adoption Services, Inc., an adoption agency licensed in multiple states, and I have created 9 websites filled with information to help adopting families, birth mothers and pregnant women.  As I have helped many others, I am available to help you with every aspect of the adoption process, no matter where you live, no matter where the child is and no matter what adoption agency, attorney, or facilitator you plan on working with.

Some of the typical adoption consultant services are describe below.  However, since every family is unique as is each birth parent and adoption possibility, services are ultimately catered to each family and each situation.

I help advise and support families starting with a clarification of the types of adoption and through the decision whether to adopt, through the development and implementation of an adoption plan, and through the Home Study, the placement, and finalization of the adoption.  I will help you focus your priorities and determine exactly which elements in the adoption process are most important to you. I can help refer you to qualified, ethical, and responsible agencies and attorneys. I can help you to evaluate each opportunity as it arises.

I can provide valuable assistance if you are writing a "Dear Birth mother" letter and/or are preparing a profile of you and your family. I will help you prepare for your Home Study and tell you what to expect. I am able to advise you on appropriate contact with the birth mother, birth father, and their families.

Once the baby is ready to be placed, I will help you prepare to travel to take placement of your child.  I will give you input on critical medical information to get and on the reasons that the child should get an independent medical evaluation.  If you have an open adoption I will help you negotiate an ongoing relationship with the birth mother and birth father. Throughout the entire process, I can be available to you for guidance, emotional support and advice.

I can help you regardless of your marital status, your age, race, or sexual preference. I can help you with an agency or private adoption, an open or closed adoption, an intrastate or interstate adoption, and a domestic or international adoption.

Let me briefly mention what I am not. Some "Adoption Consultants" are really "adoption facilitators" and as such they help match birth parents with an adopting family.  Their business consists of facilitating adoption placements and once the referral has taken place they usually collect their fee and are out of the picture.  I am not an adoption facilitator and while I will help you throughout the adoption process, I will not match you with a child unless you decide to work through Adoption Services in which case the Agency will find and match you with a birth mother and child.

I can explain to you in simple terms the differences in the various types of adoption such as open adoption, closed adoption, private adoption, adoption by agency, domestic adoption, interstate adoption, intrastate adoption, international adoption, adoptions affected by state and federal laws such as the Hague Convention, the Interstate Compact Act, and Indian Child Welfare Act. I can help you understand how adoption exchanges work and how to adopt children from foster care.   In a short period of time I can help identify which route will most likely end in the adoption of the type of child you desire. I can help you find what type of adoption best suits your needs.

I will help you find the "total cost" of adoption which may include not only the obvious attorney, agency and medical fees but also reimbursements to the birth mother for counseling, living expenses, travel and even loss of wages.

I can help you avoid tragic situations, avoid being mislead, misinformed, or simply being ripped off by looking to see if the the adoption agency, facilitator or adoption attorney you are planning to work with may have fees that they did not discuss with you in your initial consultations with them.  Some of these fees can be quite large and in some cases they may come with such suddenness and of such size that they can actually interrupt the adoption process if you are not are of them.

I can also help you identify what fees are reasonable and help make sure the birth parent is not one of those few who are looking to take advantage of others.

I will help you to understand all of the fees involved and the importance of finding out when they are due.  Why is it important to know when the fees are due?  An example would be that one agency does not require certain require fees until after the birth parents rights have been ended and the birth parents can no longer change their mind.  If you never adopt a child you do not have to pay the fees.  A second agency may demand these same fees up front and if you do not adopt a child they may refuse to refund them. A third agency may only require the fees after a period of time has elapsed after the adoption, thus if you have to return the child for any reason you may not be stuck with having to pay these fees.  As you can see, when you pay these fees can actually be as important as the amount of the fees.

One of the big differences between one adoption agency, facilitator or attorney and another is that some of them will refund all or part of your money if you are unable to adopt a child, while others may keep your money regardless of whether you adopt a child or not.

All Home Studies are not the same. All adoptions, except those involving a close relative adoption, require a Home Study.  But some Home studies are very limited in their use and you could end up wasting a lot of time, money and energy getting a Home Study done that will not meet the requirements of your adoption situation.  If this happens you will have to get a second Home Study and miss out on an adoption opportunity in addition to loosing couple of thousand dollars. I will help you make sure the Home Study you pay for will meet all of your needs.

Most families are very concerned about the outcome of a Home Study and rightfully so since if you do not get a favorable Home Study you will not be able to adopt.  I can help reduce your anxiety level and help you prepare for the Home Study.

Many states have laws that basically state that it is illegal for a family wanting to adopt a child to advertise.  The penalties for advertising in these states vary but a violation could make it impossible for you to ever adopt in that state.  I can help advise you regarding this issue.

A disruption is the euphemism for a horrible experience where you take custody of a child but then the child must be returned to the birth parent or agency. Disruptions can occur as the result of many factors. I can help educate you in what to look for, i.e. what are the red flags that cry out for attention, and thus reduce your chances of having the adoption process disrupted and having to give your adopted child back.

It's fairly common for birth mothers to change their mind before and after the baby is born.  The problem is that you may have already paid a large amount in adoption fees, mother and babies medical expenses, possibly housing and other expenses. You may have taken the baby home, become attached to it as has your spouse and whole family and now the whole thing may come apart.  I can show you about "what to expect" and how to reduce your chances of a disruption of the adoption process

I can review the paperwork for your adoption to make sure that everything is done properly, that all of your responsibilities, risks, and costs are clear and realistic. I will give you guidance in gathering and maintaining control of the required documentation. The information you provide is personal and you will want to maintain control of all documentation. This is also one of the best ways to avoid problems with hidden fees, loss of fees, and refundable fees.

Infertility can be a tremendous burden and place stress on the woman, her partner, and on their relationship.  The infertility process and coming to terms with adoption is something that you may need or want help with.

Even after the adoption, it is important to be ready for issues of how,and when to tell you family and friends as well as the when, how and what to tell the adopted child.  This can have a great impact on how your child adjusts.  I have over 40 years of teaching, counseling and therapy experience and can help you with all of these issues.

Delays in the adoption process can be costly.  They mean not only extra time, but also extra work, stress and worry.  Even more than can actually result in an adoption falling through.  There are many causes for delays from paperwork to not understanding the adoption process.  I can teach you many ways to reduce the chances for delays in adopting a child which in turn helps lower your risks.

We all care about children.  That is why I built this site and why you are visiting it.  It is important for you to get some critical health and background information on the birth parents and on the child. It can also be critical to have a complete health exam for the child you are considering adopting.  I will be please to go over with you many of the critical item to watch out for.

Many insurance companies will tell you that they do not insure a prospective adoptive child until after the adoption. Imagine the insurance carrier for your employer telling you this. In your mind you may be thinking, what if this child has huge medical bills and my insurance company refuses to insure my adopted child.  I can help you become aware of legislation that may require your insurance carrie to cover you child from birth. This one little thing, which may sound small to you now, could save you tens of thousands of dollars on your adopted child's medical bills.

The ultimate goal of this consultant service is to lower your total costs, help you find financial assistance programs and insurance for your child, reduce delays and risks, and finally to help increase your chances of giving a safe and loving home to a child.  With that in mind you can call me and briefly outline your situation and what type of help you think you may need.  I can then direct you to a source of information or can agree to be your "Adoption Consultant".  You and I can decide how much or how little help you may need.  Based on "how much time will be involved" I can then give you an estimate of what my fee to help would be.  You can then do your own cost and fee analysis and weigh the benefits of using my consulting services.

I prefer to help you from beginning to end so that I can help make sure that the steps you take are all in the right direction.  I can only do this if we have a good deal of ongoing contact.  Accordingly, I have set a flat fee of $2000 to help you from beginning to end with an unlimited number of contacts and an unlimited amount of time.  I can and do provide consultation on an hourly basis of $300/hour.

You can call me for an initial free consultation to help you  decide if you want to retain my services as an Adoption Consultant.  If you want to proceed, I will send you an "Adoption Consultant Information Questionnaire" for you to complete.  You return it with a check for $250.  If after reviewing the questionnaire" I do not think I will be able to help you, I will return your check for the full $250.  If I agree to work with you I will contact you by phone to set up a personal or phone consultation and to have you submit the balance due of $1750.  I will give you numbers that you will be able to reach me 5 days a week for regular questions and 6 days a week in placement situations.

During our first consultation, we will normally discuss several issues including, but not limited to, your unique situation, personal needs, adoption options, educate you on critical adoption issues such as the types of adoption, issues surrounding the ending of parental rights, the rights of the birth mother, birth father, and your rights, how to accelerate the process, and how to select an agency, attorney, and Home Study agency.

Let me help to take the stress out of the adoption process for you. I can can help to reduce and eliminate unrealistic fears, worry, stress, and obstacles. Do not forget the negative domestic adoption stories you have heard but recognize that you can do much to make sure you are never one of those stories. I can help you navigate what can otherwise be an overwhelming, complicated, time-consuming and frustrating process.