What is an Adoption Facilitator?

Adoption law centers and adoption facilitators are unlicensed and unregulated adoption professionals that usually only provide matching services, requiring birth parents and adoptive families to find another professional to complete the legal work and adoption counseling services.

These adoption professionals cannot provide many of the services available through adoption agencies or adoption attorneys, such as financial assistance or post-placement contact services. Some adoption law centers or facilitators may be able to refer you to other adoption professionals who are able to provide these services.

Why You Shouldn’t Work with a Law Center or Adoption Facilitator

There are several considerations to take into account before choosing to work with an adoption law center or adoption facilitator. Here are some of the reasons you may not want to consider working with these types of adoption professionals:

Cons of Facilitators and Law Centers

They don’t provide as many adoption services as other adoption professionals, such as adoption agencies and law firms. Adoption facilitators and law centers cannot legally finalize the adoption, leaving it to the birth parents and adoptive family to find their own legal representation and navigate the legal process of adoption on their own. In addition, law centers and facilitators do not provide counseling and support to expectant mothers and will often part ways with you after you are matched with an adoptive family, meaning you will need to find another adoption professional to guide you through the remainder of the adoption process and post-placement services.

They are not annually reviewed by a government agency. These organizations are widely unregulated and are even illegal in more than 15 states. Because they are not annually reviewed by any state authority, there is no guarantee that their services comply with your state’s adoption laws.

Risks of Choosing an Adoption Law Center or Adoption Facilitator

If you have decided to work with an adoption law center or facilitator, there are several questions you may want to ask the facilitators you are considering before making your final decision:

• Is your organization certified or licensed?
• Who is your organization regulated by?
• What services does your organization offer other than matching me with an adoptive family?
• What kind of support will I receive from your organization?
• Will my adoption be transferred to another professional once I’m matched with an adoptive family?
• How does your organization facilitate living expenses?
• How do you ensure I receive pictures and letters from the adoptive family?

Because these adoption professionals are unregulated and uncertified, each adoption facilitator or law center will likely vary widely in their stability and the services they offer. You should carefully research all of your options before entering into a relationship with an adoption law center or facilitator.

Why These Professionals Could Endanger Birth Mothers

When you choose to work with an adoption law center or adoption facilitator, you are setting yourself up for an increased chance of a failed adoption and potentially even being scammed completely.

Because these professionals have no regulations and follow no state or federal guidelines, there have been many scams linked to facilitators and law centers taking advantage of birth mothers and hopeful adoptive families.

Even if a law center or facilitator is deemed as “credible,” they still risk abruptly shutting down, which would leave you without any support, no matter where you are in your adoption process.

In late 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning to over 30 adoption professionals about their improper practices. Currently, Congress is working to pass the “Adoption Act,” which will require adoption professionals to be licensed in each state they provide services. The goal of this law is to help eliminate unethical practices throughout adoption to protect pregnant women and hopeful adoptive families.

Our Opinion

As a pregnant mother considering adoption, you are entitled to receive a variety of adoption services at no expense to you. Choosing an adoption law center or adoption facilitator will likely exclude you from many valuable adoption services and will require you to seek the assistance of an adoption attorney for the legal process.ude you from many valuable adoption services and will require you to seek the assistance of an adoption attorney for the legal process.