About Advocates for Adoption

Why was Advocates for Adoption established?

Services Provided by Our Agency

It has been common knowledge that pre-existing agencies have not met the needs of New York residents seeking to adopt. Many people have avoided the traditional agencies due to the long waiting lists and arbitrary criteria established by many of those agencies. In addition to this state of affairs, recent legislative and Department of Social Service regulation changes have placed New York State adoptive parents in a position of not being able to compete with adoptive parents from other states.

Recent amendments to various subsections of the Social Services Law Section 374, effective as of January 1990, required out-of-state adoption agencies placing children in New York State for the purpose of adoption to be licensed by New York State. This legislation has resulted in untold and insurmountable hardships for most small adoption agencies around the nation. The end result is that too many legitimate and successful agencies have chosen not to be burdened by this process and refuse to deal with adoptive parents who reside in New York State. Unfortunately, many of these agencies are located in the south and Midwest area which for various reasons have many birth parents who choose adoption as a plan for their unplanned pregnancies.

Effective January 1, 1994, the New York State Interstate Compact Office and the Department of Social Services, began enforcing new regulations which prohibit the placement of children into New York State if they have been located by unlicensed intermediaries, whether paid or unpaid and the regulations give no consideration to whether or not the activity was legal in the other state. The result of this regulation has been to deter attorneys and adoption agencies who are not licensed by New York State from acting as intermediaries on behalf of New York adoptive parents. New York residents have effectively been eliminated from consideration by available birth mothers in numerous states.

The ban on intermediary involvement in the adoptive process eliminates a valuable resource for New York families seeking adoption. The restrictions on New York adoptive parents’ has resulted in an enormous burden to families seeking children to adopt.

The Executive Director and the staff of Advocates for Adoption have many years of experience in the adoption field and have been able to establish nationwide networks with other involved professionals. These networks make it possible for the agency to gain inroads into the location of prospective birth parents and the assistance of other experienced, competent professionals in processing the entire adoption to ensure that the proper services are rendered to the birth parents and the adoptive parents. Everything is done within the letter and intent of the relevant statutes.

The Agency is a synthesis of the best features of agency adoption and the best features of private adoption. The private adoption format has made it possible for birth parents and adoptive parents to work together during the pregnancy. These birth parent/adoptive parent relationships often help the birth parents feel secure and confident that surrender and adoption is in the best interest of their child and often help the adoptive parents feel comfortable with their adoptive child's biological, emotional and social heritage and better prepared to be more engaged, more confident parents.

The Agency's format has provided Advocates For Adoption with a strong commitment to providing high level clinical evaluations, counseling and training for parents and adopted children.

Select from the links below to learn more about our unique agency:

• Read our mission statement
• Services Provided by Our Agency
• Find out more about the founder and Executive Director
• Frequently Asked Questions for Adoptive Parents
• How to contact Advocates for Adoption