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Adoption Assistance of a Facilitator

It is no wonder that many prospective adoptive parents consider using an adoption facilitator because they think, expect, or hope that those facilitators will have the answers to many of the questions that consistently plague the adoptive parents. For people who do not know much about the details of the adoption system, the term “adoption facilitator” sounds like someone who could be very beneficial in helping the adoption proceed and result successfully. However, the role of an adoption facilitator is actually more complex that you might think, and a facilitator’s involvement in an adoption could have serious implications for the final success and outcome of the adoption.

Adoption Facilitator Specifics

An adoption facilitator is specifically someone who is involved in matching birth parents who want to give their child up for adoption with interested adoptive parents. Adoption facilitators can be doctors who are aware of children in need of homes, ministers, family members, nurses, friends, etc. The important thing to note about adoption facilitators is that they are not licensed participants in an adoption. This means that, unlike licensed adoption agencies or attorneys, adoption facilitators cannot legally be paid for their services or involvement. Although there are a few states that do allow adoption facilitators to be paid, the majority of states do not, and paying a facilitator to assist in an adoption where it is illegal could cause problems in the later stages of the adoption and even result in an unsuccessful adoption attempt.

Despite the fact that paid adoption facilitators are not legal in most states, there is no law prohibiting the help, assistance or involvement of any facilitating person or group. The reason that most facilitators are illegal if they receive pay is because they are not licensed individuals or agencies. Therefore, any advice or knowledge they have to offer is primarily based on experience and not on state-sanctioned training or education. However, because experience is an exceptionally good teacher, many adoption facilitators can be very helpful in the adoption process, and there is no reason to not take advantage of their assistance as long as legal rules are followed.

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