What prospective adoptive parents should know about adoption consultants

By Leah Lusk, content specialist

Anyone exploring parenting through adoption has likely encountered adoption consultants —or at least heard of them.  But what is an adoption consultant, and should a family who is considering adoption enlist one to help them?

Adoption consultants are individuals or organizations that provide guidance and education to prospective adoptive families. They may help research agencies, create adoption profiles, or connect families with attorneys in various states. They may also provide emotional support.

Here’s a critical distinction to keep in mind: Adoption consultants don’t provide the actual services that are part of a legal adoption process. They can’t conduct a home study, provide legal representation, finalize an adoption, or facilitate connections between expectant parents and prospective adoptive families.

Another difference is the lack of regulation. While adoption agencies must be licensed and adhere to ethical standards and legal requirements, consultants face no such regulation. There are no minimum standards for education, training, or professional qualifications; many consultants enter the field based on personal experience with adoption rather than formal credentials. There’s no third party reviewing their work or ensuring their practices are ethical. In fact, unlicensed adoption intermediaries are illegal in most states, though enforcement has been inconsistent.

Congress is working to pass the ADOPT Act, which would require adoption providers and attorneys to be licensed in all states where they provide services. The legislation would also prohibit unlicensed entities from placing paid adoption advertising and require that payments to expectant parents over $500 be made through licensed agencies or attorneys in the state where the expectant parent resides. In late 2024, the FTC sent warning letters to 31 unlicensed providers, citing unethical and illegal practices.

AdoptChange, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting ethical adoption practices through transparency and education, recently published two valuable resources that provide additional information about adoption consultants. To inform these resources, AdoptChange completed a survey of 200 families and found that families experienced several benefits when working with a consultant, but that there are also challenges and risks involved.

• What Adopting Families Should Know About Adoption Consultants
• Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Adoption Consultant

We encourage anyone with questions about adoption consultants to read these very thorough articles.

OA&FS is a program of Boys & Girls Aid, a licensed agency. We provide adoption-related services: home studies, placement services, and post-placement support. Most importantly, we always start with all-options counseling, so that expectant parents and people who are parenting have access to the information they need to make an informed choice about their child’s future.

When unlicensed consultants are involved, options counseling isn’t a guarantee. Because consultants work primarily with prospective adoptive parents and are paid by them, there can be pressure—intentional or not—toward outcomes that serve adoptive parents’ interests rather than what’s truly best for expectant parents and children.

Working with unlicensed consultants means no regulatory oversight, additional costs on top of agency fees, potential financial loss if they shut down, and no guarantee their practices prioritize what’s best for children and expectant parents, or the long-term health of adoptive families. At OA&FS, we believe all adoptions should start with ensuring expectant parents have access to comprehensive, nonbiased counseling. When someone chooses adoption, it should not be because they were pressured or lacked support. Prospective adoptive parents also need transparent and accurate information about adoption, and have a responsibility to research the professionals they choose to help guide and prepare them. After all, choices made at the beginning of this journey are part of the larger story of any adoption.

If you do decide to work with a consultant, make sure you know what you are getting into. And if you find an agency that provides high-quality education and support, you may not need the help of a consultant. Visit AdoptChange.org to search for a licensed, reputable provider in your area.