Adoption Network Law Center Complaints: What They Were and What Has Changed

Most complaints about Adoption Network Law Center come down to one thing: an adoptive family paid for services, was matched with an expectant mother, the expectant mother chose to parent, and the family did not get a refund. This page explains how that works, what most reviews leave out, and how Adoption Network operates today. If you searched for this before trusting an organization with something this important, you are doing what any careful expectant mother or adoptive family should do.

We are not going to argue with people who had a bad experience. Over more than 30 years, the Adoption Network brand has been associated with more than 6,000 completed adoptions, at times as many as 400 a year. An organization working at that scale, in a field this emotional, attracts attention, scrutiny, and complaints, and some of those complaints raise real issues. What we can do is give you the facts, tell you what is different now, and show you how to reach us if you have a concern of your own.

Fees and What Happens When an Adoption Opportunity Disrupts

Adoption Network does not sell babies, and no one can guarantee that a family will adopt a child. What adoptive parents pay for is professional work: education about the process, counseling and guidance, a custom adoption profile with photos, writing, and video, outreach to expectant mothers, screening of inquiries, presentation of adoption opportunities, and coordination with the agencies and attorneys who handle placement and finalization.

By the time a family is matched with an expectant mother, most of that work has already been done. That is why our Adoption Services Agreement states that fees are earned when the services are performed and are not refundable. Every family sees the fees before entering into the agreement. See our adoption costs page.

What the complaints usually leave out is what happens next. When an adoption opportunity disrupts, Adoption Network keeps working for that family. We continue providing our services, with no additional Adoption Network service fees, until a successful adoption placement, subject to the terms of the agreement. A family is paying for ongoing professional services, not for a single adoption opportunity.

Pregnancy-related expenses paid to an expectant mother are separate from our fees. Those are evaluated under the law of her state and her circumstances, documented and verified, and adoptive families are told what to expect before they decide whether to accept an opportunity. Read more about birth mother expenses and what adoption costs.

Where the Complaints Come From

Most of the complaints you will find online fall into two groups.

Fees after an adoption opportunity fell through. These are the most common, and the section above is our answer.

A 2021 TIME magazine article. TIME published an article about the private adoption industry that included Adoption Network Law Center. We published a full response at the time. The main points are summarized below.

There was also a 2013 lawsuit filed by the Illinois Attorney General, resolved in 2014 by consent decree with no admission of liability, and an Orange County District Attorney matter from 2006. Both are covered on our lawsuit page.

The 2021 TIME Article, in Short

The article raised several concerns about the private adoption industry. Our full response is linked above. The points that matter most:

• Our fees compensate us for substantial services, including administrative preparation, outreach, customized profiles, ongoing client management, screening, coordination with professionals, and support for expectant mothers. The number of prospective adoptive families is far larger than the number of adoption opportunities, so reaching expectant mothers takes considerable financial and human resources. Fees are disclosed before anyone signs.
• Expectant-mother living expenses are for legitimate pregnancy-related needs, including housing, food, utilities, and transportation, evaluated under her state’s law, documented, and disclosed to the adoptive family in advance.
• We do not condone pressuring an expectant mother to proceed with an adoption, threatening her with repayment of expenses because she chose to parent, or using child protective services as leverage. Her decision is hers, under the consent laws of her state.
• Any relocation during a pregnancy must originate with the expectant mother and be based on her own circumstances and preferences.
• Adoption opportunities are evaluated on the circumstances of the expectant mother, the preferences of the adoptive family, and the suitability of the match, not on revenue.
• Adoption is principally governed by state law and involves attorneys, licensed agencies, social workers, and other regulated professionals.

Our response also said something we still believe: adoption practices continue to evolve, and we have to keep evaluating and improving our own.

How Adoption Network Operates Today

Adoption Network today is not the same legal or operational organization that existed 10 or 20 years ago. Adoption Network’s adoption-related services are supervised by licensed California attorneys. Adoption Network is aligned with a California-licensed adoption agency to address California Department of Social Services requirements. Our lawsuit page explains the structure in full.

How families are evaluated. Prospective adoptive parents are educated about the adoption process, timelines, costs, and expectations before they commit. Unmarried women successfully adopt through Adoption Network. Marital status alone does not preclude anyone from adopting, although each expectant mother has her own preferences when choosing a family. Estimated waiting periods are averages, not guarantees. The expectant mother ultimately selects the family she believes is best for her child.

What families receive. A common misconception is that we create an online profile and wait. The work is broader than that: education, a customized profile, outreach through our websites, social media, and a network of roughly 2,500 professional contacts, screening of every expectant-mother inquiry for medical, substance, birth-father, and fraud concerns, presentation of appropriate opportunities with available medical and background information, coordination of introductory conversations, and guidance on communication, travel, and delivery planning through to finalization.

How expectant mothers are supported. Every inquiry is answered by an adoption advisor. Expectant mothers receive education and counseling about their options, help obtaining medical care and insurance or Medicaid coverage, coordination with licensed social workers, access to peer mentors, and help identifying the qualities they hope to find in an adoptive family. We wrote a separate page on how Adoption Network supports expectant mothers, built from what they tell us they worry about most.

Accountability. Adoption Network has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 1996. You can read our BBB profile, meet the people you would be working with, and read why families and expectant mothers choose Adoption Network.

Questions People Ask

What happens to my fees if an adoption falls through?

Fees are earned when services are performed and are not refundable. If an adoption opportunity disrupts, Adoption Network continues providing its services, with no additional Adoption Network service fees, until a successful placement, subject to the terms of the agreement.

How long is the wait?

Estimated waiting periods are averages based on past placements, not guarantees. Your consultant will give you the current averages and explain what affects them. The expectant mother chooses the family, so timing varies.

I am not getting updates. Who do I contact?

Contact your adoption consultant directly first. If you are not hearing back, send a message through our contact form and it will be reviewed by Adoption Network’s team.

Is Adoption Network a licensed adoption agency?

No. Adoption Network is not an adoption agency or an adoption facilitator. Its services are supervised by licensed California attorneys, and it is aligned with a California-licensed adoption agency. Adoptions are finalized by licensed attorneys and agencies in the state where the adoption occurs.

If You Have a Concern

If you are a current or former birth mother or adoptive parent with a concern about your experience, we want to hear it directly. Send it through our contact form and it will be reviewed by Adoption Network’s team.

If you are deciding whether to work with us, request free information and an adoption consultant will follow up. Ask us anything on this page. We would rather answer a hard question now than have you find the answer somewhere else.

Adoption Network is not an adoption agency or adoption facilitator. Adoption Network’s adoption services are supervised by licensed attorneys, and it works in coordination with licensed adoption attorneys and licensed adoption agencies throughout the United States, in compliance with the adoption-related laws of each state in which an adoption is finalized.