Choose an adoption agency

Find an adoption agency that meets your needs

Northwest Adoption Exchange supports agencies who advocate on behalf of all families. To decide the best fit for you, we encourage you to interview agencies about their processes, preferences, and abilities.

Types of agencies

There are two types of agencies that can help you adopt a youth from foster care in Washington state:

• Public child welfare agency: Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).
• Private nonprofit: Organizations, often referred to as a Child Placing Agency or CPA, that have special permission from the state to provide foster licenses and perform home studies for prospective adoptive families. There is typically no cost associated with private agencies, but be sure to ask.

We support agencies that work with all families.

If you have questions about finding an agency that will be a great fit for your family, please contact us.

Five questions to ask an agency

What makes your agency different?
This question will help to identify what an agency values and how that shapes their work. The right agency should have values that match yours and should be able to explain how their approach benefits youth and families.

How does your process work from start to placement?
The answer to this question will help you know what your responsibilities will be and what the agency will do. For example, who makes a formal inquiry about a youth—you or the agency? What type of support will they provide?

What fees do you charge?
This question will give you the answer to exactly what costs you can expect so there are no surprises later. State child welfare agencies will be largely free of cost, while most private agencies will have fees for the application, home study, and adoption.

Do you support out-of-state adoption?
This question will answer if the agency supports making inquiries on youth who are in a different state. If your agency is not supportive of inquiring on youth in other states, it could prevent you from adopting a youth from another state. Chances are, there are youth in your state who need you and who you would be a good fit for. But knowing what your options are is important, particularly if you live near a state border.

Have you worked with families like ours?
This question will identify if and how the program would fit the needs of your family. Knowing that an agency has (or hasn't) helped families like yours can be important information in deciding if an agency can be an effective advocate on your behalf.

Agencies in Washington state

The following agencies are licensed by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families to complete home studies and issue foster licenses along with adoptive home studies.

State-wide agencies

These agencies serve families across Washington state:

• Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families
• Community & Family Services Foundation
• Kid Sense LLC.

Eastern and Central Washington agencies

• Foster First, serving families in Yakima, Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Richland, Pasco), and Wenatchee
• Fostering Solutions, serving families in Yakima, Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Richland, Pasco), Ellensburg, Selah, Prosser, Grandview, Ganger, Wapato, Toppenish, Sunnyside
• K Connections, serving families in Yakima and Wenatchee

Western Washington agencies

• Lorene’s Place II, serving families in King and Pierce Counties
• Synergy Foster Support Services, serving families in Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, Pierce, and Lewis Counties.
• Youthnet, serving families from Whatcom County to Pierce County

Agencies in other states

Looking for information on agencies in Oregon? Check out resources from our Oregon partners.

Oregon

• Oregon Adoption Resource Exchange
• Oregon Department of Human Services