How to Choose an Adoption Agency in Delaware: Private vs. Foster Care Pathways

Delaware has a short list of licensed adoption agencies — fewer than 10 active providers serving the entire state. That makes the agency selection decision both easier (there aren't hundreds to sort through) and higher stakes (if you pick the wrong one for your situation, you may not have an obvious alternative).

Here's how to think through the choice, including a comparison of the private agency and foster-to-adopt pathways on cost, timeline, and what families actually experience.

Start With the Pathway Question

Before you evaluate individual agencies, you need to know which adoption pathway you're pursuing. The agency options and the decision criteria are different depending on whether you want:

Foster-to-adopt (public pathway through DFS): You become licensed as a foster parent first. Children in state custody become available for adoption only after parental rights are terminated. The cost is near-zero and the wait for a placement can be shorter, but there's meaningful uncertainty — the child could return to their biological family before TPR is granted.

Domestic infant adoption (private pathway): A birth mother voluntarily makes an adoption plan for her baby. You're matched before or shortly after birth. The cost is $20,000 to $45,000. The wait for a match varies widely — weeks to years — depending on the agency's birth parent network and your profile.

Identified adoption: You find a birth parent situation independently and engage a Delaware agency for the home study and legal supervision. Lower agency fees than a full placement, but you're responsible for finding the connection.

Stepparent or kinship adoption: You already have a relationship with the child. Many of these don't require a full agency involvement; the Family Court may waive the home study requirement entirely.

If you're not sure which pathway fits your situation, the honest answer is: get the information first, then decide. Paying a $500 application fee to an agency that specializes in a pathway that doesn't match your goals is a common, expensive mistake.

The Licensed Agency Landscape in Delaware

The Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) maintains the official list of agencies licensed to provide adoption services in Delaware. As of 2025, the primary active providers include:

Children & Families First — One of the larger operators, with offices in Wilmington and Dover and statewide Zoom orientations. Runs under contract with DFS for foster care recruitment and has a specific African American Adoption Program. Strong track record with medically fragile children and trauma-experienced placements.

A Better Chance For Our Children (ABCFOC) — Based in Wilmington and Milford, specializing in special needs adoption and providing some of the most robust post-adoption support services in the state. If you're open to children with medical or developmental needs, this agency's post-placement support is worth considering.

Children's Choice — Christian-based, with offices in Newark and Dover. Handles foster care and international adoptions. Families with a faith-based perspective often feel most comfortable here. LGBTQ couples should verify current policy before engaging.

Adoption STAR — A non-profit structured around "Support, Training, Advocacy, and Resources." Explicitly affirming and works statewide. Offers robust educational programming alongside the placement process.

Bethany Christian Services — Faith-based with a broad service menu: domestic infant, foster care, and stepparent services. Newark location. As with Children's Choice, LGBTQ families should confirm current policy directly.

Adoptions From The Heart — Focuses on domestic infant placement with an emphasis on open adoption relationships. Wilmington-based. Known for their birth parent counseling and birth family matching process.

Open Arms Adoption — Wilmington-based, works with infants of all races and emphasizes extensive birth parent support. If domestic infant adoption is your path and you're in or near New Castle County, this is worth a consultation call.

Madison Adoption Associates — Hague-accredited; primarily international adoption focus. Useful for families pursuing intercountry adoption who need Delaware-based agency coordination.

How to Evaluate an Agency Before Committing

Ask these questions directly in your initial consultation:

1. How many Delaware finalizations have you completed in the past 12 months? You want an agency with recent, active experience in Delaware Family Court — not one that handles mostly other states and occasionally files in Delaware.

2. What's your wait time for a match? For domestic infant adoption, ask for their honest range and what factors affect it. Some agencies will give you a median wait; others won't. Push for specifics.

3. Do you have experience with families like mine? If you're a same-sex couple, single parent, or over 50, ask directly. Don't assume.

4. What are all the fees, spelled out? Application fee, home study fee, birth parent support costs (which can vary based on what the birth mother needs), placement fee, post-placement supervision fees. Get it in writing.

5. What post-adoption support do you provide? The years after finalization matter. Agencies with counseling and support groups are valuable long after the court hearing is over.

6. Are you currently licensed by the OCCL? Verify independently at regulations.delaware.gov — agency licensing status can change.

Private Agency vs. Foster-to-Adopt: A Direct Comparison

The "legal risk" element in foster-to-adopt deserves emphasis. Until parental rights are formally terminated by the Family Court, the child could be returned to their biological family. Delaware's DFS practices "concurrent planning" — simultaneously working toward reunification and preparing an alternate permanency plan — which means you may care for a child for 12+ months before learning whether adoption will proceed. Many families find this emotionally demanding. Others find they are well-suited to it.

Philadelphia-Area Agencies: The Delaware Complication

Because Delaware is a small state, many families are tempted to use a larger Philadelphia-area agency. This creates a specific friction: a Pennsylvania agency conducting your home study will need to coordinate with Delaware Family Court for finalization, and mistakes in understanding Delaware's specific filing requirements (the Form 156 affidavit, the supervision period rules, the ICPC process if the child is born in another state) are common enough that they cause real delays.

If you use a PA-based agency, confirm explicitly that they have finalized adoptions in Delaware Family Court recently and know the local requirements. Ask which attorney they work with for Delaware filings.

The Delaware Adoption Process Guide includes an agency vetting framework and a pathway comparison built specifically for the Delaware context — including how to check OCCL licensing status and the questions that separate experienced Delaware agencies from national firms that stumble on local requirements.

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