In a typical independent adoption, the prospective parents take an active role in identifying a birth mother, usually by networking, advertising, or by using the Internet. Another difference between independent and agency adoption is the method by which the birth parents give their consent to adoption. In an agency adoption, the birth parents relinquish their parental rights to an agency, and the agency, in turn, consents to an adoption by specific adoptive parents. In independent adoption. Many adoptive parents are reassured by knowing the birth parents personally and dealing with them directly, instead of being afraid that their adoption may fall apart before it is completed. Rather than relying on an agency as a go-between, the birth parent and adoptive parents can meet, get to know each other, and decide for themselves whether to go ahead with the adoption.