If I could give a negative rating on this agency, I would. Anyone considering them...RUN THE OTHER WAY.
I think the fact that the owner's wife takes time out of her "busy" day to determine who wrote the posting and write the above response should tell you where the agency's priorities lie. Not to mention that they admit to threatening to sue a client......that's interesting customer service. I don't think that is what any of us sign up for when we fork over the tens of thousands of dollars that they demand.
This organization claims to be Christian, any dealings I've had with the owner or his wife have been anything but - I don't think extortion is very Christian - call me crazy. But extort us is exactly what they did - threatening to find "new adoptive parents" for our birth mother if we did not over night the funds they requested....despite the fact that we didn't have a signed Match Agreement. Ed Webb, the owner, is ignorant and condescending and thinks that because he has your money and is an attorney, he's got you over a barrell and can take advantage of what you have invested emotionally and financially into the process.
This agency gives adoption a bad name and is why people are discouraged by domestic adoption.
I will briefly state my dealings with Adoption Advantage because I promised to do so. I did not contract them after all because I felt they were trying to take advantage of us.
--- When I initially contacted AA I spoke with Karen. Karen was, or is, a heartwarming sounding person, someone you can trust with your life. She sent me a copy of the contract on a Friday and urged me to hurry up and sign it so I can pick-up any BMs that come in over the weekend. But we didn't like the way the contract left us open and unprotected. While contemplating the signing of it, Karen called to tell us about a young mother who was pregnant again but could not parent another child. We were not yet clients as we did not sign the contract but she was calling us to see if we were interested. She said it was an agency match and that the mother was due Sept 1. I was overjoyed with the prospect of having a baby to love so quickly in our searching efforts with them.
That night when we spoke, she said the mother was due on Aug 16, and when I questioned her she said she had gotten her confused with another birth mom that she was also trying to match. I had to ask her about that mom as well, of course, I just couldn't leave it alone and after hearing all about her couldn't decide between both moms and asked if I could adopt both children. After she gets the ok from the director she said she would send me the new contract with the new agency fee asking for all the money upfront for two adoptions minus a discount. I was on cloud nine and called my social worker (independent) to tell her the great news and that she would have to update my homestudy for them.
My social worker was not comfortable with any of it, and questioned about the fact that I was not only being offered a BM so quickly and possibly ahead of their other clients, but two. She wondered, don't they have other clients that they can offer these BM to, why you if you are not their clients yet. None of this had crossed my mind, I was just happy to have been chosen.
I began going back and forth with Karen on the contract trying to decide if they were trying to deceive me or did they really have two Moms’ for us. She kept warning that they have to match their BMs within 24 hrs and kept telling me that she could not continue to make these BMs wait for us any longer, although she did, but the urgency to make a decision quick was always there. My social worker cautioned me that they may be trying to lure me in for the fee and then tell me later that the mothers had changed their minds and keep me on a waiting list until they really do have a situation for us and that it could be years and that I would have no way of proving that they had, in fact done this. So naturally I want to speak to the BMs, I want to know for sure.
Karen can sense my apprehension with all my questions and tells me that she's going to have me talk to Stephanie who deals directly with the BMs and could answer any questions I have. She was really sweet about it and I felt I was talking to my loving Aunt who was going to help me.
Stephanie on the other hand was the opposite of Karen, she was a fast talker and although had a lot to say, actually said very little, she reminded me of a used-car salesman. I realized Stephanie was the closer of this deal and, in fact, was the killer of the deal. She would not let me speak to the BMs and said that no one is really matched until they have signed the contract first and paid the agency fee. When I protested that it was Karen who contacted me with a BM match for me, she said that when they have a BM who has not chosen any of the parents on file, that it is then that they do an agency match.
So, am I being matched or not? Were there really two mothers who did not pick from the current parent profiles and that's why Karen called me? Had they asked all the waiting couples that I have read about on this website and they had all declined? If they did have no one else for these moms, why then would they not work with us to make us feel more secure? Why the objection to produce the proof? Was this a classic case of Bait and Switch? You be the judge.
We had a bad experience with this agency. The owner has threatened to sue us if we tell our story.
Also, the promises made to the birthmothers are not followed through. We have lots of contact with our sons birthmother and she told us the truth.
I am a birth mother and had a little boy 6 weeks ago. I have not heard anything from this company since, i was suppose to receive everything in my file and have not recieved that yet and havent been sussessful with getting my phone calls returned either. I am grateful for the people that i have found to adopt my baby, but i really can't say much for this company. I had a hard time to even meet with anyone in person to get my paperwork signed a month before the baby was born. I only live a little over 3 hours away from the agency.
The adoptive parents have not received their paperwork either. THEY HAVEN'T EVEN WENT TO COURT! And are not getting there phone calls returned either. It looks like the adoptive parents may have to get another lawyer to finalize this adoption. People shouldn't be able to get away with stuff like this. I am glad that i am secure in my decision, how scary would that be to have a child at home for a month and a half knowing the birth mother could still change her mind cause u can't get your adoption agency to pay 140 dollars to file with the court to finalize the adoption. ( Note: The adoptive parents have left messages saying they would be happy to pay for this again just to get this this tooken care of with no response.) Just something to think about if you are planning on using this agency for your adoption.
I posted in here some time ago defending AA. Everything I said up to that point was the truth and my honest opinion at that time. My husband and I did have a very successful adoption with them the first time and were very satisfied; however, our experiences lately have not been so pleasent. I am not able to go into specifics, but I would absolutely no recommend anyone signing up with the company any more. We have talked with several other couples that have had the same experiences recently. I apologize if my review led anyone to sign up with the clinic, but that was my true opinion at that point. I felt that it was necessary to post my updated opinion so nobody else will fall into the same trap we have fallen into this second time.
Anyone with a bad experience should contact Lisa Ferrell
Lisa C. Ferrell
Assistant Director
Division of Children and Family Services
Office of Service Quality
Department of Human Services
700 Main Street
P.O. Box 1437, Slot S-570
Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
(501) 682-8544
The agency called us this past year about adopting an infant. High risk placement due to legal abandonment. Told us it was very unusual for them to call people who were not clients of their agency but they did so because they could not place the baby out of state and we were in the state and open to this particular adoption situation.
They wanted all of the money and fees up front and said they would put a rush on this adoption--and would get the baby placed with us within weeks. We told them we were not comfortable paying all the fees up front (which a reputable agency should never ask you to do) but offered to pay up front for the homestudy, background checks--all the fees we would normally have had to pay up front--and said we would be willing to put the rest in an escrow account payable to the agency once parental rights were terminated--so the agency would know we were acting in good faith. The terms of the escrow would be that the money in the account would be returned to us if for some reason the adoption did not go through.
The woman we spoke with said they would check with their director about this and call us back. They never called us. We tried calling the agency but they did not take out call until a couple weeks later. When I asked about the baby, the woman said the birthmother had suddenly changed her mind.
However, by chance we actually met the couple who adopted this baby at our adoption support group (and also saw the baby we had been hoping and praying for ever since this agency called us. She was so beautiful.) Turns out when we weren't agreeable to paying all the money for this adoption up front, the agency then contacted this other couple and offered them a discounted rate for the adoption if they paid everything to them up front. This couple took a chance and did this and thankfully for them it worked out.
The person I talked with stressed that they were a "Christian agency" who would be "praying for me and my husband" regarding this adoption. When in truth they lied to us and were more interested in $$$ and offloading their financial risk on their prospective adoptive parents.
I was actually looking for the Adoption Advantage site to find an email address but found this instead.
My name is Christina. I had put my son up for adoption through this agency Jan. 2004. I got to meet his adoptive parents and I decided to keep my adoption an open adoption. That means that I can still recieve pictures of my son from time to time.
My only complaint about the agency is everytime I call for pictures, I talk to a different person everytime. The new person will tell me that the person I talked to, just a few months ago, quit or something else happened. That gets a little frustrating now because I have been trying to recieve pictures recently and I honestly don't know who to contact this time around.
Everytime I get to know somebody and they tell me that I can trust them and call for them next time... I just get another person or even worse, they don't know what I am talking about.
I have also been trying to contact them to update my information.
I'm very happy for you that you have the children you have hoped for with the help of AA. However, I have to take exception with several of your comments:
"The purpose of this site is to be a support to adoptive parents"
--WRONG. The purpose of this site is to RATE and REVIEW adoption agencies and adoptions lawyers, according to personal experience.
"Let's just keep on writing these things about Adoption Advantage and send them to the state and put them out of business and then all of the parents who are waiting on their list will lose."
-- This is probably the only thing you said that made sense to me. Yes, LETS KEEP ON WRITING THESE THINGS AND PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS! I will, of course, feel really bad for the people who will have lost thier money (myself included!) but it will also SAVE not only future adoptive parents from being scammed, but also save the PRECIOUS BIRTH MOTHERS who can't even receive a simple phone call after their placements! I think these people should be STOPPED - YESTERDAY!
"I am sure the agency will be able to prove that all that is being said is not true "
-- Do you really believe that ALL that is being said is not true? Is EVERYBODY lying? I'm certainly not. And you're so quick to dismiss everything that those of us with bad experiences are saying because they wont provide "proof" to you, but I challenge YOU for "PROOF" that all of us LIARS!
"The people who are posting these things have yet to produce any proof that what they are saying is true. Therefore it is slander"
-- WRONG AGAIN. It is not SLANDER to share your PERSONAL EXPERIENCE! It's not SLANDER because we decline to provide YOU with PROOF! "Proof" and "Slander" are legal terms in this instance, and they WILL be worked out in a court of law.
"You are only hearing the story from bitter angry people."
-- You bet we are angry and bitter! You would be too if your experience had been like ours. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for you that you have been able to have the family you dreamed of, but that does not mean that those of us who have been wronged don't have the right the be angry about it!
"If you want the real story-I encourage you to call the agency and talk to any of their staff."
-- I WOULD LOVE TO DO THIS!! If you're in contact with them, would you PLEASE PLEASE ask them to call me! Maybe they return the calls of their defenders, but they obviously don't care about those of us who have already paid their fees and have questions or concerns about our investment. Call the agency and talk to any of thier staff... yeah, good luck with that!
It is the wife from what I've been told. It will be really interesting to see what goes down with all of this. I'm happy for the people who used them when they were a good agency but I wish they would realize that things have changed.........drastically! I don't know the new agencies name but I search from time to time to see if I can figure it out! It makes me sick to think that this madness might continue!
I wish we could give this agency a negative rating! My husband and I were contacted out of the blue by this agency and were asked to immediately send over $30,000 by wire in order to adopt a precious baby boy that had supposedly just been born in another state, because the mother didn't want him. They were so nice, and gave us all this information over the phone (we received nothing in writing except the contract) about how the mother was leaving the hospital without the baby and that she didnt care what happened to him or what kind of family adopted him. "Jackie" told us that we were contacted because this was an "emergency situation" and that there were no couples on their list that wanted this bi-racial baby boy. (Looking back now that sounds SO suspicious, and especially after reading posts here from people who have been waiting for a babt years. Didn't ANY of these couple want this baby? Were they even OFFERED this situation?) Anyway, when we got off the phone we were so overjoyed that our baby was actually coming home! We wired the money and travelled over 1000 miles to the hospital. When we got there we got the shock of our lives. We were informed that not only was there no baby waiting for us, but that the "supposed" birthmother (we were only given her first name) had not signed any contracts or made ANY contact with Adoption Advantage except to call and request INFORMATION about adoption. By the time we got there, mother and baby were both gone and the hospital social worker was flabergasted that an agency would purport that this was a viable adoption situation. The people at the hospital treated us better than the agency has, at least they showed us concern and empathy. AA has not called, emailed, returned our phone calls or email, or attempted to contact us in any way concerning our situation or our $30,000! I have since been doing some digging and found out that not only are they in trouble with their local licensing board (in Arkansas) but that they owe money all over the country and are being sued by MULTIPLE parties that have gone through similiar situations. How could they be so callous and cruel to those of us who just want a precious baby to call our own? Why dont they answer the phone or return emails? What's REALLY going on with this company when they are taking in tens of thousands of dollars and not paying their bills? PLEASE PLEASE dont fall for the same "SCAM" that has broken our hearts! If you are contacted by this agency, our advice is the same as the earlier poster's, "RUN THE OTHER WAY!"
Adoption Advantage
4906 S. Katillus Rd
Little Rock, AR 72223
Main Phone Number: 501-246-8068
Toll Free Fax: 877-838-6840
Toll Free Phone Number 877-281-9980 (when dialed get a recording saying it is not a working number)
FYI... In recent communication sent from the agency, Adoption Advantage has moved. Above is their new address. They have also communicated that they have new phone numbers 'to take advantage of advanced IP phone solution technologies to include employee voice mailboxes and strategic dialing sequences to connect you to the person best suited to assist your specific need.' See comments above regarding the listed new 877 phone number vs. directing to employee voice mailboxes.
2 1/2 years ago we adopted our daughter. We used Adoption Advantage. We only waited 4 months so a year later when we decided we wanted to adopt another child, we decided to sign again with Adoption Advantage. At that time we probably would have given a higher rating. Now, 18 months later, we are still waiting. We have been provided minimal detailed updates during this time and received them only when we pushed hard enough for information. In recent form letters to adoptive parents signed with them, Adoption Advantage has requested communication mainly through e-mail. However, we get limited, if any responses. We have sent numerous e-mails and left voice mails at the main number and also with cell phone numbers that have been provided to us by staff. Have any other signed adoptive parents been having difficulty getting information from Adoption Advantage? Or difficulty receiving any type of communication outside of their sporadic form e-mails? Any feedback would be appreciated
The new agency that Donna Gail Webb has started in TN is called All For You Adoptions. It is located in Memphis, TN. She has a website, but curiously, her name is nowhere on there. Probably because of her reputation....
i just hapen to know that the new agency was started by donnagail webb in Memphis and it is called All For You adoptions. they really are getting divorced and i think donnagail is going by her maiden name now. I happened across this information when i was calling different agencies and recognized her voice. I hope this helps and I'm sorry for your loss.
So this was two years ago? Things have dramatically changed with this agency! Call them and see how they stand currently with the licensing department in Arkansas!
I posted in here some time ago defending AA. Everything I said up to that point was the truth and my honest opinion at that time. My husband and I did have a very successful adoption with them the first time and were very satisfied; however, our experiences lately have not been so pleasent. I am not able to go into specifics, but I would absolutely no recommend anyone signing up with the company any more. We have talked with several other couples that have had the same experiences recently. I apologize if my review led anyone to sign up with the clinic, but that was my true opinion at that point. I felt that it was necessary to post my updated opinion so nobody else will fall into the same trap we have fallen into this second time.
adoption advantage Thu, 09/11/2008 - 6:58pm — Marion
1
If I could give a negative rating on this agency, I would. Anyone considering them...RUN THE OTHER WAY.
I think the fact that the owner's wife takes time out of her "busy" day to determine who wrote the posting and write the above response should tell you where the agency's priorities lie. Not to mention that they admit to threatening to sue a client......that's interesting customer service. I don't think that is what any of us sign up for when we fork over the tens of thousands of dollars that they demand.
This organization claims to be Christian, any dealings I've had with the owner or his wife have been anything but - I don't think extortion is very Christian - call me crazy. But extort us is exactly what they did - threatening to find "new adoptive parents" for our birth mother if we did not over night the funds they requested....despite the fact that we didn't have a signed Match Agreement. Ed Webb, the owner, is ignorant and condescending and thinks that because he has your money and is an attorney, he's got you over a barrell and can take advantage of what you have invested emotionally and financially into the process.
This agency gives adoption a bad name and is why people are discouraged by domestic adoption.
up front fees Fri, 09/12/2008 - 5:53am — shawnalansmummy
yup-AA collects the fees up front. if you don't like it, MOVE ON! your contract wasnt signed, then keep your money and go try to have a baby within 6 months somewhere else. they tell everyone, up front, over the first phone call, that they are a small agency who collects fees up front. among other reasons, it helps them keep lots of advertising out there where moms from all walks of life can see it. yes- we took a leap of faith and paid all the fees before signing any contract and 5 months before signing any match agreement. that is THEIR POLICY in the private sector. NOT illegal. why do people jump in and then try to strong-arm Ed into bending his rules?????
"i want the money kept in escrow until placement"
"i'll pay when i am matched up"
"i want to pay in monthly installments."(so does everyone else!)
NO. pay now or go find another agency.
ive heard it all on this whiney forum. especially from THE WEALTHY.
my nearest grocery store wants 4$ for a half gallon of orange juice. so now i drive farther because i like orange juice that costs $2.99. it tastes better.
at AA you can often adopt a newborn, healthy baby (of color) with fees of under 13/14k. where else can you do that in the USA????????
our baby was born 6 months after we paid the fee & signed . my friend is there right now adopting a baby that was born 6 months after paying the fees.
take a leap of faith! let GOD make ll the plans. hes pretty good at it, after all.
Marion
Please listen to shawnalansmummy "MOVE ON" or "look elsewhere" (on her second post). That is the best advice on her post.
We almost hired Adoption Advantage but something in our hearts told us their heart wasn't in the right place and we moved on. We are so thankful we did because we just adopted a beautiful child and we are so overjoyed.
There are so many lawyers and/or agencies out there that even though this is their Business, they make it their business to have satisfied customers above all else.
When a lawyer or agency ask for such a large amount of money up-front, that speaks volumes of where their loyalties lie.
The lawyer we used asked for very little up front and the full amount wasn't paid until the day of surrender. We retained him in August and got "the call" the next month. Exactly 28 days later. When we got ICPC we stopped by his office to thank him and say goodbye and there were two other couples waiting to meet their BM just as we had done 2 weeks prior.
The whole experience with him was phenomenal, from getting all our questions answered to getting the medical records before accepting that placement.
So, please don't feel you have to use Adoption Advantage, let shawnalansmummy use them and all the others who have posted such "wonderful" things about them.
Play it safe, take shawnalansmummy's advice and "MOVE ON". You'll be glad you did.
Many, many thumbs down for Adoption Advantage.
They get one star from us because zero isn't a choice.
We investigated using this agency, and even applied to them. They require ALL funds UP FRONT!!! And, if a situation falls through, you are not refunded the money.
I have no idea how they treat birth families, but I did not get a good feeling about it. I did not appreciate being called about Potential Matches and then being told to "overnight 30k if you are interested."
On March 24, the owner, Ed Webb, after strong recommendation of the Arkansas licensing board, surrendered his license. If he would not have surrendered his license, they would have revoked it. He was to turn over his files to the state. So, if you are a signed client of this agency and had not heard about this, I would suggest contacting the AR DCFS. Lisa Ferrell conducted the investigation and helped conduct the hearing... here is her contact information.
Lisa C. Ferrell
Assistant Director
Division of Children and Family Services
Office of Service Quality
Department of Human Services
700 Main Street
P.O. Box 1437, Slot S-570
Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
(501) 682-8544
Additionally, I just read on www.topix.com on the Little Rock forum under Adoption Advantage (www.topix.com/forum/city/little-rock-ar/TRNVL7PAO8CMIA19M) that Ed Webb tried to hire someone to build a new website and to market for him claiming that a former empoyee/relative had stolen client info and he had to "start over from scratch".
Also, his soon-to-be ex-wife, Donna Gail Webb, is running an agency called All For You Adoptions in TN. She just happened to incorporate the same day that Ed surrendered his license. Website: http://www.allforyouadoption.com/index.htm Phone: (877)7546207
My husband and I signed our contract with AA on November 1, 2007 and everything pretty much went south from there. Before we decided to sign with them, the hounded us almost daily. They get our money (we paid all fees up front) and it was like pulling teeth to get someone to reply to our concerns. I live in AR, so I have paid several unannouced visits to their agency. The most recent visit was to retrieve my portfolio that I had been trying to get back for almost 10 months. It couldn't be located. Jacklyn was the only person there, from what I could tell. I've sent countless numbers of emails and placed countless numbers of calls both of which are never returned. I strongly urge anyone who has issues and concerns with AA to contact Lisa Ferrell. She can provide you with a lot of helpful information and instruction. I am so sorry for all of the adoptive parents who have been burned by this agency.
It is sad that some people have not even used this agency and are posting negative things about them. We signed up with them last year in March and welcomed our beautiful baby girl into our family in August. There were a few bumps along the way, but NO agency will be perfect. I was kinda weary about the upfront fees, but if the adoption fell through the adoption fees would go toward our next situation. We had a really close match, but it fell through. Adoption Advantage always returned our phone calls (sometimes it took them a day or two, but if something came up they called us immediately).
Meeting our Birthmom and our hospital experience was EXCELLENT.
They do have some staff issues, as in new people coming in and out, but the main people that we dealt with after our match have been there since we signed up. I know some of our case workers lived a ways off from where our daughter was born, so there was a lot of driving involved also.
If you are considering this agency, don't just email or call them. Go to one of their offices and visit with them. You will not find them sitting around twittling their tumbs. Everytime we went (the first time just to meet everyone and get a tour) everyone is always busy.
Through God, this agency helped up create our family, and we will be signing back up with them again SOON! We are wanting to expand our family even more!
I want to offer an apology if you felt I was unsympathetic, rude or judgemental in any way. It is not my intention to come across that way. I think this forum is a great avenue for information and expression and in no way would I want our differences of opinion to be misconstrued. Again, I offer my apologies if I offended you in any way.
I want to start by saying that I am not contracted with Adoption Advantage, though I have had many phone comversations with many of the staff in considering which agency to go through. I have found them to be very honest and giving of information. I have contacted 9 or 10 Adoptive familiess created with the help of Adoption Advantage. I enjoyed the honesty of these families, stories about failed adoptions, disrupted adoptions, and of finalized adoptions.
Everyone must make decisions based on any information they can find...though I believe talking to families who have worked with Adoption Advantage (not just reading posts) is more helpful.
As far as the mothers deciding to parent at anytime during the process I know that this hurts, My Husband and I have been through it 3 times...two times the children were in our homes and then had to be returned so I know the emotions. Though I believe that by any means possible a child should be with their birthfamily...only if that is not possible then an adoption should occur. I should also share that my Husband and I are foster parents so I am actually living what I believe in, assisting birthfamilies in reunification with their children.
If a child is unable to return home we are open for adoption...We have adopted one child through the foster care system and are looking into a domestic adoption.
If you are looking for a truthful opinion of Adoption Advantage then find families inpacted by them and talk to them or meet them...
don't fall for the venting people do about everything online.
"I did not appreciate being called about Potential Matches and then being told to "overnight 30k"
That has us a bit on edge as well. We are afraid that their call may be just a lure to get our money and then break the news that birthmother "changed her mind", when in fact there was no real match to us, to begin with. A part of me, refuses to believe that a licensed agency would be so unethical and cruel and put themselves on the line like that. But the other part of me knows that there are a few agencies with questionable practices. I just hope this one is not one of them.
We did check with the Better Business Bureau and they do have two formal complaints against them and were "resolved" because AP's did not pursue. It was particularly alarming for us because they involved issues with the contract. We wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot already. We want to have a great experience and feel good about the outcome---that we helped a mother who needed to make an adoption plan because of her circumstances, whatever they might be, and that she in turn gave us the gift of parenting a child who we will love and cherish all the days of our lives. We want to be able to share our wonderful experience, not just of the mother, but of the agency as well, who for all intents and purposes, is the medium through which such a blessing could occur. The potential of the agency is paramount not just for the AP's but for the pregnant mother's as well. And we the APs and BMs are extremely vital to them as we become either their greatest advocates for their continued success or their greatest adversaries.
If anyone has anything to share about this agency, please do so, hold nothing back. I promise to do the same. We will post if we did decide to use them and how our experience went and we will also post if we didn't and why we didn't. The need for this website would be counter-productive if we didn't share our stories with each other, whether good or bad. These are the checks and balances.
I am responding to this paragraph written by Adoption Advantage:
"We are always very upfront with clients when they sign up with us and explain that birth mothers do have a right to change their mind about an adoption. Everyone on our staff works very hard to make these placments go through, but sometimes there is just nothing we can do. Any adoption professional will agree. Your last failed placement was particularly heart breaking because you did travel for so long, but that is adoption. You got to talk to this birthmother before she delivered and you felt good about her placing as well-or at least that is what you told our caseworker. The caseworker in this case put in countless hours with this birth mother and even went to her house (in a terribly dangerous part of TN) at night and banged on her door trying to get the birth mother to face her. She also left countless messages on her phone attempting to counsel with her. Molly is one of our finest caseworkers and I feel she did everything possible to make this placement work for you."
So, even though MOTHERS (not "birthmothers") can choose not to place their children for adoption, they agency still works very hard to make a placement go through? This work includes harassing a mother in the middle of the night? Legal, perhaps. Ethical, most certainly not.
Ethically speaking as well, women who haven't given birth aren't "birthmothers." Mothers who haven't relinquished their children are not "birthmothers." They are expectant mothers and mothers, respectively.
I have not dealt with them yet except to get a packet and speak by phone. I do know someone who has gone throught AA twice and has not mentioned anything negative to me. I know someone else who has a contract with them but are now expecting their own 2nd child and have not mentioned anything negative except maybe not updated as often as were promised but have moved up on the list to a spot in good enough position to hopefully be placed soon. Alot of it depends on who the Bmom chooses is the way I understand it, too. I am considering them. When you help a b'mom you are taking a risk but it is up to you how much support you want to give them the way I understand it. And another factor is how specific you want to be on what you will accept. Gender, race, disability, etc. Obviously the more open you are to any of these the quicker you may be placed. This is the kinds of things I have been told.
We have been signed with Ad. Advantage for a year and have had 3 failed adoptions. The first one, the birthmother changed her mind immediately after giving birth, after we had paid her bills for a month and a half. The 2nd one, the couple changed their mind before giving birth so there was just disappointment. The third and final, we got in our car, traveled 11 hours to bond with mom and baby at the hospital and the next day she took off without a word to anyone. And 4 days later, I haven't heard anything from anyone at the agency. They are unethical, unprofessional and I would look elsewhere before losing any time, money or experiencing the heartbreak we have!
My husband and I are signed with Adoption Advantage, and we chose to personally visit the Agency to see for ourselves the condition of the institution that we had placed our finances and trust in. Blogs and reviews can be so negative and critical, that we wanted to put an end to the questions in our minds. Our visit was a wonderful experience that has changed our lives. While we were there we saw first hand the office operation and met the staff as well as Mr. Ed Webb. I realize that every experience is not easy and some may be unpleasant. This is not our first adoption, and every adoption has its difficult moments. Our first adoption was with a different agency, but still difficult to say the least. No matter who you choose to work with for the placement of your baby, there is an emotional roller coaster that every family experiences, and we should all be aware of the risks involved and associated with adoptions. There are a number of things that could happen that could disrupt or even end the adoption process with a certain birth mother that are completely out of the control of the Agency. As I read some of the negative information, I really feel like some may need to be better educated about the process they are involved in. This Agency has placed hundreds of babies since its origin and that is a huge accomplishment. Just imagine how many precious live they have saved. This is not speculation, there are proven records and families that now have children because of this team in Arkansas. We are proudly apart of the waiting families at Adoption Advantage and we know that in time our family will receive a new addition. I encourage everyone to please pray for this company. Do not believe everything you read, search it out for yourself. Once you do, you will understand why it may be the next day before they return your call, they are doing a huge work. Many times they are saving "innocent blood" and that is the big picture! They are talking to birth mothers who are at a very difficult time in their lives with very difficult decisions. Adoption Advantage helps them to choose life for their baby. We all want our babies, our dreams of a family to come true, and I have full confidence in Mr. Webb and his team to safely walk us through this process. I would glady refer this Agency to my friends and family. I believe in what they stand for and what they are doing.
We Are Not Sure, What to do this seems like a very Crazy Process. There seems to be some good reviews and some bad ones. We just want to make sure we are making the right decision. PLEASE HELP
This is long - but worth the read! Try me. If not, post your comments and direct them to my subject line. If you do read it - please read it in its entirety.
I have no reason to pick a side of this debate, so I say this sort of as an outsider since we have not used any agency yet but are thinking about it. Would everyone stop and take a look and listen to what you are saying. Some of you may be forgetting facts that you may have heard from the agency or should have read for yourselves or maybe even in someone else's ignorance have been mistold. Look through the packet yourselves and see for yourself. What do you read? Go by that. Not what someone else says. If that is different than what the agency says then have grief with THEM first. Check out the facts. To the person who wrote "owner threatened us"; you mentioned the birthmother told you the truth. How can you be so sure? I don't know the circumstance but listen to your statement. How do you know you can believe her instead of the agency? Can she not lie? Did you think there might be a motive there? Think about it. Sorry to rain on everybody's negativity and sorry for any true bad problems you all have had, I truly am and I wouldn't want it on anyone. I just think everyone has to be very careful the things you say and make sure they are facts. Don' t just feed off the fuel that each of you are creating. I did that one time and found out the hard way that I was wrong. I was given wrong information and I took it as truth. It was a hard pill to swallow but when that happens you have to use it and learn from it.
There is a risk that is very real and devastating in some cases when dealing with a birth mom who is allowed to change their mind. - Can you blame them when they see that precious baby? But we all go in to it knowing that ( its in the packet). Remember we choose how much we want to support the mom. (its in the packet,too.)We also have to remember that we are dealing with lives. Some of the wordings of ALL comments sounds like this is some kind of market and we have this agency out here shopping for us. This is all sounding like it is being made out to be all they have to do is go out and find these women having babies and get one for us. ( I am fighting for the right wording here. I hope I am getting my point across.) Realize here, are we encouraging people to make the right choices when they can't keep their own child. But we are not to be creating a market where people are having babies on purpose to support the great adoption market or because of the money in it. Isn't that called something? And who might be reading this? Is a birth mom reading this? What does she think? We truly want her to know we will love that child as if it were our own and will fight for it and want what is best for it and that it is truly wanted by any of us. There is a fine line for all involved - including any agency to be ware what is happening here. We have to be careful because when we start using the terms business and recruiting and competitive field - we begin to question the goal here ultimately - to make a better life for a child. To cause them to be given life - period. To give that mom a hope. I understand to a certain extent that we do have to "recruit" these moms as far as letting them know they have the option of adoption instead of abortion but we have to be careful that we are not encouraging pregnancy in the first place to keep the market going. The field should not be "competitive ". It doesn't matter who she goes through as long as she chooses life. Let all who read this heed that. Just be there and give these moms information and let them see this would be the best alternative to keeping their baby themselves. Pray for these moms. Pray God will guide them to make the choice that would most honor Him. I realize too that some of you may not necessarily be part of a Christian home, you just want what each of us want. A child of your own. But we as adoptive parents have the chance to change a life and show them the grace of God. What a beautiful example of grace adoption is. Let's make sure we have the right motives for (side 1) being in the adoption "business" and (side 2) for wanting to adopt. To give the grace we have been given.
I understand everyone wants to warn people if they feel there is a danger. But we need to have the facts right. If that is you, good. If it is not, then you know who you are. But everyone else doesn't. Like I said, I am neutral as far as which side I fall on - but maybe I can help both sides to do a better job and be a better person. This is just like a fight going on at a church. Who are you helping here? What good is going to come of it? It just keeps out those who need to be there. ( I have learned that the hard way, too;by being in a church that didn't have all the facts.) We are going to keep out those who would make excellent adoptive parents because they don't want to have to go through all this. And we may keep out the very ones we are called to help - these precious moms and babies.
God bless our feeble efforts to do Your will! God bless us with a child if it is Your will! Amen.
Printer-friendly version
Reviews
adoption advantage
If I could give a negative rating on this agency, I would. Anyone considering them...RUN THE OTHER WAY.
I think the fact that the owner's wife takes time out of her "busy" day to determine who wrote the posting and write the above response should tell you where the agency's priorities lie. Not to mention that they admit to threatening to sue a client......that's interesting customer service. I don't think that is what any of us sign up for when we fork over the tens of thousands of dollars that they demand.
This organization claims to be Christian, any dealings I've had with the owner or his wife have been anything but - I don't think extortion is very Christian - call me crazy. But extort us is exactly what they did - threatening to find "new adoptive parents" for our birth mother if we did not over night the funds they requested....despite the fact that we didn't have a signed Match Agreement. Ed Webb, the owner, is ignorant and condescending and thinks that because he has your money and is an attorney, he's got you over a barrell and can take advantage of what you have invested emotionally and financially into the process.
This agency gives adoption a bad name and is why people are discouraged by domestic adoption.
Adoption Advantage--Too Good To Be True
I will briefly state my dealings with Adoption Advantage because I promised to do so. I did not contract them after all because I felt they were trying to take advantage of us.
--- When I initially contacted AA I spoke with Karen. Karen was, or is, a heartwarming sounding person, someone you can trust with your life. She sent me a copy of the contract on a Friday and urged me to hurry up and sign it so I can pick-up any BMs that come in over the weekend. But we didn't like the way the contract left us open and unprotected. While contemplating the signing of it, Karen called to tell us about a young mother who was pregnant again but could not parent another child. We were not yet clients as we did not sign the contract but she was calling us to see if we were interested. She said it was an agency match and that the mother was due Sept 1. I was overjoyed with the prospect of having a baby to love so quickly in our searching efforts with them.
That night when we spoke, she said the mother was due on Aug 16, and when I questioned her she said she had gotten her confused with another birth mom that she was also trying to match. I had to ask her about that mom as well, of course, I just couldn't leave it alone and after hearing all about her couldn't decide between both moms and asked if I could adopt both children. After she gets the ok from the director she said she would send me the new contract with the new agency fee asking for all the money upfront for two adoptions minus a discount. I was on cloud nine and called my social worker (independent) to tell her the great news and that she would have to update my homestudy for them.
My social worker was not comfortable with any of it, and questioned about the fact that I was not only being offered a BM so quickly and possibly ahead of their other clients, but two. She wondered, don't they have other clients that they can offer these BM to, why you if you are not their clients yet. None of this had crossed my mind, I was just happy to have been chosen.
I began going back and forth with Karen on the contract trying to decide if they were trying to deceive me or did they really have two Moms’ for us. She kept warning that they have to match their BMs within 24 hrs and kept telling me that she could not continue to make these BMs wait for us any longer, although she did, but the urgency to make a decision quick was always there. My social worker cautioned me that they may be trying to lure me in for the fee and then tell me later that the mothers had changed their minds and keep me on a waiting list until they really do have a situation for us and that it could be years and that I would have no way of proving that they had, in fact done this. So naturally I want to speak to the BMs, I want to know for sure.
Karen can sense my apprehension with all my questions and tells me that she's going to have me talk to Stephanie who deals directly with the BMs and could answer any questions I have. She was really sweet about it and I felt I was talking to my loving Aunt who was going to help me.
Stephanie on the other hand was the opposite of Karen, she was a fast talker and although had a lot to say, actually said very little, she reminded me of a used-car salesman. I realized Stephanie was the closer of this deal and, in fact, was the killer of the deal. She would not let me speak to the BMs and said that no one is really matched until they have signed the contract first and paid the agency fee. When I protested that it was Karen who contacted me with a BM match for me, she said that when they have a BM who has not chosen any of the parents on file, that it is then that they do an agency match.
So, am I being matched or not? Were there really two mothers who did not pick from the current parent profiles and that's why Karen called me? Had they asked all the waiting couples that I have read about on this website and they had all declined? If they did have no one else for these moms, why then would they not work with us to make us feel more secure? Why the objection to produce the proof? Was this a classic case of Bait and Switch? You be the judge.
owner threatened us
We had a bad experience with this agency. The owner has threatened to sue us if we tell our story.
Also, the promises made to the birthmothers are not followed through. We have lots of contact with our sons birthmother and she told us the truth.
Adoption Advantage
I am a birth mother and had a little boy 6 weeks ago. I have not heard anything from this company since, i was suppose to receive everything in my file and have not recieved that yet and havent been sussessful with getting my phone calls returned either. I am grateful for the people that i have found to adopt my baby, but i really can't say much for this company. I had a hard time to even meet with anyone in person to get my paperwork signed a month before the baby was born. I only live a little over 3 hours away from the agency.
The adoptive parents have not received their paperwork either. THEY HAVEN'T EVEN WENT TO COURT! And are not getting there phone calls returned either. It looks like the adoptive parents may have to get another lawyer to finalize this adoption. People shouldn't be able to get away with stuff like this. I am glad that i am secure in my decision, how scary would that be to have a child at home for a month and a half knowing the birth mother could still change her mind cause u can't get your adoption agency to pay 140 dollars to file with the court to finalize the adoption. ( Note: The adoptive parents have left messages saying they would be happy to pay for this again just to get this this tooken care of with no response.) Just something to think about if you are planning on using this agency for your adoption.
We were wrong
I posted in here some time ago defending AA. Everything I said up to that point was the truth and my honest opinion at that time. My husband and I did have a very successful adoption with them the first time and were very satisfied; however, our experiences lately have not been so pleasent. I am not able to go into specifics, but I would absolutely no recommend anyone signing up with the company any more. We have talked with several other couples that have had the same experiences recently. I apologize if my review led anyone to sign up with the clinic, but that was my true opinion at that point. I felt that it was necessary to post my updated opinion so nobody else will fall into the same trap we have fallen into this second time.
share your experience
Anyone with a bad experience should contact Lisa Ferrell
Lisa C. Ferrell
Assistant Director
Division of Children and Family Services
Office of Service Quality
Department of Human Services
700 Main Street
P.O. Box 1437, Slot S-570
Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
(501) 682-8544
Adoption Advantage
The agency called us this past year about adopting an infant. High risk placement due to legal abandonment. Told us it was very unusual for them to call people who were not clients of their agency but they did so because they could not place the baby out of state and we were in the state and open to this particular adoption situation.
They wanted all of the money and fees up front and said they would put a rush on this adoption--and would get the baby placed with us within weeks. We told them we were not comfortable paying all the fees up front (which a reputable agency should never ask you to do) but offered to pay up front for the homestudy, background checks--all the fees we would normally have had to pay up front--and said we would be willing to put the rest in an escrow account payable to the agency once parental rights were terminated--so the agency would know we were acting in good faith. The terms of the escrow would be that the money in the account would be returned to us if for some reason the adoption did not go through.
The woman we spoke with said they would check with their director about this and call us back. They never called us. We tried calling the agency but they did not take out call until a couple weeks later. When I asked about the baby, the woman said the birthmother had suddenly changed her mind.
However, by chance we actually met the couple who adopted this baby at our adoption support group (and also saw the baby we had been hoping and praying for ever since this agency called us. She was so beautiful.) Turns out when we weren't agreeable to paying all the money for this adoption up front, the agency then contacted this other couple and offered them a discounted rate for the adoption if they paid everything to them up front. This couple took a chance and did this and thankfully for them it worked out.
The person I talked with stressed that they were a "Christian agency" who would be "praying for me and my husband" regarding this adoption. When in truth they lied to us and were more interested in $$$ and offloading their financial risk on their prospective adoptive parents.
Beware!
Came across this accidently...
I was actually looking for the Adoption Advantage site to find an email address but found this instead.
My name is Christina. I had put my son up for adoption through this agency Jan. 2004. I got to meet his adoptive parents and I decided to keep my adoption an open adoption. That means that I can still recieve pictures of my son from time to time.
My only complaint about the agency is everytime I call for pictures, I talk to a different person everytime. The new person will tell me that the person I talked to, just a few months ago, quit or something else happened. That gets a little frustrating now because I have been trying to recieve pictures recently and I honestly don't know who to contact this time around.
Everytime I get to know somebody and they tell me that I can trust them and call for them next time... I just get another person or even worse, they don't know what I am talking about.
I have also been trying to contact them to update my information.
Thanks,
Christina
To Strawbabies and anyone else reading this!
I'm very happy for you that you have the children you have hoped for with the help of AA. However, I have to take exception with several of your comments:
"The purpose of this site is to be a support to adoptive parents"
--WRONG. The purpose of this site is to RATE and REVIEW adoption agencies and adoptions lawyers, according to personal experience.
"Let's just keep on writing these things about Adoption Advantage and send them to the state and put them out of business and then all of the parents who are waiting on their list will lose."
-- This is probably the only thing you said that made sense to me. Yes, LETS KEEP ON WRITING THESE THINGS AND PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS! I will, of course, feel really bad for the people who will have lost thier money (myself included!) but it will also SAVE not only future adoptive parents from being scammed, but also save the PRECIOUS BIRTH MOTHERS who can't even receive a simple phone call after their placements! I think these people should be STOPPED - YESTERDAY!
"I am sure the agency will be able to prove that all that is being said is not true "
-- Do you really believe that ALL that is being said is not true? Is EVERYBODY lying? I'm certainly not. And you're so quick to dismiss everything that those of us with bad experiences are saying because they wont provide "proof" to you, but I challenge YOU for "PROOF" that all of us LIARS!
"The people who are posting these things have yet to produce any proof that what they are saying is true. Therefore it is slander"
-- WRONG AGAIN. It is not SLANDER to share your PERSONAL EXPERIENCE! It's not SLANDER because we decline to provide YOU with PROOF! "Proof" and "Slander" are legal terms in this instance, and they WILL be worked out in a court of law.
"You are only hearing the story from bitter angry people."
-- You bet we are angry and bitter! You would be too if your experience had been like ours. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for you that you have been able to have the family you dreamed of, but that does not mean that those of us who have been wronged don't have the right the be angry about it!
"If you want the real story-I encourage you to call the agency and talk to any of their staff."
-- I WOULD LOVE TO DO THIS!! If you're in contact with them, would you PLEASE PLEASE ask them to call me! Maybe they return the calls of their defenders, but they obviously don't care about those of us who have already paid their fees and have questions or concerns about our investment. Call the agency and talk to any of thier staff... yeah, good luck with that!
Oh my!
It is the wife from what I've been told. It will be really interesting to see what goes down with all of this. I'm happy for the people who used them when they were a good agency but I wish they would realize that things have changed.........drastically! I don't know the new agencies name but I search from time to time to see if I can figure it out! It makes me sick to think that this madness might continue!
AA is GREEDY and SHADY DONT SEND THEM MONEY!
I wish we could give this agency a negative rating! My husband and I were contacted out of the blue by this agency and were asked to immediately send over $30,000 by wire in order to adopt a precious baby boy that had supposedly just been born in another state, because the mother didn't want him. They were so nice, and gave us all this information over the phone (we received nothing in writing except the contract) about how the mother was leaving the hospital without the baby and that she didnt care what happened to him or what kind of family adopted him. "Jackie" told us that we were contacted because this was an "emergency situation" and that there were no couples on their list that wanted this bi-racial baby boy. (Looking back now that sounds SO suspicious, and especially after reading posts here from people who have been waiting for a babt years. Didn't ANY of these couple want this baby? Were they even OFFERED this situation?) Anyway, when we got off the phone we were so overjoyed that our baby was actually coming home! We wired the money and travelled over 1000 miles to the hospital. When we got there we got the shock of our lives. We were informed that not only was there no baby waiting for us, but that the "supposed" birthmother (we were only given her first name) had not signed any contracts or made ANY contact with Adoption Advantage except to call and request INFORMATION about adoption. By the time we got there, mother and baby were both gone and the hospital social worker was flabergasted that an agency would purport that this was a viable adoption situation. The people at the hospital treated us better than the agency has, at least they showed us concern and empathy. AA has not called, emailed, returned our phone calls or email, or attempted to contact us in any way concerning our situation or our $30,000! I have since been doing some digging and found out that not only are they in trouble with their local licensing board (in Arkansas) but that they owe money all over the country and are being sued by MULTIPLE parties that have gone through similiar situations. How could they be so callous and cruel to those of us who just want a precious baby to call our own? Why dont they answer the phone or return emails? What's REALLY going on with this company when they are taking in tens of thousands of dollars and not paying their bills? PLEASE PLEASE dont fall for the same "SCAM" that has broken our hearts! If you are contacted by this agency, our advice is the same as the earlier poster's, "RUN THE OTHER WAY!"
Adoption Advantage address change
Adoption Advantage
4906 S. Katillus Rd
Little Rock, AR 72223
Main Phone Number: 501-246-8068
Toll Free Fax: 877-838-6840
Toll Free Phone Number 877-281-9980 (when dialed get a recording saying it is not a working number)
FYI... In recent communication sent from the agency, Adoption Advantage has moved. Above is their new address. They have also communicated that they have new phone numbers 'to take advantage of advanced IP phone solution technologies to include employee voice mailboxes and strategic dialing sequences to connect you to the person best suited to assist your specific need.' See comments above regarding the listed new 877 phone number vs. directing to employee voice mailboxes.
Adoption Advantage
2 1/2 years ago we adopted our daughter. We used Adoption Advantage. We only waited 4 months so a year later when we decided we wanted to adopt another child, we decided to sign again with Adoption Advantage. At that time we probably would have given a higher rating. Now, 18 months later, we are still waiting. We have been provided minimal detailed updates during this time and received them only when we pushed hard enough for information. In recent form letters to adoptive parents signed with them, Adoption Advantage has requested communication mainly through e-mail. However, we get limited, if any responses. We have sent numerous e-mails and left voice mails at the main number and also with cell phone numbers that have been provided to us by staff. Have any other signed adoptive parents been having difficulty getting information from Adoption Advantage? Or difficulty receiving any type of communication outside of their sporadic form e-mails? Any feedback would be appreciated
Oh My...New Agency
The new agency that Donna Gail Webb has started in TN is called All For You Adoptions. It is located in Memphis, TN. She has a website, but curiously, her name is nowhere on there. Probably because of her reputation....
The other agency in Memphis
i just hapen to know that the new agency was started by donnagail webb in Memphis and it is called All For You adoptions. they really are getting divorced and i think donnagail is going by her maiden name now. I happened across this information when i was calling different agencies and recognized her voice. I hope this helps and I'm sorry for your loss.
Two years ago?
So this was two years ago? Things have dramatically changed with this agency! Call them and see how they stand currently with the licensing department in Arkansas!
We were wrong
I posted in here some time ago defending AA. Everything I said up to that point was the truth and my honest opinion at that time. My husband and I did have a very successful adoption with them the first time and were very satisfied; however, our experiences lately have not been so pleasent. I am not able to go into specifics, but I would absolutely no recommend anyone signing up with the company any more. We have talked with several other couples that have had the same experiences recently. I apologize if my review led anyone to sign up with the clinic, but that was my true opinion at that point. I felt that it was necessary to post my updated opinion so nobody else will fall into the same trap we have fallen into this second time.
Adoption Advantage---Caveat Emptor
adoption advantage Thu, 09/11/2008 - 6:58pm — Marion
1
If I could give a negative rating on this agency, I would. Anyone considering them...RUN THE OTHER WAY.
I think the fact that the owner's wife takes time out of her "busy" day to determine who wrote the posting and write the above response should tell you where the agency's priorities lie. Not to mention that they admit to threatening to sue a client......that's interesting customer service. I don't think that is what any of us sign up for when we fork over the tens of thousands of dollars that they demand.
This organization claims to be Christian, any dealings I've had with the owner or his wife have been anything but - I don't think extortion is very Christian - call me crazy. But extort us is exactly what they did - threatening to find "new adoptive parents" for our birth mother if we did not over night the funds they requested....despite the fact that we didn't have a signed Match Agreement. Ed Webb, the owner, is ignorant and condescending and thinks that because he has your money and is an attorney, he's got you over a barrell and can take advantage of what you have invested emotionally and financially into the process.
This agency gives adoption a bad name and is why people are discouraged by domestic adoption.
up front fees Fri, 09/12/2008 - 5:53am — shawnalansmummy
yup-AA collects the fees up front. if you don't like it, MOVE ON! your contract wasnt signed, then keep your money and go try to have a baby within 6 months somewhere else. they tell everyone, up front, over the first phone call, that they are a small agency who collects fees up front. among other reasons, it helps them keep lots of advertising out there where moms from all walks of life can see it. yes- we took a leap of faith and paid all the fees before signing any contract and 5 months before signing any match agreement. that is THEIR POLICY in the private sector. NOT illegal. why do people jump in and then try to strong-arm Ed into bending his rules?????
"i want the money kept in escrow until placement"
"i'll pay when i am matched up"
"i want to pay in monthly installments."(so does everyone else!)
NO. pay now or go find another agency.
ive heard it all on this whiney forum. especially from THE WEALTHY.
my nearest grocery store wants 4$ for a half gallon of orange juice. so now i drive farther because i like orange juice that costs $2.99. it tastes better.
at AA you can often adopt a newborn, healthy baby (of color) with fees of under 13/14k. where else can you do that in the USA????????
our baby was born 6 months after we paid the fee & signed . my friend is there right now adopting a baby that was born 6 months after paying the fees.
take a leap of faith! let GOD make ll the plans. hes pretty good at it, after all.
adoption advantage Sat, 10/04/2008 - 12:29pm — Blessed
Marion
Please listen to shawnalansmummy "MOVE ON" or "look elsewhere" (on her second post). That is the best advice on her post.
We almost hired Adoption Advantage but something in our hearts told us their heart wasn't in the right place and we moved on. We are so thankful we did because we just adopted a beautiful child and we are so overjoyed.
There are so many lawyers and/or agencies out there that even though this is their Business, they make it their business to have satisfied customers above all else.
When a lawyer or agency ask for such a large amount of money up-front, that speaks volumes of where their loyalties lie.
The lawyer we used asked for very little up front and the full amount wasn't paid until the day of surrender. We retained him in August and got "the call" the next month. Exactly 28 days later. When we got ICPC we stopped by his office to thank him and say goodbye and there were two other couples waiting to meet their BM just as we had done 2 weeks prior.
The whole experience with him was phenomenal, from getting all our questions answered to getting the medical records before accepting that placement.
So, please don't feel you have to use Adoption Advantage, let shawnalansmummy use them and all the others who have posted such "wonderful" things about them.
Play it safe, take shawnalansmummy's advice and "MOVE ON". You'll be glad you did.
Many, many thumbs down for Adoption Advantage.
They get one star from us because zero isn't a choice.
Not recommending AAdvantage
We investigated using this agency, and even applied to them. They require ALL funds UP FRONT!!! And, if a situation falls through, you are not refunded the money.
I have no idea how they treat birth families, but I did not get a good feeling about it. I did not appreciate being called about Potential Matches and then being told to "overnight 30k if you are interested."
Please, go somewhere else!!
Adoption Advantage Surrendered License to State of AR
On March 24, the owner, Ed Webb, after strong recommendation of the Arkansas licensing board, surrendered his license. If he would not have surrendered his license, they would have revoked it. He was to turn over his files to the state. So, if you are a signed client of this agency and had not heard about this, I would suggest contacting the AR DCFS. Lisa Ferrell conducted the investigation and helped conduct the hearing... here is her contact information.
Lisa C. Ferrell
Assistant Director
Division of Children and Family Services
Office of Service Quality
Department of Human Services
700 Main Street
P.O. Box 1437, Slot S-570
Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
(501) 682-8544
Additionally, I just read on www.topix.com on the Little Rock forum under Adoption Advantage (www.topix.com/forum/city/little-rock-ar/TRNVL7PAO8CMIA19M) that Ed Webb tried to hire someone to build a new website and to market for him claiming that a former empoyee/relative had stolen client info and he had to "start over from scratch".
Also, his soon-to-be ex-wife, Donna Gail Webb, is running an agency called All For You Adoptions in TN. She just happened to incorporate the same day that Ed surrendered his license. Website: http://www.allforyouadoption.com/index.htm Phone: (877)7546207
So beware!
Trouble Also
My husband and I signed our contract with AA on November 1, 2007 and everything pretty much went south from there. Before we decided to sign with them, the hounded us almost daily. They get our money (we paid all fees up front) and it was like pulling teeth to get someone to reply to our concerns. I live in AR, so I have paid several unannouced visits to their agency. The most recent visit was to retrieve my portfolio that I had been trying to get back for almost 10 months. It couldn't be located. Jacklyn was the only person there, from what I could tell. I've sent countless numbers of emails and placed countless numbers of calls both of which are never returned. I strongly urge anyone who has issues and concerns with AA to contact Lisa Ferrell. She can provide you with a lot of helpful information and instruction. I am so sorry for all of the adoptive parents who have been burned by this agency.
Adoption Advantage
We did have an upsetting experience with Adoption Advantage but are very happy for the both of you for having completed your family.
We are a family now thanks to God & Adoption Advantage
It is sad that some people have not even used this agency and are posting negative things about them. We signed up with them last year in March and welcomed our beautiful baby girl into our family in August. There were a few bumps along the way, but NO agency will be perfect. I was kinda weary about the upfront fees, but if the adoption fell through the adoption fees would go toward our next situation. We had a really close match, but it fell through. Adoption Advantage always returned our phone calls (sometimes it took them a day or two, but if something came up they called us immediately).
Meeting our Birthmom and our hospital experience was EXCELLENT.
They do have some staff issues, as in new people coming in and out, but the main people that we dealt with after our match have been there since we signed up. I know some of our case workers lived a ways off from where our daughter was born, so there was a lot of driving involved also.
If you are considering this agency, don't just email or call them. Go to one of their offices and visit with them. You will not find them sitting around twittling their tumbs. Everytime we went (the first time just to meet everyone and get a tour) everyone is always busy.
Through God, this agency helped up create our family, and we will be signing back up with them again SOON! We are wanting to expand our family even more!
Thank you, Adoption Advantage!!!
AA To Gina
I want to offer an apology if you felt I was unsympathetic, rude or judgemental in any way. It is not my intention to come across that way. I think this forum is a great avenue for information and expression and in no way would I want our differences of opinion to be misconstrued. Again, I offer my apologies if I offended you in any way.
Adoption Advantage
I want to start by saying that I am not contracted with Adoption Advantage, though I have had many phone comversations with many of the staff in considering which agency to go through. I have found them to be very honest and giving of information. I have contacted 9 or 10 Adoptive familiess created with the help of Adoption Advantage. I enjoyed the honesty of these families, stories about failed adoptions, disrupted adoptions, and of finalized adoptions.
Everyone must make decisions based on any information they can find...though I believe talking to families who have worked with Adoption Advantage (not just reading posts) is more helpful.
As far as the mothers deciding to parent at anytime during the process I know that this hurts, My Husband and I have been through it 3 times...two times the children were in our homes and then had to be returned so I know the emotions. Though I believe that by any means possible a child should be with their birthfamily...only if that is not possible then an adoption should occur. I should also share that my Husband and I are foster parents so I am actually living what I believe in, assisting birthfamilies in reunification with their children.
If a child is unable to return home we are open for adoption...We have adopted one child through the foster care system and are looking into a domestic adoption.
If you are looking for a truthful opinion of Adoption Advantage then find families inpacted by them and talk to them or meet them...
don't fall for the venting people do about everything online.
Not recommending AAdvantage
"I did not appreciate being called about Potential Matches and then being told to "overnight 30k"
That has us a bit on edge as well. We are afraid that their call may be just a lure to get our money and then break the news that birthmother "changed her mind", when in fact there was no real match to us, to begin with. A part of me, refuses to believe that a licensed agency would be so unethical and cruel and put themselves on the line like that. But the other part of me knows that there are a few agencies with questionable practices. I just hope this one is not one of them.
We did check with the Better Business Bureau and they do have two formal complaints against them and were "resolved" because AP's did not pursue. It was particularly alarming for us because they involved issues with the contract. We wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot already. We want to have a great experience and feel good about the outcome---that we helped a mother who needed to make an adoption plan because of her circumstances, whatever they might be, and that she in turn gave us the gift of parenting a child who we will love and cherish all the days of our lives. We want to be able to share our wonderful experience, not just of the mother, but of the agency as well, who for all intents and purposes, is the medium through which such a blessing could occur. The potential of the agency is paramount not just for the AP's but for the pregnant mother's as well. And we the APs and BMs are extremely vital to them as we become either their greatest advocates for their continued success or their greatest adversaries.
If anyone has anything to share about this agency, please do so, hold nothing back. I promise to do the same. We will post if we did decide to use them and how our experience went and we will also post if we didn't and why we didn't. The need for this website would be counter-productive if we didn't share our stories with each other, whether good or bad. These are the checks and balances.
I am responding to this
I am responding to this paragraph written by Adoption Advantage:
"We are always very upfront with clients when they sign up with us and explain that birth mothers do have a right to change their mind about an adoption. Everyone on our staff works very hard to make these placments go through, but sometimes there is just nothing we can do. Any adoption professional will agree. Your last failed placement was particularly heart breaking because you did travel for so long, but that is adoption. You got to talk to this birthmother before she delivered and you felt good about her placing as well-or at least that is what you told our caseworker. The caseworker in this case put in countless hours with this birth mother and even went to her house (in a terribly dangerous part of TN) at night and banged on her door trying to get the birth mother to face her. She also left countless messages on her phone attempting to counsel with her. Molly is one of our finest caseworkers and I feel she did everything possible to make this placement work for you."
So, even though MOTHERS (not "birthmothers") can choose not to place their children for adoption, they agency still works very hard to make a placement go through? This work includes harassing a mother in the middle of the night? Legal, perhaps. Ethical, most certainly not.
Ethically speaking as well, women who haven't given birth aren't "birthmothers." Mothers who haven't relinquished their children are not "birthmothers." They are expectant mothers and mothers, respectively.
I have not dealt with them
I have not dealt with them yet except to get a packet and speak by phone. I do know someone who has gone throught AA twice and has not mentioned anything negative to me. I know someone else who has a contract with them but are now expecting their own 2nd child and have not mentioned anything negative except maybe not updated as often as were promised but have moved up on the list to a spot in good enough position to hopefully be placed soon. Alot of it depends on who the Bmom chooses is the way I understand it, too. I am considering them. When you help a b'mom you are taking a risk but it is up to you how much support you want to give them the way I understand it. And another factor is how specific you want to be on what you will accept. Gender, race, disability, etc. Obviously the more open you are to any of these the quicker you may be placed. This is the kinds of things I have been told.
nothing but failed adoptions!
We have been signed with Ad. Advantage for a year and have had 3 failed adoptions. The first one, the birthmother changed her mind immediately after giving birth, after we had paid her bills for a month and a half. The 2nd one, the couple changed their mind before giving birth so there was just disappointment. The third and final, we got in our car, traveled 11 hours to bond with mom and baby at the hospital and the next day she took off without a word to anyone. And 4 days later, I haven't heard anything from anyone at the agency. They are unethical, unprofessional and I would look elsewhere before losing any time, money or experiencing the heartbreak we have!
Our visit to Adoption Advantage
My husband and I are signed with Adoption Advantage, and we chose to personally visit the Agency to see for ourselves the condition of the institution that we had placed our finances and trust in. Blogs and reviews can be so negative and critical, that we wanted to put an end to the questions in our minds. Our visit was a wonderful experience that has changed our lives. While we were there we saw first hand the office operation and met the staff as well as Mr. Ed Webb. I realize that every experience is not easy and some may be unpleasant. This is not our first adoption, and every adoption has its difficult moments. Our first adoption was with a different agency, but still difficult to say the least. No matter who you choose to work with for the placement of your baby, there is an emotional roller coaster that every family experiences, and we should all be aware of the risks involved and associated with adoptions. There are a number of things that could happen that could disrupt or even end the adoption process with a certain birth mother that are completely out of the control of the Agency. As I read some of the negative information, I really feel like some may need to be better educated about the process they are involved in. This Agency has placed hundreds of babies since its origin and that is a huge accomplishment. Just imagine how many precious live they have saved. This is not speculation, there are proven records and families that now have children because of this team in Arkansas. We are proudly apart of the waiting families at Adoption Advantage and we know that in time our family will receive a new addition. I encourage everyone to please pray for this company. Do not believe everything you read, search it out for yourself. Once you do, you will understand why it may be the next day before they return your call, they are doing a huge work. Many times they are saving "innocent blood" and that is the big picture! They are talking to birth mothers who are at a very difficult time in their lives with very difficult decisions. Adoption Advantage helps them to choose life for their baby. We all want our babies, our dreams of a family to come true, and I have full confidence in Mr. Webb and his team to safely walk us through this process. I would glady refer this Agency to my friends and family. I believe in what they stand for and what they are doing.
Has Any One Worked With this agency (adoption Advantage)
We Are Not Sure, What to do this seems like a very Crazy Process. There seems to be some good reviews and some bad ones. We just want to make sure we are making the right decision. PLEASE HELP
Adoption Advantage, Little Rock.
This is long - but worth the
This is long - but worth the read! Try me. If not, post your comments and direct them to my subject line. If you do read it - please read it in its entirety.
I have no reason to pick a side of this debate, so I say this sort of as an outsider since we have not used any agency yet but are thinking about it. Would everyone stop and take a look and listen to what you are saying. Some of you may be forgetting facts that you may have heard from the agency or should have read for yourselves or maybe even in someone else's ignorance have been mistold. Look through the packet yourselves and see for yourself. What do you read? Go by that. Not what someone else says. If that is different than what the agency says then have grief with THEM first. Check out the facts. To the person who wrote "owner threatened us"; you mentioned the birthmother told you the truth. How can you be so sure? I don't know the circumstance but listen to your statement. How do you know you can believe her instead of the agency? Can she not lie? Did you think there might be a motive there? Think about it. Sorry to rain on everybody's negativity and sorry for any true bad problems you all have had, I truly am and I wouldn't want it on anyone. I just think everyone has to be very careful the things you say and make sure they are facts. Don' t just feed off the fuel that each of you are creating. I did that one time and found out the hard way that I was wrong. I was given wrong information and I took it as truth. It was a hard pill to swallow but when that happens you have to use it and learn from it.
There is a risk that is very real and devastating in some cases when dealing with a birth mom who is allowed to change their mind. - Can you blame them when they see that precious baby? But we all go in to it knowing that ( its in the packet). Remember we choose how much we want to support the mom. (its in the packet,too.)We also have to remember that we are dealing with lives. Some of the wordings of ALL comments sounds like this is some kind of market and we have this agency out here shopping for us. This is all sounding like it is being made out to be all they have to do is go out and find these women having babies and get one for us. ( I am fighting for the right wording here. I hope I am getting my point across.) Realize here, are we encouraging people to make the right choices when they can't keep their own child. But we are not to be creating a market where people are having babies on purpose to support the great adoption market or because of the money in it. Isn't that called something? And who might be reading this? Is a birth mom reading this? What does she think? We truly want her to know we will love that child as if it were our own and will fight for it and want what is best for it and that it is truly wanted by any of us. There is a fine line for all involved - including any agency to be ware what is happening here. We have to be careful because when we start using the terms business and recruiting and competitive field - we begin to question the goal here ultimately - to make a better life for a child. To cause them to be given life - period. To give that mom a hope. I understand to a certain extent that we do have to "recruit" these moms as far as letting them know they have the option of adoption instead of abortion but we have to be careful that we are not encouraging pregnancy in the first place to keep the market going. The field should not be "competitive ". It doesn't matter who she goes through as long as she chooses life. Let all who read this heed that. Just be there and give these moms information and let them see this would be the best alternative to keeping their baby themselves. Pray for these moms. Pray God will guide them to make the choice that would most honor Him. I realize too that some of you may not necessarily be part of a Christian home, you just want what each of us want. A child of your own. But we as adoptive parents have the chance to change a life and show them the grace of God. What a beautiful example of grace adoption is. Let's make sure we have the right motives for (side 1) being in the adoption "business" and (side 2) for wanting to adopt. To give the grace we have been given.
I understand everyone wants to warn people if they feel there is a danger. But we need to have the facts right. If that is you, good. If it is not, then you know who you are. But everyone else doesn't. Like I said, I am neutral as far as which side I fall on - but maybe I can help both sides to do a better job and be a better person. This is just like a fight going on at a church. Who are you helping here? What good is going to come of it? It just keeps out those who need to be there. ( I have learned that the hard way, too;by being in a church that didn't have all the facts.) We are going to keep out those who would make excellent adoptive parents because they don't want to have to go through all this. And we may keep out the very ones we are called to help - these precious moms and babies.
God bless our feeble efforts to do Your will! God bless us with a child if it is Your will! Amen.