My confidence in the reliability of this agency has deteriorated. Referral times promised verbally and in print on their website are inaccurate. No truly persuasive explanation has been provided to explain what is going on. Agency fails to initiate appropriate contact to appraise of what is happening. Phone calls and e-mail messages are returned with delay. You do not feel that this agency is making an effort to achieve the goals for which you are paying them a great deal of money.
I worked with Alliance for Chidren last year. Please use another agency. At first they were helpful and nice and told me my trip to Moscow would be where I met the child of my dreams. The trip was a nightmare. The agency had no idea what was going on and I was pushed a boy when I asked for a girl. The age was wrong and she had so many health issues that even the doctor they had me hire (another $800) advised me against the adoption. When I declined they pushed harder for me to take a boy or an older girl with even more health problems. I was told that the best children go to Russians and Americans get what is left. My translator was even upset and kept telling me these were the officials word and not hers.
When I finally decided against it (after much pressure and of course more money) I came home. The agency hassled me at first until I had my mother call them to back off. I was devastated - as you can imagine).
A few months ago I attempted negotiations to get some of my fees back and thats when they became cruel and blamed me for all that went wrong in Moscow. I had hoped after all they put me through that they would return some of my money to me (you can imagine paying on an adoption loan after this) and would apologize for how horribly they handled the situation.
I don't do much online reviews but I have decided to put the word out there so that no one else suffers as I have. I have considered suing but its still so difficult.
So with as many agencies out there - please choose another one.
Interesting, as soon as a negative review pops up about Alliance for Children, the person posting as Trigirl or the unverified "Karen" pops right up with a glowing review...Funny how those reviews all sound exactly the same.
Interesting? Perhaps if A4C's employees spent less time on an internet message board and more time on service and being honest, there wouldn't be any need for negative reviews.
I brought my daughter home on January 23, 2010 from Astrakhan Russia. The agency was always very upfront with the information that they had, which at times wasn't much. Their information did match what was on the message boards at the time though so I knew it was true. Contrary to what other people have said I always received prompt answers to my questions and they handled all my paperwork and visas. On my second trip I missed my flight right before Christmas and their translator in Moscow went above and beyond to get myself and my mother home during a blizzard so we could be in the states with our family. They also made sure when I disliked my translator in Astrakhan that she was replaced with a different one that my daughter and I got along better with for the third trip. I would highly reccomed Alliance. It took approximately a year and a half before my referral but from receiving my referral to the end of the third trip was 5 months. And for the curious, no I did not adopt a baby/toddler. My daughter turned 6 a few days after i got custody.
We adopted our daughter from China in early 2005 using the Alliance for Children. The agency was highly recommended to us by two other families in New York who also used them for adoptions from China. We found the Alliance very straightforward and helpful. I think the fees were slightly higher than some other agencies friends used, but the we received more assistance with our paperwork, in terms of getting papers authenticated, etc.
Our guides in China were very nice and very helpful. Some agencies seem to do more planning for sight-seeing, and entertainment, but we didn't feel any lack. We were very happy that along with the guide and assistant guide the Alliance sent a Chinese nurse along, even with our small travel group of only 4 families.
I hesitate to rave, ONLY because our adoption was three and a half years ago, and I cannot vouch that things haven't changed, AND because I have no knowledge of programs other than the China program.
Unfortunately adoption from China has become much less predictable in terms of a time line, anyway, and I suspect people may find themselves going through lots of frustration no matter which agency they use for a China adoption, right now.
I would look for more recent references from any agency I was considering, and make sure those references include people using the international or domestic program you are considering.
Hey I was only giving my opinion which I thought was the whole point. Apart from being a client of Alliance for Children I have no affiliation with them and most definitly do not work for them. I find the comments made extremly offensive. I apologise that I am the 'unverified Karen" but I am not very computer savvy and dont know how to become "verified" I was referred to AFC by a friend who had successful adoptions through them. International Adoptions are most certainly not stress free and I am one client that was very happy. I was sharing my experience and my experience only.
I learned of this website, yesterday, from the FRUA chat room (www.frua.org). I have been a long time member there and value the discussions with the other members. The creator of this website even shared his thoughts on FRUA so I thought I would check it out myself. I then decided to share my two experiences. The purpose of this board, I would assume, is for those of us that used their services to share their experiences....that is what I did from the bottom of my heart. I feel sad that someone felt the need to belittle, question and minimize my experience. I would again recommend this agency to anyone who asked.
We have adopted through the Alliance for Children. We were thrilled with their knowledge and expertise about international adoption and their professionalism throughout our journey. One of our adoptions went very smoothly and the other was a bit rocky. V was reassuring and calming to us during a difficult referral process. She answered all of our concerns with compassion and kindness. The agency was completely up front about fees and which were due before travel and which were due during travel (while in country). V had a travel meeting with us to go over what would happen during the trip. We knew we had to pay for the medical , translator and driving services as well as for our child's passport and visas while in Russia so we could adequately budget for it. The trips went VERY smoothly and we adored the staff while we were in Moscow. I suggested that 2 of my friends use their services and they have both had very successful adoptions. This is a wonderful agency for us and I would recommend them for their integirty, honesty and compassion. We have children who have enriched our lives beyond anything we could have imagined. BTW we used the Moscow City program. We sent in our application to adopt a third and are ready to go again. This time, as my user name implies we are waiting for a girl.
I have adopted through Alliance for Children. We adopted a little girl from Guatemala and the process started in 2002 and picked her up in 2004. Everything started great until time got closer to getting our daughter. Come to find out the facilitator they used out of Florida for Guatemala named Milagro did not do her job. She did not pay anyone and when we got down there, without the acceptance from AFC, we had to repay. Nothing got done to get our daughter home. We had to pay doctors, coordinators, foster mother, drivers, lawyers, passport, and the items sent from the agency down there did not get to our daughter. There was noone to help us in Guatemala, as promised and no translator. We had an awful experience in Guatemala because of the agency and the coordinator up here Vivian Cone. She wanted us to come home without our daugheter. Her pink slip was out for days with out being told. The story does not end here. When we returned to the AFC to try to get some money back that we had to repay the agency would not refund our money and in not so many words was told it was our fault. They would not tell us what happend down there and why they wre so lax catching on to what Milagro was doing. This happened to many families from this agency. To this day we were not told what happend to items sent down there and our money. They brushed it under the rug. I would never recommend this agency to anyone that would like honesty and respect. Some of the people were not polite and could not give the time or day. We were apprently supposed to understand the entire process because when asked questions it felt like we were bothering them. Choose another agency and never use them.
We adopted in 2004 and again in 2007 through Alliance For Children. I could not speak highly enough of this agency. The staff in the USA and (in our case) Moscow were professional, caring, kind and understanding. THere were no surprises during either process becaue they had covered everything with us. The staff remained the same through both adoptions. We have 2 of the most amazing children because of this agency. They made us a family and I will be forecer grateful to them.
I called them in Early June to schedule an appointment for my husband and I to sit down and talk with someone to find out about them, ask all of our questions, understand the int'l adoption process etc. The person who answered the phone acted like it was odd that i'd want to talk with someone and said she'd have a woman named B call us to set up a time.
2 weeks went by w/ no call. I called them back and spoke with B directly, and we set up an appointment for the following Tuesday at 930 am. My husband and I arrived at the AFC office at 915, and the office was dark. We waited there until 950am, and no one ever showed up. We were furious because we had both traveled a long distance and had taken time off work to come. When I called back a little later that morning and spoke with B, she stated that she completely forgot about our appointment.
Doesn't instill alot of confidence in their organization, and we've ruled them out as a candidate.
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Reviews
My confidence in the
My confidence in the reliability of this agency has deteriorated. Referral times promised verbally and in print on their website are inaccurate. No truly persuasive explanation has been provided to explain what is going on. Agency fails to initiate appropriate contact to appraise of what is happening. Phone calls and e-mail messages are returned with delay. You do not feel that this agency is making an effort to achieve the goals for which you are paying them a great deal of money.
Alliance for Children
I worked with Alliance for Chidren last year. Please use another agency. At first they were helpful and nice and told me my trip to Moscow would be where I met the child of my dreams. The trip was a nightmare. The agency had no idea what was going on and I was pushed a boy when I asked for a girl. The age was wrong and she had so many health issues that even the doctor they had me hire (another $800) advised me against the adoption. When I declined they pushed harder for me to take a boy or an older girl with even more health problems. I was told that the best children go to Russians and Americans get what is left. My translator was even upset and kept telling me these were the officials word and not hers.
When I finally decided against it (after much pressure and of course more money) I came home. The agency hassled me at first until I had my mother call them to back off. I was devastated - as you can imagine).
A few months ago I attempted negotiations to get some of my fees back and thats when they became cruel and blamed me for all that went wrong in Moscow. I had hoped after all they put me through that they would return some of my money to me (you can imagine paying on an adoption loan after this) and would apologize for how horribly they handled the situation.
I don't do much online reviews but I have decided to put the word out there so that no one else suffers as I have. I have considered suing but its still so difficult.
So with as many agencies out there - please choose another one.
Beware of Trigirl's and Karen's reviews...
Interesting, as soon as a negative review pops up about Alliance for Children, the person posting as Trigirl or the unverified "Karen" pops right up with a glowing review...Funny how those reviews all sound exactly the same.
Interesting? Perhaps if A4C's employees spent less time on an internet message board and more time on service and being honest, there wouldn't be any need for negative reviews.
Russia Program
I brought my daughter home on January 23, 2010 from Astrakhan Russia. The agency was always very upfront with the information that they had, which at times wasn't much. Their information did match what was on the message boards at the time though so I knew it was true. Contrary to what other people have said I always received prompt answers to my questions and they handled all my paperwork and visas. On my second trip I missed my flight right before Christmas and their translator in Moscow went above and beyond to get myself and my mother home during a blizzard so we could be in the states with our family. They also made sure when I disliked my translator in Astrakhan that she was replaced with a different one that my daughter and I got along better with for the third trip. I would highly reccomed Alliance. It took approximately a year and a half before my referral but from receiving my referral to the end of the third trip was 5 months. And for the curious, no I did not adopt a baby/toddler. My daughter turned 6 a few days after i got custody.
Any questions? Ask away
Kim
Alliance for Children
We adopted our daughter from China in early 2005 using the Alliance for Children. The agency was highly recommended to us by two other families in New York who also used them for adoptions from China. We found the Alliance very straightforward and helpful. I think the fees were slightly higher than some other agencies friends used, but the we received more assistance with our paperwork, in terms of getting papers authenticated, etc.
Our guides in China were very nice and very helpful. Some agencies seem to do more planning for sight-seeing, and entertainment, but we didn't feel any lack. We were very happy that along with the guide and assistant guide the Alliance sent a Chinese nurse along, even with our small travel group of only 4 families.
I hesitate to rave, ONLY because our adoption was three and a half years ago, and I cannot vouch that things haven't changed, AND because I have no knowledge of programs other than the China program.
Unfortunately adoption from China has become much less predictable in terms of a time line, anyway, and I suspect people may find themselves going through lots of frustration no matter which agency they use for a China adoption, right now.
I would look for more recent references from any agency I was considering, and make sure those references include people using the international or domestic program you are considering.
Beware of Karens comments
Hey I was only giving my opinion which I thought was the whole point. Apart from being a client of Alliance for Children I have no affiliation with them and most definitly do not work for them. I find the comments made extremly offensive. I apologise that I am the 'unverified Karen" but I am not very computer savvy and dont know how to become "verified" I was referred to AFC by a friend who had successful adoptions through them. International Adoptions are most certainly not stress free and I am one client that was very happy. I was sharing my experience and my experience only.
re: beware of trigirls comments
I learned of this website, yesterday, from the FRUA chat room (www.frua.org). I have been a long time member there and value the discussions with the other members. The creator of this website even shared his thoughts on FRUA so I thought I would check it out myself. I then decided to share my two experiences. The purpose of this board, I would assume, is for those of us that used their services to share their experiences....that is what I did from the bottom of my heart. I feel sad that someone felt the need to belittle, question and minimize my experience. I would again recommend this agency to anyone who asked.
our experience
We have adopted through the Alliance for Children. We were thrilled with their knowledge and expertise about international adoption and their professionalism throughout our journey. One of our adoptions went very smoothly and the other was a bit rocky. V was reassuring and calming to us during a difficult referral process. She answered all of our concerns with compassion and kindness. The agency was completely up front about fees and which were due before travel and which were due during travel (while in country). V had a travel meeting with us to go over what would happen during the trip. We knew we had to pay for the medical , translator and driving services as well as for our child's passport and visas while in Russia so we could adequately budget for it. The trips went VERY smoothly and we adored the staff while we were in Moscow. I suggested that 2 of my friends use their services and they have both had very successful adoptions. This is a wonderful agency for us and I would recommend them for their integirty, honesty and compassion. We have children who have enriched our lives beyond anything we could have imagined. BTW we used the Moscow City program. We sent in our application to adopt a third and are ready to go again. This time, as my user name implies we are waiting for a girl.
alliance for children
I have adopted through Alliance for Children. We adopted a little girl from Guatemala and the process started in 2002 and picked her up in 2004. Everything started great until time got closer to getting our daughter. Come to find out the facilitator they used out of Florida for Guatemala named Milagro did not do her job. She did not pay anyone and when we got down there, without the acceptance from AFC, we had to repay. Nothing got done to get our daughter home. We had to pay doctors, coordinators, foster mother, drivers, lawyers, passport, and the items sent from the agency down there did not get to our daughter. There was noone to help us in Guatemala, as promised and no translator. We had an awful experience in Guatemala because of the agency and the coordinator up here Vivian Cone. She wanted us to come home without our daugheter. Her pink slip was out for days with out being told. The story does not end here. When we returned to the AFC to try to get some money back that we had to repay the agency would not refund our money and in not so many words was told it was our fault. They would not tell us what happend down there and why they wre so lax catching on to what Milagro was doing. This happened to many families from this agency. To this day we were not told what happend to items sent down there and our money. They brushed it under the rug. I would never recommend this agency to anyone that would like honesty and respect. Some of the people were not polite and could not give the time or day. We were apprently supposed to understand the entire process because when asked questions it felt like we were bothering them. Choose another agency and never use them.
We adopted in 2004 and again
We adopted in 2004 and again in 2007 through Alliance For Children. I could not speak highly enough of this agency. The staff in the USA and (in our case) Moscow were professional, caring, kind and understanding. THere were no surprises during either process becaue they had covered everything with us. The staff remained the same through both adoptions. We have 2 of the most amazing children because of this agency. They made us a family and I will be forecer grateful to them.
Alliance for children- Wellesley Office
I called them in Early June to schedule an appointment for my husband and I to sit down and talk with someone to find out about them, ask all of our questions, understand the int'l adoption process etc. The person who answered the phone acted like it was odd that i'd want to talk with someone and said she'd have a woman named B call us to set up a time.
2 weeks went by w/ no call. I called them back and spoke with B directly, and we set up an appointment for the following Tuesday at 930 am. My husband and I arrived at the AFC office at 915, and the office was dark. We waited there until 950am, and no one ever showed up. We were furious because we had both traveled a long distance and had taken time off work to come. When I called back a little later that morning and spoke with B, she stated that she completely forgot about our appointment.
Doesn't instill alot of confidence in their organization, and we've ruled them out as a candidate.