When we first talked to Alternatives for Children and Families, we were warned that it would take about 6 months to get our home study completed. Despite the longer time frame given compared to other places we researched, we went with Alternatives for Children because the worker was quite personable and we found it easy to talk to her about our hopes. She was quite receptive and raised our hopes about our finding a sibling group with a child near the current age of our 5-year-old birth daughter. She was also quite amenable about our refusal to foster a child since we feel that fostering does not offer the stability and consistency that we desire.
Despite our initial hopes, we have been bitterly disappointed with the agency. Four months after our initial contact we were finally able to set up a time for a home visit. For three months after that we tried to contact the agency to see if the home-study was completed. We had minimal response to our phone calls and emails. After the fourth month we called again and we never heard a response. At that point we gave up trying to contact them. Three months later (over nine months after our initial contact )another agency contacted us and encouraged us to get back with Alternatives for Children to check if our home-study was completed and if we could see it. So we contacted them and were told that the home-study was done. Two months later and we have gotten nowhere in actually seeing this home-study or in having any actual leads. Since we are looking to adopt a special needs child, a sibling group, or an older child, we are shocked at the lack of leads. The only lead the agency has given us was a sibling group of 11 and 13 year old boys, nowhere near our daughter's age. Instead our worker now would like to see us become foster parents (despite her initial amenable attitude towards us not wanting that option), yet has not returned our phone calls nor emails on the training that is offered by the agency. Overall we are feeling misled in that we feel we are being forced into being a part of a system that just finds beds for children and not homes.
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Disappointed and misled
When we first talked to Alternatives for Children and Families, we were warned that it would take about 6 months to get our home study completed. Despite the longer time frame given compared to other places we researched, we went with Alternatives for Children because the worker was quite personable and we found it easy to talk to her about our hopes. She was quite receptive and raised our hopes about our finding a sibling group with a child near the current age of our 5-year-old birth daughter. She was also quite amenable about our refusal to foster a child since we feel that fostering does not offer the stability and consistency that we desire.
Despite our initial hopes, we have been bitterly disappointed with the agency. Four months after our initial contact we were finally able to set up a time for a home visit. For three months after that we tried to contact the agency to see if the home-study was completed. We had minimal response to our phone calls and emails. After the fourth month we called again and we never heard a response. At that point we gave up trying to contact them. Three months later (over nine months after our initial contact )another agency contacted us and encouraged us to get back with Alternatives for Children to check if our home-study was completed and if we could see it. So we contacted them and were told that the home-study was done. Two months later and we have gotten nowhere in actually seeing this home-study or in having any actual leads. Since we are looking to adopt a special needs child, a sibling group, or an older child, we are shocked at the lack of leads. The only lead the agency has given us was a sibling group of 11 and 13 year old boys, nowhere near our daughter's age. Instead our worker now would like to see us become foster parents (despite her initial amenable attitude towards us not wanting that option), yet has not returned our phone calls nor emails on the training that is offered by the agency. Overall we are feeling misled in that we feel we are being forced into being a part of a system that just finds beds for children and not homes.