This is in response to Adoptee's post Thu, 07/24/2008 - 12:45pm and also to the negative poster.
Adoptee, you say that you have noticed that all the positive stories are being posted by one person. I'm not sure how you can make that type of assessment when all the positive comments I've seen have been posted at random times, dates, and spread out over several months. But, almost half the negative comments on here were posted during a 1 to 2 hour timeframe on 6/18/2008 and all anonymous....I think 6 out of all 13 negative comments were posted within that window. I find that highly suspicious, but you make no comment of that nor the hateful posts from someone using the account name of "jim the snake" or "doris the turtle".
As I sit here and read these negative posts, it's apparent that the person writing these negative comments could be a current or former disgruntled employee. I say that because neither I nor any regular adoptive parent would ever use abbreviations like "bm" for birth mother or "sw" for social workers. I had to read the posts a few times before I understood what the abbreviations were in reference to. These abbreviations would be used by someone that works in the adoption field. Also, it seems like the poster knows details about a lot of different cases which confirms my suspicion.
I think you're cover is now blown and I hope the agency sees this post and has an investigation to find out who you really are! I will certainly share my thoughts with them. What you are doing is very unprofessional, unethical and not the attitude of a Christian. You are not helping anyone with your negative posts and are playing with the lives of prospective adoptive parents and these helpless children who need to be placed in a good, loving Christian home. As I sit here and read these negative posts I am thinking to myself, if I saw negative comments like these several years ago when I was researching adoption agencies, I may have been scared away from using this agency and I would not have the two beautiful children I have today. We are so perfectly matched for each other that I can only believe that it was God's plan to place them with us and I can't imagine raising anyone else over these past few years. I am not here to judge anyone, only God can do that. I just hope and pray that this person looks deep inside themselves and realize how their personal vendetta will affect the lives of many innocent children and couples that cannot have children of their own. This is what I find very sad and disturbing and I hope everyone reading the review prays for this person.
I only became aware of this site when a colleague told me that they came across this site and saw the negative comments. Which person from CAS is posting all the glowing reports you ask? It's plain and simple...it's not a CAS employee but it's all the adoptive families that have used CAS and are shocked at the negative comments being posted. I am not a paid employee of CAS, but have been a two-time adoption client of CAS and have had nothing but positive experiences through my two adoptions. If and when I plan to have my third adoption, it will no doubt be through this agency. I regularly attend their annual family day picnics, their annual Christmas Parties, and one of the adoption support group's annual pool parties. I get the opportunity to interact with a lot of adoptive parents like myself as well as prospective adoptive parents that attend these events and I have not heard one single complaint from anyone with regards to CAS. These folks have had nothing but good things to say about Jim, Doris and the agency. If this agency is as bad as you claim, then there wouldn't have been anywhere near the 200 people that showed up to this year's family day picnic.
I am not saying that it's impossible for people to have negative experiences with this agency or any other agency and I'm sure there may have been. Any great company, firm or agency has had clients/customers that have had a negative experience no matter how great their customer service track record. And people have the right to share that experience. When I have an issue or complaint, I call or write the company with my complaint and allow them the opportunity to resolve the issue. If you've had an issue with the agency, then did you bring up to the attention of Jim or Doris? If the issue was not resolved to your satisfaction, you could have and should have brought it to the attention of their Board of Directors, but it’s apparent that did not happen. I myself felt a level of frustration during the adoption process, but it was out of the agency’s control and I recognized that. I still, however, voiced my frustration with Jim and he provided me with reassurance, gave me updates on the frequent phone calls to the country we were adopting from and provided me with some other options and avenues that I could take.
There is a way to provide a review that is constructive to those reading it and you have not done that. The negative comments I see are mostly those bashing the agency and making a personal attack on the directors (Jim and Doris) themselves. While many of us are sleeping at night, Jim is on the phone with various countries to gather information for those families awaiting international adoptions. I work for a financial institution and I know what it’s like to have conference calls scheduled in Asia where there’s a 12-hour time difference or Europe which is a 5-6 hour time difference. This requires me to wake up really early or stay up really late to make these calls. And if you call Asia looking to speak with someone specifically and you're told they're not available until 2pm, that means you need to call back at 2am EST. Jim does this more often than you or I can image and despite having to stay up all night, he makes himself available to you and I during the agency’s normal working hour. This is just an example of his dedication to his clients and the agency.
I cannot believe some of the negative comments. We must not be referring to the same agency! Adopting through Christian Adoption Services has been an awesome experience. We were fortunate enough to adopt twice through them. We keep in contact with each of our children's birth mothers and they too have had a great experience through a difficult circumstance. CAS even offers a yearly retreat to birth mothers which I think is such a ministry. Money was never made to be an issue for us. They provideded services and we paid for the services. By the way, we are not rich by any means but a very blessed and happy family. CAS has not only been an adoption agency to us and all of the other many families that we've been able to get to know at the gatherings, but they truly are a ministry in every aspect!!! I would highly recommend them.
I would recommend CAS to anyone. We were incredibly blessed by our adoption experience and felt lots of love and understanding from the staff. We are adopting through them again and are having a great process!
I have nothing but wonderful things to say about CAS. My husband and I were refered to CAS by another couple that had adopted through them and we were amazed by the way they educated and prepared us for our adoption. We were also very impressed by the care they provided for the birthparents both before and AFTER the adoption. CAS takes great pride in placing children with the parents that God has chosen for them and creating a caring environment for ALL involved parties.
I am surprised and saddened by the negative comments and slams of the agency that I have read. As christians we have a responsibilty to treat others as we desire to be treated. I hope that each of the parties that have posted negative comments have sat and talked with the directors about their concerns. That is the only way to truly resolve any issues that they believe reside within the agency and with its staff.
In my experience, our adoption was not treated as a transaction between a customer and a business. I do not believe that CAS sees their role in adoption as a business, but as a way to gain a family for a child that needs a loving, Christ centered home.
I am sad to hear some of the bad reviews of CAS. We had a very positive experience with our adoption.
God led us straight to Christian Adoption Services. They do everything possible to prepare the adoptive parents about adoption and offer seminars/workshops to inform us. I noticed from the first meeting how concerned they were about the birthmoms. I think they do a great job ministering to the birthparents! They try to meet their physical needs as well as spiritual. These are Christian people.
Adoption is an emotional roller coaster anyway, but knowing that I had a Christian agency praying about the child God wanted us to love was a great relief. The case worker who did our initial homestudy even confirmed how the directors prayed about the placement of these children.
As I have gotten to know these people over the past 3 years, I realize how busy they were while I was pacing the floors -- crying out for our baby to come! Since they are a small agency, they are busy! They spend a lot of time driving across the state meeting with birthmoms.
If you are a birthmom looking for an agency to place your child, I know that CAS has a heart for you and wants you healthy AFTER the baby is placed. Their care doesn't stop after the placement of the child.
If you are a couple hoping to adopt, I felt like the waiting period wasn't as bad as the bigger agencies with hundreds of waiting families. I was thrilled to be with a smaller agency. And for the comment about these people stuffing their pockets with the money -- if you just visit their facility, you wouldn't see some rich, new office. They have been praying to expand and have a nicer facility, but the money that we provide the agency is used to help birthmoms and other expenses.
Adoption is a God-thing. It can't be compared to customer service in a company. These people are dealing with peoples lives and futures.
I am amazed at the way God uses them (and am grateful for their part in the birth of our beautiful, precious baby girl).
Our experience with CAS has been positive and NO we haven't been paid to post a positive comment here! I suspect if any comments are being fabricated, it is the negative ones.
I'm sorry I can't add to the pile of negative comments.
I found out about this site and thought I would take a look and to be honest was shocked at some of the comments.
When we started down the adoption path, we read books, looked on-line and spoke with anyone we could about their adoption story and lessons learned. The fee structure with CAS was significantly less than some other private adoption agencies. We were also told don't go with an agency with "a la cart" pricing or up front pricing, CAS doesn't do either of these. They have a price that on average covers their costs and allows them to provide the on-going services before and AFTER placement. They also don't charge you a ton of money up front, it is more a milestone, fee for service pay schedule which is fair and reasonable!
CAS said up front that their ministry is for birthmothers and to find children Christian homes. We were never mislead, manipulated or pushed by any of the staff. Our experience was wonderful and we feel that God truly does wonderful work through this agency and the staff at CAS. We received honest feedback and comments as well has honest support in making decisions that would work for our family.
We were told by many social workers that the best thing that can be done to help a birthmom not change her mind is by having counceling while pregnant and help in making adoption plans. CAS is really there for these birthmom's and is there for them and their families after placement as well. The birthmoms working with CAS are not left to grieve alone after placement. THIS IS CHRISTIAN!!!! They provide help and guidance to these mom's regardless if they place or not. To be honest, I could never feel good using an agency that doesn't provide this type of support.
I could go on-and-on because I am passionate about adoption and a huge supporter of CAS. Bottom line, I truly believe this is a good Christian agency with a good caring staff. They are fair, honest, have integrity, and have their priorities straight!
I am the Executive Director of a Christian maternity home program in Charlotte, NC. I have worked in this capacity for about five years and have over 10 additional years of experience in working with families in crisis through a county department of Social Services. I wanted to share my professional and personal assessment of Christian Adoption Services.
The Lord has used the ministry of CAS to change my heart regarding the issue of adoption. The adoptions that I had experienced in the past had occurred through the government operated Dept. of Social Services. Children were removed from biological families against their will, due to neglect and abuse issues. Many of these children had lived in numerous foster homes and had emotional problems due to their circumstances. These adopted children were never infants as the court system had given the biological family chance after chance to improve their situation in order to have their children returned to their care. Adoptive parents came from all kinds of backgrounds (including couples with two dads and two moms) and with all kinds of different motivations to adopt. Many of these adoptions were very challenging.
I have experienced a whole different scenario with CAS. Pregnant women are loved and nurtured as they struggle to develop the best plan for themselves and their baby for the future. The needs of the biological mother and her child are the priority. And, the adoptive families that I have met through CAS have expressed that they also have felt nurtured and cared for by the agency. Birthmoms that choose adoption are able to embrace their choice because they believe that their love for their baby has empowered them to provide the best life possible for their child. The annual birthmother's retreats are a time to celebrate the lives that the children are experiencing with their adoptive families and to celebrate the fact that the birthmothers have moved in a direction that will also assure that their own future will be more positive.
I don't want the negative impressions of a few to influence your perceptions of CAS. Those comments do not support my experience.
I can understand the desire to withhold names from comments offered through a website such as this one but- I have such confidence regarding my beliefs about this agency that I would like to provide you with the means to contact me for additional information. Feel free to check in with me via email at ddurrell10@aol.com. I do not work for CAS and do not receive any compensation from that ministry. Nor am I interested in adopting. My own two children are college age. CAS is a blessing to the ministry that I direct. I am sorry that some people have come away from their experience with CAS staff with such negative impressions and I hope that these concerns have been communicated directly with agency staff prior to voicing them through this website.
The issue of adoption is very emotionally charged. For those that have made negative statements regarding their CAS experience, I will pray that the Lord will open your heart to work through your feelings and to resolve any conflicts that you might have with the agency. We are doing an excellent study at my organization. It is called- The Peace Maker- A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict. It is by Ken Sande. Christians can be so hard on each other. Is CAS perfect? No, and neither is the ministry that I am involved with. But Ephesians 4:15 tells us that "speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ". It is my desire to build up those that are seeking to accomplish God's purposes in the area of adoption. Thank you CAS for all you do for moms, babies and adoptive couples. I know that God is pleased.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO COMMENT ON THE ABOVE NEGATIVE STATEMENTS. CAS HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO OUR FAMILY. IF THIS FAMILY WAS A CHRISTIAN FAMILY, AND I ASSUME THEY ARE THEN YOU HAVE SOME GROWING UP TO DO. GOD DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON FROM PAIN HE WILL NOT SPARE US EITHER! THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY. I HAVE ADOPTED THROUGH CAS TWO TIMES. THEY ARE A GOD FEARING AGENCY. THEIR MISSION IS TO GROW CHRISTIAN FAMILIES. I HAVE NEVER COME ACCROSS ANY FAMILY THAT HAS ADOPTED THROUGH CAS THAT HAD SUCH RUDE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THE AGENCY. MAYBE THIS FAMILY NEEDED TO GROW THERE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD BEFORE HE BLESSED THEM WITH ANOTHER CHILD. GOD HAS THE RIGHT FOR EACH FAMILY AT HIS PERFECT TIMING! SOUNDS TO ME THAT THIS COUPLE NEDDS TO GO BACK AND READ WHAT THE BIBLE HAS TO SAY ABOUT BITTERNESS AND GOSSIP. I WILL PRAY FOR THEM. I HOPE AND PRAY THAT THEIR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.
It is pretty sad to see that someone has some sort of a grudge or vendetta against Christian Adoption Services and is using this board/website for their own personal agenda...whatever that may be. I say that because many of the negative comments are highly suspicious. Take for instance the 6 reveiws from 6/18/2008 that were all negative and all coincidentally posted within 5 to 20 minutes of each other. Also many of the negative comments are from "unverified" users. If that's not trying to manipuate the reviews I don't know what is. This is a great agency and I can't see the motive as why someone would want to trash this wonderful agency.
I first met the director, Jim, in 1999 or 2000 at an adoption expo along with over a dozen other agencies that were represented. Jim was very polite, very informative and left a very good impression on me and wife. After about three years of infertility treatment, we decided to adopt. Of all the pamplet's and brochures we collected three years earlier at the adoption expo, Christian Adoption Services was the only one we saved. We contacted them and attended their adoption seminar. Afterwards, we were very pleased with the agency and were very comfortable with not only Jim and Doris, but the entire staff including social workers and foster parents. We have since adopted both internationally and domestically through this agency and have had nothing but a great and positive experience. There are many things which are out of the control of any agency, particularly adopting from a foreign country because they are you are at the mercy of that country's timeline for processing applications and dosiers and matching the children with families. Also, with domestic adoption there are at times legal risk involved. We've experienced both of these events, and while it may seem frustruating to some, Jim and Doris did a wonderful job keeping us informed on their many calls oversees for our international adoption and keeping us updated on their progress of removing the legal risk issue associated with our domestic adoption. I have been so touched and moved by this agency and Doris and Jim's passion that I still kept in contact with both of them and have volunteered my time to help the agency out in whatever capacity I can.
Christian Adoption Services hosts many events for their adoptive families including an annual Family Day Picnic. This year there were almost 200 people in attendance at the event which is in itself a great testimony on the true views and experiences adoptive parents receive at this wonderful agency. So, I hope that the prospective adoptive parents or birth mothers that read these reviews can see that most, if not all, the negative reviews do not have merit.
To the adoptive parents who have complained about CAS ...
I think it is only fair that if people are going to shred this agency and shred the people running it -- they shouldn't be too afraid to post their names as well.
You are playing with people's lives here. There are families waiting to receive children and this negative stuff could hinder their process.
If you are that disgruntled with the agency and aren't going to use them again anyway -- then talk to the people face to face (to improve what you felt were imperfections) and stop smearing this ministry and the people involved. Sometimes we can be offended over something that might be a misunderstanding. If your heart is to help the next family coming along, then try to suggest areas where you felt the agency let you down. This is not the way.
We need to show mercy with one another and not use this medium to destroy the lives of others.
I am so sorry they treated you like that. It seems many familes have had to deal with such disrespect and cruelness. I hope that you have peace and that you are able to put this behind you, though, no doubt you are scarred from this. May you and your special family be blessed!
Anyone reading this, please research CAS before you proceed! I woud hate to see more stories like this.....
I agree with the above comment. Our first adoption through them was good. When we decided to adopt again, we were treated as a cash cow to them. Given that we did not have a huge home and lots of money, we were bumped down to the bottom of the pile. We were offered a very high risk adoption. The bm had bought her baby many items, yet the agency did not see this as a red flag?! I had been sick the night before, I ended up in the ER! I was so excited to be a mom again, that we went on. I was excited about my new dd, but still not 100% myself. The directors wife, made me feel like I was this awful person for not being all excited. I was not well!! We bring baby home and withing 24 hrs, she is reclaimed by bm. The agency demanded that my husband return the baby to the closest sw's home. How nice would it have been if THEY came for her? After that, they told me that it happens & get over it....
Three months later, another baby. This time, I had bonding issues. They told us that since this was another legal risk adoption, for us to stay home until the legal risk days were over per our state. I felt like I was babysitting someone in the Witness Protection Program! I even reached out to my new sw with my concerns. Instead of offering me help, she went behind my back and made arrangements, via the agencies blessings to place the baby in another home! No help was offered. They even had the gall to suggest that my very young child stay and see them take this baby away...I had a grandparent take him for the day. Thank God he was way too young to understand what was going on!!
Would I recommend this agency? If you are comfortable with high risk adoptions and owners that treat you as money/profits and not humans with feelings, than I say best of luck to you. If you want a true Christain agency that looks out for the needs of you and all parties, then I suggest you search some where else.
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Reviews
Not a Paid Employee
This is in response to Adoptee's post Thu, 07/24/2008 - 12:45pm and also to the negative poster.
Adoptee, you say that you have noticed that all the positive stories are being posted by one person. I'm not sure how you can make that type of assessment when all the positive comments I've seen have been posted at random times, dates, and spread out over several months. But, almost half the negative comments on here were posted during a 1 to 2 hour timeframe on 6/18/2008 and all anonymous....I think 6 out of all 13 negative comments were posted within that window. I find that highly suspicious, but you make no comment of that nor the hateful posts from someone using the account name of "jim the snake" or "doris the turtle".
As I sit here and read these negative posts, it's apparent that the person writing these negative comments could be a current or former disgruntled employee. I say that because neither I nor any regular adoptive parent would ever use abbreviations like "bm" for birth mother or "sw" for social workers. I had to read the posts a few times before I understood what the abbreviations were in reference to. These abbreviations would be used by someone that works in the adoption field. Also, it seems like the poster knows details about a lot of different cases which confirms my suspicion.
I think you're cover is now blown and I hope the agency sees this post and has an investigation to find out who you really are! I will certainly share my thoughts with them. What you are doing is very unprofessional, unethical and not the attitude of a Christian. You are not helping anyone with your negative posts and are playing with the lives of prospective adoptive parents and these helpless children who need to be placed in a good, loving Christian home. As I sit here and read these negative posts I am thinking to myself, if I saw negative comments like these several years ago when I was researching adoption agencies, I may have been scared away from using this agency and I would not have the two beautiful children I have today. We are so perfectly matched for each other that I can only believe that it was God's plan to place them with us and I can't imagine raising anyone else over these past few years. I am not here to judge anyone, only God can do that. I just hope and pray that this person looks deep inside themselves and realize how their personal vendetta will affect the lives of many innocent children and couples that cannot have children of their own. This is what I find very sad and disturbing and I hope everyone reading the review prays for this person.
I only became aware of this site when a colleague told me that they came across this site and saw the negative comments. Which person from CAS is posting all the glowing reports you ask? It's plain and simple...it's not a CAS employee but it's all the adoptive families that have used CAS and are shocked at the negative comments being posted. I am not a paid employee of CAS, but have been a two-time adoption client of CAS and have had nothing but positive experiences through my two adoptions. If and when I plan to have my third adoption, it will no doubt be through this agency. I regularly attend their annual family day picnics, their annual Christmas Parties, and one of the adoption support group's annual pool parties. I get the opportunity to interact with a lot of adoptive parents like myself as well as prospective adoptive parents that attend these events and I have not heard one single complaint from anyone with regards to CAS. These folks have had nothing but good things to say about Jim, Doris and the agency. If this agency is as bad as you claim, then there wouldn't have been anywhere near the 200 people that showed up to this year's family day picnic.
I am not saying that it's impossible for people to have negative experiences with this agency or any other agency and I'm sure there may have been. Any great company, firm or agency has had clients/customers that have had a negative experience no matter how great their customer service track record. And people have the right to share that experience. When I have an issue or complaint, I call or write the company with my complaint and allow them the opportunity to resolve the issue. If you've had an issue with the agency, then did you bring up to the attention of Jim or Doris? If the issue was not resolved to your satisfaction, you could have and should have brought it to the attention of their Board of Directors, but it’s apparent that did not happen. I myself felt a level of frustration during the adoption process, but it was out of the agency’s control and I recognized that. I still, however, voiced my frustration with Jim and he provided me with reassurance, gave me updates on the frequent phone calls to the country we were adopting from and provided me with some other options and avenues that I could take.
There is a way to provide a review that is constructive to those reading it and you have not done that. The negative comments I see are mostly those bashing the agency and making a personal attack on the directors (Jim and Doris) themselves. While many of us are sleeping at night, Jim is on the phone with various countries to gather information for those families awaiting international adoptions. I work for a financial institution and I know what it’s like to have conference calls scheduled in Asia where there’s a 12-hour time difference or Europe which is a 5-6 hour time difference. This requires me to wake up really early or stay up really late to make these calls. And if you call Asia looking to speak with someone specifically and you're told they're not available until 2pm, that means you need to call back at 2am EST. Jim does this more often than you or I can image and despite having to stay up all night, he makes himself available to you and I during the agency’s normal working hour. This is just an example of his dedication to his clients and the agency.
GREAT EXPERIENCE, GREAT AGENCY
I cannot believe some of the negative comments. We must not be referring to the same agency! Adopting through Christian Adoption Services has been an awesome experience. We were fortunate enough to adopt twice through them. We keep in contact with each of our children's birth mothers and they too have had a great experience through a difficult circumstance. CAS even offers a yearly retreat to birth mothers which I think is such a ministry. Money was never made to be an issue for us. They provideded services and we paid for the services. By the way, we are not rich by any means but a very blessed and happy family. CAS has not only been an adoption agency to us and all of the other many families that we've been able to get to know at the gatherings, but they truly are a ministry in every aspect!!! I would highly recommend them.
AWESOME
I would recommend CAS to anyone. We were incredibly blessed by our adoption experience and felt lots of love and understanding from the staff. We are adopting through them again and are having a great process!
Our Adoption with CAS
I have nothing but wonderful things to say about CAS. My husband and I were refered to CAS by another couple that had adopted through them and we were amazed by the way they educated and prepared us for our adoption. We were also very impressed by the care they provided for the birthparents both before and AFTER the adoption. CAS takes great pride in placing children with the parents that God has chosen for them and creating a caring environment for ALL involved parties.
I am surprised and saddened by the negative comments and slams of the agency that I have read. As christians we have a responsibilty to treat others as we desire to be treated. I hope that each of the parties that have posted negative comments have sat and talked with the directors about their concerns. That is the only way to truly resolve any issues that they believe reside within the agency and with its staff.
In my experience, our adoption was not treated as a transaction between a customer and a business. I do not believe that CAS sees their role in adoption as a business, but as a way to gain a family for a child that needs a loving, Christ centered home.
I love Christian Adoption Services
I am sad to hear some of the bad reviews of CAS. We had a very positive experience with our adoption.
God led us straight to Christian Adoption Services. They do everything possible to prepare the adoptive parents about adoption and offer seminars/workshops to inform us. I noticed from the first meeting how concerned they were about the birthmoms. I think they do a great job ministering to the birthparents! They try to meet their physical needs as well as spiritual. These are Christian people.
Adoption is an emotional roller coaster anyway, but knowing that I had a Christian agency praying about the child God wanted us to love was a great relief. The case worker who did our initial homestudy even confirmed how the directors prayed about the placement of these children.
As I have gotten to know these people over the past 3 years, I realize how busy they were while I was pacing the floors -- crying out for our baby to come! Since they are a small agency, they are busy! They spend a lot of time driving across the state meeting with birthmoms.
If you are a birthmom looking for an agency to place your child, I know that CAS has a heart for you and wants you healthy AFTER the baby is placed. Their care doesn't stop after the placement of the child.
If you are a couple hoping to adopt, I felt like the waiting period wasn't as bad as the bigger agencies with hundreds of waiting families. I was thrilled to be with a smaller agency. And for the comment about these people stuffing their pockets with the money -- if you just visit their facility, you wouldn't see some rich, new office. They have been praying to expand and have a nicer facility, but the money that we provide the agency is used to help birthmoms and other expenses.
Adoption is a God-thing. It can't be compared to customer service in a company. These people are dealing with peoples lives and futures.
I am amazed at the way God uses them (and am grateful for their part in the birth of our beautiful, precious baby girl).
A very blessed Mommy of a beautiful daughter!
Sorry But I haven't been paid
Our experience with CAS has been positive and NO we haven't been paid to post a positive comment here! I suspect if any comments are being fabricated, it is the negative ones.
I'm sorry I can't add to the pile of negative comments.
CAS - Good people and a good Agency!
I found out about this site and thought I would take a look and to be honest was shocked at some of the comments.
When we started down the adoption path, we read books, looked on-line and spoke with anyone we could about their adoption story and lessons learned. The fee structure with CAS was significantly less than some other private adoption agencies. We were also told don't go with an agency with "a la cart" pricing or up front pricing, CAS doesn't do either of these. They have a price that on average covers their costs and allows them to provide the on-going services before and AFTER placement. They also don't charge you a ton of money up front, it is more a milestone, fee for service pay schedule which is fair and reasonable!
CAS said up front that their ministry is for birthmothers and to find children Christian homes. We were never mislead, manipulated or pushed by any of the staff. Our experience was wonderful and we feel that God truly does wonderful work through this agency and the staff at CAS. We received honest feedback and comments as well has honest support in making decisions that would work for our family.
We were told by many social workers that the best thing that can be done to help a birthmom not change her mind is by having counceling while pregnant and help in making adoption plans. CAS is really there for these birthmom's and is there for them and their families after placement as well. The birthmoms working with CAS are not left to grieve alone after placement. THIS IS CHRISTIAN!!!! They provide help and guidance to these mom's regardless if they place or not. To be honest, I could never feel good using an agency that doesn't provide this type of support.
I could go on-and-on because I am passionate about adoption and a huge supporter of CAS. Bottom line, I truly believe this is a good Christian agency with a good caring staff. They are fair, honest, have integrity, and have their priorities straight!
My experience with Christian Adoption Services
I am the Executive Director of a Christian maternity home program in Charlotte, NC. I have worked in this capacity for about five years and have over 10 additional years of experience in working with families in crisis through a county department of Social Services. I wanted to share my professional and personal assessment of Christian Adoption Services.
The Lord has used the ministry of CAS to change my heart regarding the issue of adoption. The adoptions that I had experienced in the past had occurred through the government operated Dept. of Social Services. Children were removed from biological families against their will, due to neglect and abuse issues. Many of these children had lived in numerous foster homes and had emotional problems due to their circumstances. These adopted children were never infants as the court system had given the biological family chance after chance to improve their situation in order to have their children returned to their care. Adoptive parents came from all kinds of backgrounds (including couples with two dads and two moms) and with all kinds of different motivations to adopt. Many of these adoptions were very challenging.
I have experienced a whole different scenario with CAS. Pregnant women are loved and nurtured as they struggle to develop the best plan for themselves and their baby for the future. The needs of the biological mother and her child are the priority. And, the adoptive families that I have met through CAS have expressed that they also have felt nurtured and cared for by the agency. Birthmoms that choose adoption are able to embrace their choice because they believe that their love for their baby has empowered them to provide the best life possible for their child. The annual birthmother's retreats are a time to celebrate the lives that the children are experiencing with their adoptive families and to celebrate the fact that the birthmothers have moved in a direction that will also assure that their own future will be more positive.
I don't want the negative impressions of a few to influence your perceptions of CAS. Those comments do not support my experience.
I can understand the desire to withhold names from comments offered through a website such as this one but- I have such confidence regarding my beliefs about this agency that I would like to provide you with the means to contact me for additional information. Feel free to check in with me via email at ddurrell10@aol.com. I do not work for CAS and do not receive any compensation from that ministry. Nor am I interested in adopting. My own two children are college age. CAS is a blessing to the ministry that I direct. I am sorry that some people have come away from their experience with CAS staff with such negative impressions and I hope that these concerns have been communicated directly with agency staff prior to voicing them through this website.
The issue of adoption is very emotionally charged. For those that have made negative statements regarding their CAS experience, I will pray that the Lord will open your heart to work through your feelings and to resolve any conflicts that you might have with the agency. We are doing an excellent study at my organization. It is called- The Peace Maker- A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict. It is by Ken Sande. Christians can be so hard on each other. Is CAS perfect? No, and neither is the ministry that I am involved with. But Ephesians 4:15 tells us that "speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ". It is my desire to build up those that are seeking to accomplish God's purposes in the area of adoption. Thank you CAS for all you do for moms, babies and adoptive couples. I know that God is pleased.
THERE IS NO OTHER AGENCY LIKE CHRISTIAN ADOPTION SERVICES
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO COMMENT ON THE ABOVE NEGATIVE STATEMENTS. CAS HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO OUR FAMILY. IF THIS FAMILY WAS A CHRISTIAN FAMILY, AND I ASSUME THEY ARE THEN YOU HAVE SOME GROWING UP TO DO. GOD DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON FROM PAIN HE WILL NOT SPARE US EITHER! THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY. I HAVE ADOPTED THROUGH CAS TWO TIMES. THEY ARE A GOD FEARING AGENCY. THEIR MISSION IS TO GROW CHRISTIAN FAMILIES. I HAVE NEVER COME ACCROSS ANY FAMILY THAT HAS ADOPTED THROUGH CAS THAT HAD SUCH RUDE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THE AGENCY. MAYBE THIS FAMILY NEEDED TO GROW THERE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD BEFORE HE BLESSED THEM WITH ANOTHER CHILD. GOD HAS THE RIGHT FOR EACH FAMILY AT HIS PERFECT TIMING! SOUNDS TO ME THAT THIS COUPLE NEDDS TO GO BACK AND READ WHAT THE BIBLE HAS TO SAY ABOUT BITTERNESS AND GOSSIP. I WILL PRAY FOR THEM. I HOPE AND PRAY THAT THEIR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.
Adoptive Dad's Response to the Negative Comments
It is pretty sad to see that someone has some sort of a grudge or vendetta against Christian Adoption Services and is using this board/website for their own personal agenda...whatever that may be. I say that because many of the negative comments are highly suspicious. Take for instance the 6 reveiws from 6/18/2008 that were all negative and all coincidentally posted within 5 to 20 minutes of each other. Also many of the negative comments are from "unverified" users. If that's not trying to manipuate the reviews I don't know what is. This is a great agency and I can't see the motive as why someone would want to trash this wonderful agency.
I first met the director, Jim, in 1999 or 2000 at an adoption expo along with over a dozen other agencies that were represented. Jim was very polite, very informative and left a very good impression on me and wife. After about three years of infertility treatment, we decided to adopt. Of all the pamplet's and brochures we collected three years earlier at the adoption expo, Christian Adoption Services was the only one we saved. We contacted them and attended their adoption seminar. Afterwards, we were very pleased with the agency and were very comfortable with not only Jim and Doris, but the entire staff including social workers and foster parents. We have since adopted both internationally and domestically through this agency and have had nothing but a great and positive experience. There are many things which are out of the control of any agency, particularly adopting from a foreign country because they are you are at the mercy of that country's timeline for processing applications and dosiers and matching the children with families. Also, with domestic adoption there are at times legal risk involved. We've experienced both of these events, and while it may seem frustruating to some, Jim and Doris did a wonderful job keeping us informed on their many calls oversees for our international adoption and keeping us updated on their progress of removing the legal risk issue associated with our domestic adoption. I have been so touched and moved by this agency and Doris and Jim's passion that I still kept in contact with both of them and have volunteered my time to help the agency out in whatever capacity I can.
Christian Adoption Services hosts many events for their adoptive families including an annual Family Day Picnic. This year there were almost 200 people in attendance at the event which is in itself a great testimony on the true views and experiences adoptive parents receive at this wonderful agency. So, I hope that the prospective adoptive parents or birth mothers that read these reviews can see that most, if not all, the negative reviews do not have merit.
Christian Adoption Services
To the adoptive parents who have complained about CAS ...
I think it is only fair that if people are going to shred this agency and shred the people running it -- they shouldn't be too afraid to post their names as well.
You are playing with people's lives here. There are families waiting to receive children and this negative stuff could hinder their process.
If you are that disgruntled with the agency and aren't going to use them again anyway -- then talk to the people face to face (to improve what you felt were imperfections) and stop smearing this ministry and the people involved. Sometimes we can be offended over something that might be a misunderstanding. If your heart is to help the next family coming along, then try to suggest areas where you felt the agency let you down. This is not the way.
We need to show mercy with one another and not use this medium to destroy the lives of others.
Thank you,
Beth
I'm sorry
I am so sorry they treated you like that. It seems many familes have had to deal with such disrespect and cruelness. I hope that you have peace and that you are able to put this behind you, though, no doubt you are scarred from this. May you and your special family be blessed!
Anyone reading this, please research CAS before you proceed! I woud hate to see more stories like this.....
Heartbroken and Broken Dreams
I agree with the above comment. Our first adoption through them was good. When we decided to adopt again, we were treated as a cash cow to them. Given that we did not have a huge home and lots of money, we were bumped down to the bottom of the pile. We were offered a very high risk adoption. The bm had bought her baby many items, yet the agency did not see this as a red flag?! I had been sick the night before, I ended up in the ER! I was so excited to be a mom again, that we went on. I was excited about my new dd, but still not 100% myself. The directors wife, made me feel like I was this awful person for not being all excited. I was not well!! We bring baby home and withing 24 hrs, she is reclaimed by bm. The agency demanded that my husband return the baby to the closest sw's home. How nice would it have been if THEY came for her? After that, they told me that it happens & get over it....
Three months later, another baby. This time, I had bonding issues. They told us that since this was another legal risk adoption, for us to stay home until the legal risk days were over per our state. I felt like I was babysitting someone in the Witness Protection Program! I even reached out to my new sw with my concerns. Instead of offering me help, she went behind my back and made arrangements, via the agencies blessings to place the baby in another home! No help was offered. They even had the gall to suggest that my very young child stay and see them take this baby away...I had a grandparent take him for the day. Thank God he was way too young to understand what was going on!!
Would I recommend this agency? If you are comfortable with high risk adoptions and owners that treat you as money/profits and not humans with feelings, than I say best of luck to you. If you want a true Christain agency that looks out for the needs of you and all parties, then I suggest you search some where else.