We were very happy with FTIA. Communication was fantastic- Maury is great. Fees, etc, were all laid out and there were no surprises. Travel was amazing.
We went from NSN, LID early 2007 to SN late that year, bringing our daughter home in August 08. Originally I wished they had told us that the wait was going to continue to lengthen. I asked for their expert opinion and they would only say what the wait was and that it would likely go a couple months longer by the time they got to us. I think/know they knew better. But if they had told us the truth we would not have signed up, and maybe they knew that. If they had told us the truth, we wouldn't have our daughter today, which would be very unfortunate.
I would also add that a family with a LID of 2007 who has been told they might get a referral by Christmas might have changed thier intitial paperwork to now accept a child with special needs.
We adopted our daughter from Russia in November 2007. The whole process from start to finish was 7 months. We received our referral for a toddler girl 2 weeks after submitting our dossier. FTIA was very upfront about the costs. At the time they were very accurate with their time frames. From what I saw most families were receiving their referrals 1-2 months after submitting their dossiers. My coordinator was wonderful with answering all of my questions. I never had to wait more than a day for a reply. Normally she would get back to me within the hour. Plus they would send out regular emails to all the familes in the Russian program, and let them know how many families received referrals, were traveling and completed their adoption. I have no complaints about the staff or the way they conduct their business. If we decide to adopt again I would definitely use them. To be honest this is the first time I have ever read any reviews where people were unhappy with them. I've spoken to numerous families who have adopted within the last year and all of them said they would use FTIA again.
I posted earlier about the service not being as good this time around. I didn't include dates. Our first adoption was in '04 and we were very happy with them. We began our second adoption in '05 and are still waiting here in '08. We have noticed a big difference in service this time around.
We are not happy that FTIA tells us the CURRENT wait time is 25 months (and told us it was 6 months when we began the paperchase) and we have already waited 23 months and will be lucky to receive a referral in one year. A famliy with FTIA with a 2007 LID date told me recently they were expecting a referral in the fall, Christmas at the latest. I wish they were more truthful about wait times.
I used FTIA in December, 2004. Maury Reising was in charge of the waiting child program and she was great!! She called, emailed, and stayed in constant contact with me throughout the process. At the last minute - (as in I was packing to get on the plane) - I panicked when I realized I had actually MISPLACED my entire dossier!! I called Maury and still remember her calm promise to overnight another copy. Of course, I tore my home and office apart and found my dossier within hours of calling her, but a copy arrived as promised the next a.m. It wasn't until later that I could sheepishly laugh and chalk it all up to "new parent jitters". I would definitely use them again. They still send my daughter cards on her birthday and I share photos back with them. I thought they were wonderful!!
I had a good experience with the staff, but a bad experience with the owner. We were with a smaller agency that was taken over by FTIA in the middle of our adoption. We went to a meeting where FTIA promised they would honor our contract in full -- promised in front of a large group of people. Well, the case workers and every day staff at FTIA were wonderful, and we got our child home. But guess what? Now they're trying to charge us more money and are NOT honoring the contract we signed with the agency they took over. VERY UNETHICAL! I emphasize, the staff was wonderful, but I don't feel like this situation was handled ethically and we're not using FTIA again.
We used fTIA for our adoption and loved them the first time around. The second time around there was a new staff in place and we do not feel their service was to the same standard as the first time. They lost some key players and we also do not think we have had upfront and honest information this time around. I do think they are no worse than any other agency and all around they are still good but there is definately a difference in service this time.
We used FTIA for both of our Chinese adoption. They were super- one of the only agencies who has an office in China and in China staff. That means a lot which I didn't realize until speaking with friends who used agencies that didn't have this.
FTIA is upfront with all costs and does try to keep travel expenses down.
FTIA arranges all travel through a travel agency which kept the stress down of trying to find flights, etc. once we knew we were going. This may not appeal to everyone, but we really appreciated this!!
My husband and I used this agency for both of our adoptions from Guatemala. They were always upfront and honest about what was going on with our cases. They had good communication with the staff and attorney in Guatemala and were very helpful during our pick-up trips. Our son was home at 5 months and our daughter was home at 7 months - well within the time-frames that we were told. They provided great support regarding our travel and also provided us with good information about what to do when we returned home. I would (and have) recommended them to anyone considering adoption.
I do recommend this agency to all my friends. We adopted 2 children from China through the waiting child program. Their fees are the least expensive for the WCP of any agency. All the expenses were explained upfront. Their travel was cheaper than with other agencies as well. They never treated me like I was a pest for asking questions. I would use them again in a heartbeat!
We adopted during the Hague shut down of 2003. The agency had more information and insight than anybody at the time and did a great job of encouraging us during a difficult time for Guatemalan adoptions.
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Reviews
We were very happy with
We were very happy with FTIA. Communication was fantastic- Maury is great. Fees, etc, were all laid out and there were no surprises. Travel was amazing.
We went from NSN, LID early 2007 to SN late that year, bringing our daughter home in August 08. Originally I wished they had told us that the wait was going to continue to lengthen. I asked for their expert opinion and they would only say what the wait was and that it would likely go a couple months longer by the time they got to us. I think/know they knew better. But if they had told us the truth we would not have signed up, and maybe they knew that. If they had told us the truth, we wouldn't have our daughter today, which would be very unfortunate.
Wait times for China adoptions
I would also add that a family with a LID of 2007 who has been told they might get a referral by Christmas might have changed thier intitial paperwork to now accept a child with special needs.
Wonderful Agency
We adopted our daughter from Russia in November 2007. The whole process from start to finish was 7 months. We received our referral for a toddler girl 2 weeks after submitting our dossier. FTIA was very upfront about the costs. At the time they were very accurate with their time frames. From what I saw most families were receiving their referrals 1-2 months after submitting their dossiers. My coordinator was wonderful with answering all of my questions. I never had to wait more than a day for a reply. Normally she would get back to me within the hour. Plus they would send out regular emails to all the familes in the Russian program, and let them know how many families received referrals, were traveling and completed their adoption. I have no complaints about the staff or the way they conduct their business. If we decide to adopt again I would definitely use them. To be honest this is the first time I have ever read any reviews where people were unhappy with them. I've spoken to numerous families who have adopted within the last year and all of them said they would use FTIA again.
FTIA
I posted earlier about the service not being as good this time around. I didn't include dates. Our first adoption was in '04 and we were very happy with them. We began our second adoption in '05 and are still waiting here in '08. We have noticed a big difference in service this time around.
FTIA
We are not happy that FTIA tells us the CURRENT wait time is 25 months (and told us it was 6 months when we began the paperchase) and we have already waited 23 months and will be lucky to receive a referral in one year. A famliy with FTIA with a 2007 LID date told me recently they were expecting a referral in the fall, Christmas at the latest. I wish they were more truthful about wait times.
Maury Reising was great!!!
I used FTIA in December, 2004. Maury Reising was in charge of the waiting child program and she was great!! She called, emailed, and stayed in constant contact with me throughout the process. At the last minute - (as in I was packing to get on the plane) - I panicked when I realized I had actually MISPLACED my entire dossier!! I called Maury and still remember her calm promise to overnight another copy. Of course, I tore my home and office apart and found my dossier within hours of calling her, but a copy arrived as promised the next a.m. It wasn't until later that I could sheepishly laugh and chalk it all up to "new parent jitters". I would definitely use them again. They still send my daughter cards on her birthday and I share photos back with them. I thought they were wonderful!!
I do not recommend FTIA
I had a good experience with the staff, but a bad experience with the owner. We were with a smaller agency that was taken over by FTIA in the middle of our adoption. We went to a meeting where FTIA promised they would honor our contract in full -- promised in front of a large group of people. Well, the case workers and every day staff at FTIA were wonderful, and we got our child home. But guess what? Now they're trying to charge us more money and are NOT honoring the contract we signed with the agency they took over. VERY UNETHICAL! I emphasize, the staff was wonderful, but I don't feel like this situation was handled ethically and we're not using FTIA again.
FTIA
We used fTIA for our adoption and loved them the first time around. The second time around there was a new staff in place and we do not feel their service was to the same standard as the first time. They lost some key players and we also do not think we have had upfront and honest information this time around. I do think they are no worse than any other agency and all around they are still good but there is definately a difference in service this time.
FTIA is wonderful!
We used FTIA for both of our Chinese adoption. They were super- one of the only agencies who has an office in China and in China staff. That means a lot which I didn't realize until speaking with friends who used agencies that didn't have this.
FTIA is upfront with all costs and does try to keep travel expenses down.
FTIA arranges all travel through a travel agency which kept the stress down of trying to find flights, etc. once we knew we were going. This may not appeal to everyone, but we really appreciated this!!
I would recommend this agency
My husband and I used this agency for both of our adoptions from Guatemala. They were always upfront and honest about what was going on with our cases. They had good communication with the staff and attorney in Guatemala and were very helpful during our pick-up trips. Our son was home at 5 months and our daughter was home at 7 months - well within the time-frames that we were told. They provided great support regarding our travel and also provided us with good information about what to do when we returned home. I would (and have) recommended them to anyone considering adoption.
I do recommend this agency
I do recommend this agency to all my friends. We adopted 2 children from China through the waiting child program. Their fees are the least expensive for the WCP of any agency. All the expenses were explained upfront. Their travel was cheaper than with other agencies as well. They never treated me like I was a pest for asking questions. I would use them again in a heartbeat!
We adopted during the Hague
We adopted during the Hague shut down of 2003. The agency had more information and insight than anybody at the time and did a great job of encouraging us during a difficult time for Guatemalan adoptions.