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Gladney Center for Adoption
(15 votes)
Gladney Center for Adoption
Phone: 1 252-756-6064Address:
217 Commerce Street
Greenville, NC 27858
21 user reviews
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Reviews
Gladney
Are there families who currently (2010) use Gladney? Could you share your experience?
Adopted from Gladney in 2010
We went to orientation in March, finished our paperwork in May, were matched with a BM in June, and our baby girl was born in July. Gladney was really good at keeping us in the loop, and the whole process was remarkably fast for us. We met the BM the day before the baby was born, and we were present for her birth. In fact, we were the people she saw when she first opened her eyes. And Gladney had a caseworker there with us the entire time. I can't say enough about Gladney.
As far as the follow-ups with the BM, we opted for a semi-open adoption, so we don't have any direct contact with the BM anymore. We had an "entrustment ceremony" after the baby was born which gave her the opportunity to say goodbye to the baby and we all got closure, and then we all left with the understanding that that was the last time we would speak directly. After that, we have been sending photos and letters directly to Gladney and they forward them on the the BM at the intervals that we agreed to. Meeting with the BM was a little stressful, but in the end it gave her the confidence that we were going to take care of her baby, and it gave us a memory and pictures that we can share with our daughter one day when she inevitably wants to know more about her birth mom.
My husband and I adopted our
My husband and I adopted our baby in November of 08, but since have had continued contact with our BM. We still correspond through the email account Gladney had set up for us. She did email us about wanting to get together again - not something we had talked about or agreed upon in the process. So, I called our case worker, whom, I had not spoken with in several months. She knew exactly who we were and quickly contacted the Post Adoption staff for us in Texas. In a matter of hours, I had a contact person at Gladney to speak with. I learned that our BM's case worker is no longer at Gladney. The case worker in post adoption listened to how we felt, made suggestions on how to proceed and handle the situation (as did our case worker). Now, our BM has someone specific to contact in Gladney to set up a time to meet. We felt more comfortable meeting in TX either at Gladney or in Ft. Worth and Gladney will have a case worker with us at the meeting to help facilitate things - this level of support is exactly why my husband and I chose Gladney. Any questions I have had since placement have been quickly answered and addressed and I continue to find our caseworker a great source of support. So no, we are not still approved and waiting, we are a forever family, but it was well worth every $ we spent.
I would appreciate if you
I would appreciate if you could share how your meeting with BM will go. Although I understand it may be something very private you might not be willing to share. Communication with BM after placement is the most sensitive thing for me so I'm trying to learn as much as possible how other people handle it.
BM Meeting
I just posted a new update about our upcoming visit with our BM. We will be flying out to Gladney in January to meet with her - I'll post to let you know how it turns out and would be glad to answer any questions for you.
We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful BM - I think she just wants to reaffirm that her baby - toddler - is doing wonderful. After this point, there will be no face to face contact until our son is old enough to process/make his own decisions. I'm not sure that she will want continued contact either.