We used AAI for our Guatemala adoption. It seemed like everyone who worked there only worked part-time. We were told that there would always be someone there to cover and answer questions for us but there was not the case. Many emails were sent out after 5:00pm and the person sending them would not be in for the next 4 days. Upon receiving an upsetting email that indicated that our contract was being changed I called and left a message for a particular person to call me back that day. What I did receive was an email telling me that "my schedule does not permit me to answer your phone call today. C will be in on Tuesday (4 days later) and will answer your questions then). We were pressured into believing that we had to pay for "extra fostering fees" because of the Hague agreement situation with Guatemala. Much to our attorney's disappointment, we were not told to bring the extra $2,000 down for pick up and we have refused to pay this extra money which was not part of our original contract.
Overall, I would give them a poor rating on communication. I would also question their ethics in regard to pressuring parents into paying extra fees that are not in the contract. When asked, they refused to give any details or supporting documents as to why we should have to pay this money.
I'm sorry you did not have a good experience adopting from Adoption Associates. Were you (eventually) able to bring home a child/baby? I was recently told that Guatemalan adoptions are in a huge mess and probably will be for the next five years or so. My husband and I seriously considered adopting from Guatemala but ended up adopting domestically instead. (I was diagnosed with breast cancer about six years ago, so I was afraid about being turned down by international judges, who tend to view cancer as a death sentence even though I have a normal life expectancy.) Our original case worker did resign. We were very disappointed because we really liked her. Our new one was fine, though. I have four friends who adopted through Adoption Associates domemstically. (All of us teach in the same school district.) We all had fabulous experiences, but I'm not nearly as familiar with the Guatemalan process. Although our adoption worked out in the end, there were several very stressful times (related to our birthmom/birthparents.) I probably made about a dozen calls or so during the four months we were linked and I always had someone call me from Adoption Associates or at least e-mail me within 24 hours. I'm sorry you did not have a better experience. Do you think this was because of the Hague Treaty amendments/changes, or do you think it was the agency itself?
I think that the problems with our adoption were with the agency. We had problems with errors in our home study. We received very little help when we ran into problems. We did bring our son home in June, but most of what I needed to know I got from other families, boards, etc. I actually knew things before the agency did. Once Guatemala started to slow down "they couldn't afford to have anyone work full-time on that program" - AAI's words.
AAI made it clear from the start of the "extra fostering fees" situation that their loyalties were with the attorney in Guatemala. I even had to deal with the agency and attornies calling me for money on the day of my embassy appointment. A pickup trip is stressfull enough without having your agency tell you that you had to pay more money than you were suppose to. Our adoption was not delayed by any Hauge situation - instead the Hague was used to try and get extra money out of us. Since coming home, we have not heard one word from AAI - shows how much they care. They take your money and that's all they care about. We have received no clue as to what we should do or where we should go to get paperwork done in our state.
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Beware
We used AAI for our Guatemala adoption. It seemed like everyone who worked there only worked part-time. We were told that there would always be someone there to cover and answer questions for us but there was not the case. Many emails were sent out after 5:00pm and the person sending them would not be in for the next 4 days. Upon receiving an upsetting email that indicated that our contract was being changed I called and left a message for a particular person to call me back that day. What I did receive was an email telling me that "my schedule does not permit me to answer your phone call today. C will be in on Tuesday (4 days later) and will answer your questions then). We were pressured into believing that we had to pay for "extra fostering fees" because of the Hague agreement situation with Guatemala. Much to our attorney's disappointment, we were not told to bring the extra $2,000 down for pick up and we have refused to pay this extra money which was not part of our original contract.
Overall, I would give them a poor rating on communication. I would also question their ethics in regard to pressuring parents into paying extra fees that are not in the contract. When asked, they refused to give any details or supporting documents as to why we should have to pay this money.
stressful Guatemalan adoption
Hi.
I'm sorry you did not have a good experience adopting from Adoption Associates. Were you (eventually) able to bring home a child/baby? I was recently told that Guatemalan adoptions are in a huge mess and probably will be for the next five years or so. My husband and I seriously considered adopting from Guatemala but ended up adopting domestically instead. (I was diagnosed with breast cancer about six years ago, so I was afraid about being turned down by international judges, who tend to view cancer as a death sentence even though I have a normal life expectancy.) Our original case worker did resign. We were very disappointed because we really liked her. Our new one was fine, though. I have four friends who adopted through Adoption Associates domemstically. (All of us teach in the same school district.) We all had fabulous experiences, but I'm not nearly as familiar with the Guatemalan process. Although our adoption worked out in the end, there were several very stressful times (related to our birthmom/birthparents.) I probably made about a dozen calls or so during the four months we were linked and I always had someone call me from Adoption Associates or at least e-mail me within 24 hours. I'm sorry you did not have a better experience. Do you think this was because of the Hague Treaty amendments/changes, or do you think it was the agency itself?
Kimberly
Adoption Associates Inc.
I think that the problems with our adoption were with the agency. We had problems with errors in our home study. We received very little help when we ran into problems. We did bring our son home in June, but most of what I needed to know I got from other families, boards, etc. I actually knew things before the agency did. Once Guatemala started to slow down "they couldn't afford to have anyone work full-time on that program" - AAI's words.
AAI made it clear from the start of the "extra fostering fees" situation that their loyalties were with the attorney in Guatemala. I even had to deal with the agency and attornies calling me for money on the day of my embassy appointment. A pickup trip is stressfull enough without having your agency tell you that you had to pay more money than you were suppose to. Our adoption was not delayed by any Hauge situation - instead the Hague was used to try and get extra money out of us. Since coming home, we have not heard one word from AAI - shows how much they care. They take your money and that's all they care about. We have received no clue as to what we should do or where we should go to get paperwork done in our state.