Our family found our daughter through this agency in 2008. We brought her home within 3 and 1/2 months of contracting with Adoption Access. What an incredible blessing! I am also a birthmom and was concerned about the level of counseling and support provided to the birthmothers. I know that this is a priority at Adoption Access which is one of the reasons we chose them. Since bringing our daughter home, we have enjoyed a warm, wonderful friendship with our daughter's foster family, (privately employed by Adoption Access), as well as the ladies in the office. We reside in Maine and would love to go back to Texas sometime in the future to visit our daughter's birthplace and the wonderful people who helped us find her!! We did four years of research and spent lots of time in prayer over expanding our family this way. To our delight, our prayers were answered when we found Adoption Access. Their professionalism and warmth exceeded our expectations. In addition, we learned that through Adoption Access, our funds would not be at risk should the birthmother decide to parent her child. We had a fabulous experience. This agency is a superlative adoption agency. I reccommend this agency highly!
We recently worked with Anita in the Ghana program. When meeting the child were to adopt he appeared to be several yrs older than we were approved for thru our homestudy. When we questioned Anita on this she turned very ugly towards our family. She lied to us about his age then "kicked us out" of the program. AAI never offered us another referral after we questioned the age of the child. Other families we spoke w/ while in Ghana also said they felt their children had been"aged down" too so they were more adoptable. While visiting an orphanage in Ghana we found a very malnourished child that we took to the doctor. The orphanage refused to take the child to the doctor because there was no money and left the child to fend for herself...she was only three..or so were told. Upon examination the doctor said the child weighed what a one yr old should. We spent our own money caring for this child who was suffering and had been for over 2yrs. The childs body was covered in lesions, has a ruptured naval that required surgery and was dehydrated...all of this "care" from an orphanage. The doctor demanded to know what orphanage the child lived in....were we cautioned before going to the doctor NOT to tell. We were very afraid and just wanted care for this very ill child. The child stayed with us the next several days but upon leaving the country the child was returned to the orphanage where her status is probably very grave. The whole Ghana program has good intentions to place children in American homes but honesty is not there in many areas. Anita makes herself sound like this great person..she herself has all adopted children. But when questioned more than she feels comfortable she becomes very nasty... She also tried to stick us with an additional $4000 in fees from the agency that were for services not rendered @ the time they terminated our relationship. Other families in the program warned us of how she WILL "turn" if pushed to hard for info or if she needs to justify her position. Other families tolerated her outbursts so as not to cause waves and be able to bring their children home as soon as possible.
This all said I would not recommend AAI's Ghana program. They may be good in other countries but lack miserably in Ghana and need a much more honest and caring coordinator.
we had NO problems, the staff were wonderful, the nannies are loving, and the process was smooth. there were no surprises. They provided lots of education to us both individually and on the group. I have talked to over 30 families from IAG that are happy with their adoption and a good number of those have gone through multiple adoptions with IAG. The person writing the review for march 2010 is crazy and did nothing but complain about the whole process and people. The other issue is that her children of note are 1 and 4. Not reliable for telling "stories" on what went on in Ethiopia. Talk about a psycho case, none of us know how she and 2 others EVER passed their home study. What a bunch of nutballs! On a serious note, the agency is caring, cares about the children, and gives to the community surrounding their care center.
We used EAC to adopt all three of our children. Every aspect of our three adoptions was almost perfect, from the adoption process until the time that we arrived home with our 3 beautiful children (1 in 2001 and 2 in 2004). EAC was helpful throughout the whole process. With our first adoption, I called them constantly, probably 3 or 4 times a day, and they never failed to answer any of my questions, no matter how stupid they were. Once I had finished the paperwork, we had the referrals within a month (even after we had rejected a referral). Once we were in Russia, it was like a vacation. We felt very comfortable. They met us at the airport, and we had someone with us every step of the way. We always new what we were supposed to do, and where we were supposed to be. I have a dear friend who adopted using a different agency, and it was a nightmare. It's been several years since we adopted, and our kids are happy, healthy, beautiful, 7,8, & 9 year olds (2 boys and 1 girl).
GWCA is The WORST adoption agency in the country. This agency shold by shut down by U.S. government. We were trick to work with this agency and for every step we felt that this agency just suck in our bloody money and didn't do anything for us. They don't even call you when your CIS paper work expired. They just send out email, a lot of them to confuse you. They change staffs very often and the staffs are not answering your call and NEVER called you back if you left message. They made all kinds of mistakes on your paperwork and didn't even try to help you to correct. At, travel phase, they charge you EXTRA BIT MONEY, such as small group fee for $500 per person. They knew that at this phase you can't change agency and they just try to rob you money. They charge extra money if you visit orphanage, they charge extra fee for the tips for the guide. They charge standard fees for travel. They also trick you to book the tickets and hotel through them since they charge more money from you and pay less in China since they have connections in China so they porket your money. For example, they charged us $105 for hotel per night at our province and we found out that they actually paid Chines hotel half price ($50) per night. So, they rob the half of your money for the hotel. Also, if you check out in the afternoon they wants you to pay half-day extra of the hotel fee and at China, the Chinese hotel will still want you to pay since GW never pay the hotel this half day fee. Actually, you could request the late check out at China and don't need to pay half-day's hotel fee. GW just try to get as much money as possible from you. So, don't even sign up with GW!!!. They are good agency out there I heard from friends. If you are unfortune as us that are in the middle of the process and close to travel phase and can't change agency just don't let them trick you. Here is the tip: (1) Don't let them buy your international ticket (They earn a lot from your air fair, the Delinght is part of this agency or have connection to GW and they share your money). You could buy your own international air fair throught airline or travel agency. (2) DON'T let them buy your intral China air fair, they charge you double that the Chinese airline charged. So, they could rob your half of your air fair money. You could buy Intra China ticket at citrip web site using your passport number and credit card, or you could ask friends in China to buy for you. (3) DON'T let them book the hotel for you. They earn half of your money. They only paid half to Chinese Hotels. You could book the hotel by yourself or ask friend in China to help.
(4) Don't believe what the local guide told you since they are connected with GW. Just to be careful.
The bottom line is don't use GW, they are dishonest, unethical, and they just want to suck as much money as they could from you. Please look at the reviews carefully. The good reviews were written by their staffs and don't trust them. The staffs didn't have any knowledge of adoption process and don't care what you care. At our travel phase, they change another travel advisor who didn't know anything about adoption and travel and made horrible mistakes in your plan. Even, she booked the ticket for us in the wrong city, wrong time, etc.
I wished I never sign up with GW but I was inexperience when I signed up 4 years ago and didn't read the reviews.
So, please be careful when you choose the agency read the reviews. Adoption is a strassful process and with GW it will put your life in nightmare. They are heartless!!! They just want your money and don't care anything about your process!!! There are more reviews in other site, please read them!!!
GW should be shut don't by U.S government and I don't understand why this agency still in business. The adoption process is a long process (4 years) for us and we could not change agency at the end of the process and that' why GW keep suck our money and still in business.
DON'T use GWCA!!!
We adopted our son domestically through another agency and came to ACSD for our second adoption. What a difference! Sarah is compassionate and savvy - both necessary traits for a smooth adoption. She is truly on everybody's side - her love for birthmothers is evident as is her appreciation of adoptive parents. In comparison to our previous experience, ACSD offers far more support and counseling to both birthmothers and adoptive parents. There is a higher level of professionalism as well. I give my highest recommendation to ACSD and Sarah, the adoption facilitator.
This is really heartbreaking. I hope you were able to get intouch with them. If they have any heart, they will re-open the adoption as agreed. When your son gets older, he will find out the truth.
We have been waiting on our Ethiopian adoption for over 2 years but our daughter is still sitting in an orphanage & we are still waiting to bring her home. Every step of the way there have been major issues. We were told to celebrate & get ready to travel then we were told she was not our daughter & that we would most likely lose her. Then again we were told she was ours & we would travel "any day now" that was 3 months ago. We began getting pics of our daughter when she was 3 months she is now 14 months and travel seems very far away.
Their staff has caused us to be continually fearful, they have not walked with us gracefully or provided quality communication or information along the way. They are extremely condescending and always respond by saying that we don't understand the culture. Even though I have traveled there many times and have a sister who lives in Africa.
They refuse to advocate for their clients and do the hard work required to bring children home.
We will adopt again but we will stay very far away from CWA - I suggest you do the same if you want to work with a quality agency. There is a reason there are so many 1 stars here!
After coming to the conclusion from failed attempts that I would be childless, I searched out many options. I was discouraged by all the odds and didn't need another disappointment to my soul. Then I hear about Sarah Jensen at Adoption Center of San Diego. It took one meeting and I knew God sent her to me for help. I was so scared, yet I knew I couldn't go through life without experiencing the love my mother and I shared and not experiencing for myself with my child. Within 30 days, and with 8 hours notice, our birthletter was picked and we had our baby. BEST and most SURREAL experience of my life. We now have half sisters from the same birthmother and I'm so THANKFUL to Sarah and God for our TWO BLESSING...
We had a mixed experience with this agency. We were one of many families we knew who waited a very long time. The agency is rapidly growing, and adding new states and more and more adoptive parents. But it does not seem like there are enough children to keep pace with the growth. At the beginning, we thought the process would take a few months. Most of the others we started with expected the same. For many people, it takes years. The positive is that the staff is very nice and supportive. The negative is that unrealistic timeframes are given to adoptive parents, and people like us become frustrated. We also felt treated as though we were the only ones waiting a really long time, but many of us know one another so it is definately not the case. If you are considering the agency, talk to as many references as possible about the experience and waiting time and make sure they were looking for the same exact types of placements you were (from health to openess to any other criteria). Also, make a decision as to the type of child you are comfortable with and do not let an agency try to alter your criteria since a baby changes things forever.
We had a very wonderful experience with Heart to Heart. We now have a beautiful 3 month old baby boy because of them. We were only with their agency three weeks before we were matched with a BM, and than just a few hours later she went into labor. It all happened very fast and was a wonderful experience. I love how Heart to Heart takes such good care of their birthmom's! We will definitely use Hearth to Heart if we decide to adopt again.
Our Nepal adoption experience ended badly with the closing of the program, but Hope's Promise was very helpful throughout the process. I would recommend them - although Nepal was their only intl program.
We had a bad experience with Aye (Adoption and Beyond) in 2003.
Unfortunately she seemed to be interested in charging unreasonably high fees rather than helping us find a baby.
She charged us $900 for our homestudy.
The only work involved for her, was ONE visit to our home lasting 45 min. She had a homestudy template in MS Word and emailed it to us.
We filled it out, and she then printed it out. Background checks are done by the state and cost less than $15.
To be fair, a lot of agencies are the same way. It seems like human trafficking.
Unfortunately for us, we did not agree with this and have not yet adopted.
My family doctor at Olathe Medical Center also had his home study done by Adoption and Beyond and when we both realized that, he spent 35 min on the phone telling me what an unreasonable experience that was for him, too.
After the Home study, she did not help us at all in finding a birth mother - she wanted us to pay high fees to adopt from them. There was no guidance. That was the part I find embittering.
We do NOT recommend this agency.
(I am being be intentionally vague because I fear Lifetime may take legal action against me if they can determine my identity)
The reason we went with a facilitator, and Lifetime in particular, is because they claim to carefully screen birth mothers and oversee and advise with the adoption process. In my experience they do a very poor job with both.
We were involved with only 2 birth mothers during our 2 year contract. One was a scammer and the other used adoption only as a bargaining chip in order to reconcile with her estranged husband. In both cases, a little internet research on my part provided the clues that exposed their intent. Lifetime had no idea, and told us time and again they "didn't see any red flags" and "things are going unusually well". I showed them what I had found (apparently they don't know how to Google) and they were surprised someone like me could even find such information! But on their advice, and against our own better judgement, we stayed with both birth mothers through their pregnancies. Of course, both "changed their minds". They never had any intention of placing their babies for adoption. That wasn't really much of a surprise to me but was devastating to my spouse. Lifetime provided no help after each reclaim, unless you count being instructed to read a page or two on their website on the subject of reclaims "help".
Lifetime even punishes adoptive parents who perform the due diligence they do not. To break off a match is permitted, but they put a "black mark" in your file and after a certain number of them (we don't know how many - they wouldn't say) they'll terminate your contract, regardless of any evidence you've provided that the birth mother has no intention of following through on her end.
Also, during each match, there were a number of times we asked them questions that they couldn't (or wouldn't) answer. We relied on our local agency to guide us through the complex maze that is an independent adoption. Near the end of one match, I was explaining to them the adoption laws in the birth mother's state.
When waiting to be matched, you have monthly check-ins with one of the coordinators. They do this so you feel involved, but most times the coordinator was surprised and unprepared when we called in at our appointed time.
They also have monthly teleconferences for waiting families. In my opinion they are generally useless, with topics such as "Are you ready to adopt?" (we wouldn't be here if we weren't!), "Hear about our exciting outreach at a pregnancy center" (I don't care how you work, just THAT you work), "8 tips for staying healthy while adopting" (oh, please), "so-and-so's adoption story through Lifetime" (interesting but irrelevant), or my personal favorite "How to cope with POST-adoption depression" (if only I could experience that!). They should take these efforts and put them into doing a better job finding and screening birth mothers or learning about adoption law in other states.
For those of you who are interested in Lifetime but are having a hard time finding information not provided by Lifetime itself, ask yourself why that is. Why is it that most adoption-related forums have a strict policy against discussing for-profit facilitators? Why are there so few reviews available online? Easy - they threaten those sites with legal action.
Our experience with Lifetime was a complete waste of precious time and tens of thousands of dollars. Now we are using another (not-for-profit) agency; the ultimate irony being that we worked with them during one of our matches with Lifetime...
Verified. No initial fees for signing up with their agency. It doesn't sound like you even worked with them. They are a great agency. All of my fees minus what was spent on birth mother (which I was told ahead of time) was rolled over to another situation.
Verified. No initial fees for signing up with their agency. It doesn't sound like you even worked with them. They are a great agency. All of my fees minus what was spent on birth mother (which I was told ahead of time) was rolled over to another situation.
Our family found our daughter through this agency in 2008. We brought her home within 3 and 1/2 months of contracting with Adoption Access. What an incredible blessing! I am also a birthmom and was concerned about the level of counseling and support provided to the birthmothers. I know that this is a priority at Adoption Access which is one of the reasons we chose them. Since bringing our daughter home, we have enjoyed a warm, wonderful friendship with our daughter's foster family, (privately employed by Adoption Access), as well as the ladies in the office. We reside in Maine and would love to go back to Texas sometime in the future to visit our daughter's birthplace and the wonderful people who helped us find her!! We did four years of research and spent lots of time in prayer over expanding our family this way. To our delight, our prayers were answered when we found Adoption Access. Their professionalism and warmth exceeded our expectations. In addition, we learned that through Adoption Access, our funds would not be at risk should the birthmother decide to parent her child. We had a fabulous experience. This agency is a superlative adoption agency. I reccommend this agency highly!
Jim, it's hard to know how you ever got to a point where you were trusted to run an agency...
And if IAG is adopting to "nutballs" and "psycho cases" -- what does that say about the agency?
We recently worked with Anita in the Ghana program. When meeting the child were to adopt he appeared to be several yrs older than we were approved for thru our homestudy. When we questioned Anita on this she turned very ugly towards our family. She lied to us about his age then "kicked us out" of the program. AAI never offered us another referral after we questioned the age of the child. Other families we spoke w/ while in Ghana also said they felt their children had been"aged down" too so they were more adoptable. While visiting an orphanage in Ghana we found a very malnourished child that we took to the doctor. The orphanage refused to take the child to the doctor because there was no money and left the child to fend for herself...she was only three..or so were told. Upon examination the doctor said the child weighed what a one yr old should. We spent our own money caring for this child who was suffering and had been for over 2yrs. The childs body was covered in lesions, has a ruptured naval that required surgery and was dehydrated...all of this "care" from an orphanage. The doctor demanded to know what orphanage the child lived in....were we cautioned before going to the doctor NOT to tell. We were very afraid and just wanted care for this very ill child. The child stayed with us the next several days but upon leaving the country the child was returned to the orphanage where her status is probably very grave. The whole Ghana program has good intentions to place children in American homes but honesty is not there in many areas. Anita makes herself sound like this great person..she herself has all adopted children. But when questioned more than she feels comfortable she becomes very nasty... She also tried to stick us with an additional $4000 in fees from the agency that were for services not rendered @ the time they terminated our relationship. Other families in the program warned us of how she WILL "turn" if pushed to hard for info or if she needs to justify her position. Other families tolerated her outbursts so as not to cause waves and be able to bring their children home as soon as possible.
This all said I would not recommend AAI's Ghana program. They may be good in other countries but lack miserably in Ghana and need a much more honest and caring coordinator.
we had NO problems, the staff were wonderful, the nannies are loving, and the process was smooth. there were no surprises. They provided lots of education to us both individually and on the group. I have talked to over 30 families from IAG that are happy with their adoption and a good number of those have gone through multiple adoptions with IAG. The person writing the review for march 2010 is crazy and did nothing but complain about the whole process and people. The other issue is that her children of note are 1 and 4. Not reliable for telling "stories" on what went on in Ethiopia. Talk about a psycho case, none of us know how she and 2 others EVER passed their home study. What a bunch of nutballs! On a serious note, the agency is caring, cares about the children, and gives to the community surrounding their care center.
We used EAC to adopt all three of our children. Every aspect of our three adoptions was almost perfect, from the adoption process until the time that we arrived home with our 3 beautiful children (1 in 2001 and 2 in 2004). EAC was helpful throughout the whole process. With our first adoption, I called them constantly, probably 3 or 4 times a day, and they never failed to answer any of my questions, no matter how stupid they were. Once I had finished the paperwork, we had the referrals within a month (even after we had rejected a referral). Once we were in Russia, it was like a vacation. We felt very comfortable. They met us at the airport, and we had someone with us every step of the way. We always new what we were supposed to do, and where we were supposed to be. I have a dear friend who adopted using a different agency, and it was a nightmare. It's been several years since we adopted, and our kids are happy, healthy, beautiful, 7,8, & 9 year olds (2 boys and 1 girl).
GWCA is The WORST adoption agency in the country. This agency shold by shut down by U.S. government. We were trick to work with this agency and for every step we felt that this agency just suck in our bloody money and didn't do anything for us. They don't even call you when your CIS paper work expired. They just send out email, a lot of them to confuse you. They change staffs very often and the staffs are not answering your call and NEVER called you back if you left message. They made all kinds of mistakes on your paperwork and didn't even try to help you to correct. At, travel phase, they charge you EXTRA BIT MONEY, such as small group fee for $500 per person. They knew that at this phase you can't change agency and they just try to rob you money. They charge extra money if you visit orphanage, they charge extra fee for the tips for the guide. They charge standard fees for travel. They also trick you to book the tickets and hotel through them since they charge more money from you and pay less in China since they have connections in China so they porket your money. For example, they charged us $105 for hotel per night at our province and we found out that they actually paid Chines hotel half price ($50) per night. So, they rob the half of your money for the hotel. Also, if you check out in the afternoon they wants you to pay half-day extra of the hotel fee and at China, the Chinese hotel will still want you to pay since GW never pay the hotel this half day fee. Actually, you could request the late check out at China and don't need to pay half-day's hotel fee. GW just try to get as much money as possible from you. So, don't even sign up with GW!!!. They are good agency out there I heard from friends. If you are unfortune as us that are in the middle of the process and close to travel phase and can't change agency just don't let them trick you. Here is the tip: (1) Don't let them buy your international ticket (They earn a lot from your air fair, the Delinght is part of this agency or have connection to GW and they share your money). You could buy your own international air fair throught airline or travel agency. (2) DON'T let them buy your intral China air fair, they charge you double that the Chinese airline charged. So, they could rob your half of your air fair money. You could buy Intra China ticket at citrip web site using your passport number and credit card, or you could ask friends in China to buy for you. (3) DON'T let them book the hotel for you. They earn half of your money. They only paid half to Chinese Hotels. You could book the hotel by yourself or ask friend in China to help.
(4) Don't believe what the local guide told you since they are connected with GW. Just to be careful.
The bottom line is don't use GW, they are dishonest, unethical, and they just want to suck as much money as they could from you. Please look at the reviews carefully. The good reviews were written by their staffs and don't trust them. The staffs didn't have any knowledge of adoption process and don't care what you care. At our travel phase, they change another travel advisor who didn't know anything about adoption and travel and made horrible mistakes in your plan. Even, she booked the ticket for us in the wrong city, wrong time, etc.
I wished I never sign up with GW but I was inexperience when I signed up 4 years ago and didn't read the reviews.
So, please be careful when you choose the agency read the reviews. Adoption is a strassful process and with GW it will put your life in nightmare. They are heartless!!! They just want your money and don't care anything about your process!!! There are more reviews in other site, please read them!!!
GW should be shut don't by U.S government and I don't understand why this agency still in business. The adoption process is a long process (4 years) for us and we could not change agency at the end of the process and that' why GW keep suck our money and still in business.
DON'T use GWCA!!!
I meant to post a comment not a review. I sent an email to the moderator to delete this.
We adopted our son domestically through another agency and came to ACSD for our second adoption. What a difference! Sarah is compassionate and savvy - both necessary traits for a smooth adoption. She is truly on everybody's side - her love for birthmothers is evident as is her appreciation of adoptive parents. In comparison to our previous experience, ACSD offers far more support and counseling to both birthmothers and adoptive parents. There is a higher level of professionalism as well. I give my highest recommendation to ACSD and Sarah, the adoption facilitator.
This is really heartbreaking. I hope you were able to get intouch with them. If they have any heart, they will re-open the adoption as agreed. When your son gets older, he will find out the truth.
We have been waiting on our Ethiopian adoption for over 2 years but our daughter is still sitting in an orphanage & we are still waiting to bring her home. Every step of the way there have been major issues. We were told to celebrate & get ready to travel then we were told she was not our daughter & that we would most likely lose her. Then again we were told she was ours & we would travel "any day now" that was 3 months ago. We began getting pics of our daughter when she was 3 months she is now 14 months and travel seems very far away.
Their staff has caused us to be continually fearful, they have not walked with us gracefully or provided quality communication or information along the way. They are extremely condescending and always respond by saying that we don't understand the culture. Even though I have traveled there many times and have a sister who lives in Africa.
They refuse to advocate for their clients and do the hard work required to bring children home.
We will adopt again but we will stay very far away from CWA - I suggest you do the same if you want to work with a quality agency. There is a reason there are so many 1 stars here!
She is the birthmom, I believe you thought she was the adoptive mom.
After coming to the conclusion from failed attempts that I would be childless, I searched out many options. I was discouraged by all the odds and didn't need another disappointment to my soul. Then I hear about Sarah Jensen at Adoption Center of San Diego. It took one meeting and I knew God sent her to me for help. I was so scared, yet I knew I couldn't go through life without experiencing the love my mother and I shared and not experiencing for myself with my child. Within 30 days, and with 8 hours notice, our birthletter was picked and we had our baby. BEST and most SURREAL experience of my life. We now have half sisters from the same birthmother and I'm so THANKFUL to Sarah and God for our TWO BLESSING...
He clearly said that what DeeDee said was absolutely not true. So, why ask "did you or didn't you" when he already gave an answer.
We had a mixed experience with this agency. We were one of many families we knew who waited a very long time. The agency is rapidly growing, and adding new states and more and more adoptive parents. But it does not seem like there are enough children to keep pace with the growth. At the beginning, we thought the process would take a few months. Most of the others we started with expected the same. For many people, it takes years. The positive is that the staff is very nice and supportive. The negative is that unrealistic timeframes are given to adoptive parents, and people like us become frustrated. We also felt treated as though we were the only ones waiting a really long time, but many of us know one another so it is definately not the case. If you are considering the agency, talk to as many references as possible about the experience and waiting time and make sure they were looking for the same exact types of placements you were (from health to openess to any other criteria). Also, make a decision as to the type of child you are comfortable with and do not let an agency try to alter your criteria since a baby changes things forever.
We had a very wonderful experience with Heart to Heart. We now have a beautiful 3 month old baby boy because of them. We were only with their agency three weeks before we were matched with a BM, and than just a few hours later she went into labor. It all happened very fast and was a wonderful experience. I love how Heart to Heart takes such good care of their birthmom's! We will definitely use Hearth to Heart if we decide to adopt again.
Our Nepal adoption experience ended badly with the closing of the program, but Hope's Promise was very helpful throughout the process. I would recommend them - although Nepal was their only intl program.
We had a bad experience with Aye (Adoption and Beyond) in 2003.
Unfortunately she seemed to be interested in charging unreasonably high fees rather than helping us find a baby.
She charged us $900 for our homestudy.
The only work involved for her, was ONE visit to our home lasting 45 min. She had a homestudy template in MS Word and emailed it to us.
We filled it out, and she then printed it out. Background checks are done by the state and cost less than $15.
To be fair, a lot of agencies are the same way. It seems like human trafficking.
Unfortunately for us, we did not agree with this and have not yet adopted.
My family doctor at Olathe Medical Center also had his home study done by Adoption and Beyond and when we both realized that, he spent 35 min on the phone telling me what an unreasonable experience that was for him, too.
After the Home study, she did not help us at all in finding a birth mother - she wanted us to pay high fees to adopt from them. There was no guidance. That was the part I find embittering.
We do NOT recommend this agency.
(I am being be intentionally vague because I fear Lifetime may take legal action against me if they can determine my identity)
The reason we went with a facilitator, and Lifetime in particular, is because they claim to carefully screen birth mothers and oversee and advise with the adoption process. In my experience they do a very poor job with both.
We were involved with only 2 birth mothers during our 2 year contract. One was a scammer and the other used adoption only as a bargaining chip in order to reconcile with her estranged husband. In both cases, a little internet research on my part provided the clues that exposed their intent. Lifetime had no idea, and told us time and again they "didn't see any red flags" and "things are going unusually well". I showed them what I had found (apparently they don't know how to Google) and they were surprised someone like me could even find such information! But on their advice, and against our own better judgement, we stayed with both birth mothers through their pregnancies. Of course, both "changed their minds". They never had any intention of placing their babies for adoption. That wasn't really much of a surprise to me but was devastating to my spouse. Lifetime provided no help after each reclaim, unless you count being instructed to read a page or two on their website on the subject of reclaims "help".
Lifetime even punishes adoptive parents who perform the due diligence they do not. To break off a match is permitted, but they put a "black mark" in your file and after a certain number of them (we don't know how many - they wouldn't say) they'll terminate your contract, regardless of any evidence you've provided that the birth mother has no intention of following through on her end.
Also, during each match, there were a number of times we asked them questions that they couldn't (or wouldn't) answer. We relied on our local agency to guide us through the complex maze that is an independent adoption. Near the end of one match, I was explaining to them the adoption laws in the birth mother's state.
When waiting to be matched, you have monthly check-ins with one of the coordinators. They do this so you feel involved, but most times the coordinator was surprised and unprepared when we called in at our appointed time.
They also have monthly teleconferences for waiting families. In my opinion they are generally useless, with topics such as "Are you ready to adopt?" (we wouldn't be here if we weren't!), "Hear about our exciting outreach at a pregnancy center" (I don't care how you work, just THAT you work), "8 tips for staying healthy while adopting" (oh, please), "so-and-so's adoption story through Lifetime" (interesting but irrelevant), or my personal favorite "How to cope with POST-adoption depression" (if only I could experience that!). They should take these efforts and put them into doing a better job finding and screening birth mothers or learning about adoption law in other states.
For those of you who are interested in Lifetime but are having a hard time finding information not provided by Lifetime itself, ask yourself why that is. Why is it that most adoption-related forums have a strict policy against discussing for-profit facilitators? Why are there so few reviews available online? Easy - they threaten those sites with legal action.
Our experience with Lifetime was a complete waste of precious time and tens of thousands of dollars. Now we are using another (not-for-profit) agency; the ultimate irony being that we worked with them during one of our matches with Lifetime...
Verified. No initial fees for signing up with their agency. It doesn't sound like you even worked with them. They are a great agency. All of my fees minus what was spent on birth mother (which I was told ahead of time) was rolled over to another situation.
Verified. No initial fees for signing up with their agency. It doesn't sound like you even worked with them. They are a great agency. All of my fees minus what was spent on birth mother (which I was told ahead of time) was rolled over to another situation.