Disappointed in agency
I have had some pretty negative experiences with our agency. Strangely enough, I seem to be the only person on the planet who has, so what does that tell you? :)
When we completed our home study, we were also interested in possibly pursuing a referral with another agency. At that time Dillon told us we could not use their home study unless it was with them. After making a few calls, I learned that this is not legal and we can use our home study as wallpaper in a public restroom if we see fit. So, that stuck in my head but, giving them the benefit of the doubt, I figured they had their reasons. It did not turn out to be an issue to press at the time anyway. Since we were already financially involved with them, we decided to proceed. In retrospect, this should have been my cue to run as fast as I could to another agency.
The saga continues. Recently we found out about a baby in Guatemala who has some correctable special needs. We are not ready to accept him right now as there is a lot of soul searching and doctor's consults to make. Anyway, if we decide to proceed we need a one page addendum to our home study saying we are approved for Guatemala so we can get our I-171H processed for Guatemala instead of India. Operative phrase being ONE PAGE.
After discussing it with the agency he is with, they told me they would generally just do a "find and replace" function in Word, changing "India" to "Guatemala". The social worker at the Guatemalan baby's agency thought that an agency with such a sterling reputation as Dillon certainly would not mind doing this. After all, it is to help a special needs baby in the third world who needs to get medical care in the States. Sounds logical, right?
I email Dillon and they say "oh, congratulations on your adoption journey, have a blessed day.... oh, by the way that will cost you $900 to get an update". We are talking one page or a "find and replace", we do not need an update as our home study is current. So, all I could do was clarify they fully understood what we needed.
I decided to do a little investigating and see if this $900 fee for an update, which we do not even need, was the norm. I called a major agency by our house and explained my predicament. After expressing horror, the social worker told me they would be happy to do it for $500 and, keep in mind, they do not have the advantage of being the ones who did the initial study.
I have honestly been nothing but positive with these people. My husband has asked me if I have written to them about how wrong this is, blah blah. In my mind, if you cannot see this is wrong there is no email from someone who is no longer a customer to make you see it.
It gets better. All of the agency's families subscribe to a forum where we are supposed to discuss our feelings, etc. I get an email last Saturday that I have been unsubscribed because I have accepted a referral with another agency. I never said I accepted a referral, simply that we were considering one.
Through all this, I remember speaking with a woman who had adopted multiple times with different agencies. She is a true Christian in that, unlike the rest of us hypocrites, she actually lives as Christ did. Anyway, when I asked her about Dillon all she said was that they were the only agency she knew of who makes money off the home study, then she promptly changed the subject and talked about how wonderful Minnesta Children's Home and Family Serivices is in their efforts to find homes for kids. This was nice lady speak for "run as fast as you can".
I kept coming back to the one person I knew personally who had adopted from India and there was comfort going wtih the same agency.
Another issue I am uncomfortable with is the seemingly contradictory information I have received about the orphange with whom our agency works. The orphanage director is quoted as saying they cannot take anymore babies until they find homes for the special needs kids. I think the reaction they got from the waiting families must have been pretty intense because then the story changed and we only had four months tacked on to our time frame.
Essentially, their orphanage has turned in to a home for children with severe and profound disabilities. These are not kids with correctable special needs. Since this is historically unprecedented in their work with this orphaange, I do not understand how they can then turn around and give us a time frame.
Amidst all of this, everything is going wrong with our dossier compilation. I really do not feel like I can proceed with our agency short of having them ask for our forgiveness. I guess I will compile a letter to them listing all of these issues. At this point, it just seems tiring and pointless. I am so disappointed in their behavior that I wonder what kind of good it will do, but I am reminded that it is a large organization so maybe a letter to the director would not hurt. We have very little to lose.
When we completed our home study, we were also interested in possibly pursuing a referral with another agency. At that time Dillon told us we could not use their home study unless it was with them. After making a few calls, I learned that this is not legal and we can use our home study as wallpaper in a public restroom if we see fit. So, that stuck in my head but, giving them the benefit of the doubt, I figured they had their reasons. It did not turn out to be an issue to press at the time anyway. Since we were already financially involved with them, we decided to proceed. In retrospect, this should have been my cue to run as fast as I could to another agency.
The saga continues. Recently we found out about a baby in Guatemala who has some correctable special needs. We are not ready to accept him right now as there is a lot of soul searching and doctor's consults to make. Anyway, if we decide to proceed we need a one page addendum to our home study saying we are approved for Guatemala so we can get our I-171H processed for Guatemala instead of India. Operative phrase being ONE PAGE.
After discussing it with the agency he is with, they told me they would generally just do a "find and replace" function in Word, changing "India" to "Guatemala". The social worker at the Guatemalan baby's agency thought that an agency with such a sterling reputation as Dillon certainly would not mind doing this. After all, it is to help a special needs baby in the third world who needs to get medical care in the States. Sounds logical, right?
I email Dillon and they say "oh, congratulations on your adoption journey, have a blessed day.... oh, by the way that will cost you $900 to get an update". We are talking one page or a "find and replace", we do not need an update as our home study is current. So, all I could do was clarify they fully understood what we needed.
I decided to do a little investigating and see if this $900 fee for an update, which we do not even need, was the norm. I called a major agency by our house and explained my predicament. After expressing horror, the social worker told me they would be happy to do it for $500 and, keep in mind, they do not have the advantage of being the ones who did the initial study.
I have honestly been nothing but positive with these people. My husband has asked me if I have written to them about how wrong this is, blah blah. In my mind, if you cannot see this is wrong there is no email from someone who is no longer a customer to make you see it.
It gets better. All of the agency's families subscribe to a forum where we are supposed to discuss our feelings, etc. I get an email last Saturday that I have been unsubscribed because I have accepted a referral with another agency. I never said I accepted a referral, simply that we were considering one.
Through all this, I remember speaking with a woman who had adopted multiple times with different agencies. She is a true Christian in that, unlike the rest of us hypocrites, she actually lives as Christ did. Anyway, when I asked her about Dillon all she said was that they were the only agency she knew of who makes money off the home study, then she promptly changed the subject and talked about how wonderful Minnesta Children's Home and Family Serivices is in their efforts to find homes for kids. This was nice lady speak for "run as fast as you can".
I kept coming back to the one person I knew personally who had adopted from India and there was comfort going wtih the same agency.
Another issue I am uncomfortable with is the seemingly contradictory information I have received about the orphange with whom our agency works. The orphanage director is quoted as saying they cannot take anymore babies until they find homes for the special needs kids. I think the reaction they got from the waiting families must have been pretty intense because then the story changed and we only had four months tacked on to our time frame.
Essentially, their orphanage has turned in to a home for children with severe and profound disabilities. These are not kids with correctable special needs. Since this is historically unprecedented in their work with this orphaange, I do not understand how they can then turn around and give us a time frame.
Amidst all of this, everything is going wrong with our dossier compilation. I really do not feel like I can proceed with our agency short of having them ask for our forgiveness. I guess I will compile a letter to them listing all of these issues. At this point, it just seems tiring and pointless. I am so disappointed in their behavior that I wonder what kind of good it will do, but I am reminded that it is a large organization so maybe a letter to the director would not hurt. We have very little to lose.
posted by Mom to brown eyed kids | 8:06 AM
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