Review by themole submitted on November, 21, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Adoption Details:
Child's Age: 0y 0m
Start Date: Jan 2000
Status: Withdrew voluntarily
Type: Open, International
Special Needs: No
Child from Jamaica, Alabama, United States
Pros: WARNING****
MY FRIEND WORKS THERE AND HAS TO LIE TO FAMILIES WHO THINK THEY WILL BE ADOPTING FROM JAMAICA. SHE KNOWS THIS PROGRAM IS NOT LEGITIMATE AND WANTS TO WARN OTHERS TO STAY AWAY FROM TRYING TO ADOPT FROM JAMAICA.
WARNING****
Cons: THEY ARE UETHICAL, LIE AND TELL THEIR STAFF TO LIE.
Reviews: DON'T GO NEAR THEM.
Review by eleanor submitted on September, 23, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Adoption Details:
Child's Age: 1y 3m
Start Date: Jul 2005
Status: Finalized
Completion Date: Sep 2006
Time Until Placement: 14 months
Type: Semi-Open, International
Special Needs: Yes
Child from Guatemala City, Guatemala
Pros: Adopted the most beautiful child there ever was, in spite of agency's incompetence. That's it.
Cons: Director is rude, unprofessional, verbally abusive, deceitful. Lied to us on numerous occasions about attempts she said she made to communicate with international facilitators. Continued to work with and blindly defend unethical facilitators. Failed to act to protect our family when we were threatened by a facilitator during our time in Guatemala. We had to hire Adoption Associates to complete our adoption; we discovered through them that what the agency director had informed us was a "review" of facilitator files was in fact a full-blown intensive investigation of our facilitators because of allegations of birth parent coercion. The director failed to follow up on emergency medical reports in a timely manner and shamed us when we attempted to find out whether our son's physician had determined that emergency surgery was necessary; it was two days of some of the most frightening and agonizing time in our lives.
I am aware of children who have been permanently brain-damaged in the care of unethical, unreliable, dangerous facilitators who intentionally and consistently chose money over children's welfare. The agency director continually worked with and defended these facilitators, even after children's lives were permanently altered by their negligence. Stay away from this agency.
Reviews: When the adoption runs smoothly, people do not see how unhealthy and unprofessional the agency director is. I advised friends who had adopted through them twice to find a different agency; they proceeded with their third adoption with them anyway, citing prior positive experiences. Their third adoption was a disaster and they followed up with me to tell me that they had experienced exactly the deceit, verbal abuse, and failed advocacy that we and many others had experienced and told them of, in spite of their prior relationship and positive experiences in the first two adoptions. They wound up having to withdraw from the adoption and complete their third adoption through another agency anyway. I can not stress enough how important it is to choose an agency run by balanced, ethical, professional people; Hands Across the Water is not it.
Review by MommyZ submitted on July, 17, 2009 at 06:49 PM
Adoption Details:
Child's Age: 0y 0m
Start Date: Nov 2008
Status: Withdrew voluntarily
Type: Closed, International
Special Needs: No
Child from Jamaica
Pros: Home Study social worker was the only competent person from this agency.
Cons: Stay far, far, far away from this agency. They are deceitful, unethical and just not good people. Do not attempt to adopt from any of their pilot programs because they are 100% incompetent and will lie to you throughout. The worst experience of what was supposed to be a beautiful experience. They will be out of business soon.
Reviews: Do your research and go with a more experienced Christian agency.
