Has Anyone Used Adoptions Together?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used Adoptions Together to form our family. During our experience with them they were helpful, responsive, ethical, thorough, and able to guide us through the process. This was over 10 years ago, so things may have changed. But we've also had various follow-up interactions with them over the years which were all also positive and helpful.

OP is interested in their program to adopt from foster care. Did you do this or adopt an infant? The programs are so different (not just at AT but at Barker and other places) that knowing about one is not too helpful for learning about the other.

You are far better off fostering-adopting through the county.

Says who? Adoption and how one goes about it is a personal choice not to be decided by a stranger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One real problem with all agencies is age. They want you to be YOUNG and most DC professionals try infertility first then some years go by and you are not young.

This inaccurate and damaging info PP. How dare you say this.

I both worked for the Barker foundation (conducting home studies) and am a mom by adoption (we did a private adoption via a private adoption attorney) and I was 45 years old when I adopted my infant son. There were no such intrusive questions or suggestions 16 years ago. So I know this isn’t happening today. This would be unethical and unprofessional. Just stop it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One real problem with all agencies is age. They want you to be YOUNG and most DC professionals try infertility first then some years go by and you are not young.

This inaccurate and damaging info PP. How dare you say this.

I both worked for the Barker foundation (conducting home studies) and am a mom by adoption (we did a private adoption via a private adoption attorney) and I was 45 years old when I adopted my infant son. There were no such intrusive questions or suggestions 16 years ago. So I know this isn’t happening today. This would be unethical and unprofessional. Just stop it.

PP. I never tried infertility treatments or IVF and this question was never posed to me by the social worker who conducted my home study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This agency discriminates and I would not recommend. We used them several years ago for our homestudy and felt we were discriminated against. My husband and I are two attorneys in Washington DC but we had school debt and had not acquired a lot of equity yet. Adoptions Together told us they could not support our homestudy until we had more money. We had a great financial support network, not to mention promising future financial security, but promised donations were not sufficient for Adoptions Together (now Pathways for Families). At the same time we were adopting, our friends who happen to be a homosexual couple and in the exact same financial status as we were, were fast tracked with Adoptions Together and told the agency would work with them on their finances.

Adoption is not about finding infants for willing adults but about finding parents for children who do not have a family. Its purpose is not to remove a family but to provide one when there is none.
The agency most likely had some reasons to turn you down.

The cost of the adoption and cost of raising a child is only one factor.

Absolutely this. I don’t know adoptions together (worked for Barker) and I can’t imagine anyone is being asked for financial records and two attorneys with student debt would not be denied because of this only.

I conducted home studies and the only home study I can recall being concerned about what a couple who had obvious marital discord.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This agency discriminates and I would not recommend. We used them several years ago for our homestudy and felt we were discriminated against. My husband and I are two attorneys in Washington DC but we had school debt and had not acquired a lot of equity yet. Adoptions Together told us they could not support our homestudy until we had more money. We had a great financial support network, not to mention promising future financial security, but promised donations were not sufficient for Adoptions Together (now Pathways for Families). At the same time we were adopting, our friends who happen to be a homosexual couple and in the exact same financial status as we were, were fast tracked with Adoptions Together and told the agency would work with them on their finances.

Adoption is not about finding infants for willing adults but about finding parents for children who do not have a family. Its purpose is not to remove a family but to provide one when there is none.
The agency most likely had some reasons to turn you down.

The cost of the adoption and cost of raising a child is only one factor.

Absolutely this. I don’t know adoptions together (worked for Barker) and I can’t imagine anyone is being asked for financial records and two attorneys with student debt would not be denied because of this only.

I conducted home studies and the only home study I can recall being concerned about what a couple who had obvious marital discord.

We had a terrible experience with barker. I could see them doing that as they don’t have the placements and take too many families then push them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One real problem with all agencies is age. They want you to be YOUNG and most DC professionals try infertility first then some years go by and you are not young.

This inaccurate and damaging info PP. How dare you say this.

I both worked for the Barker foundation (conducting home studies) and am a mom by adoption (we did a private adoption via a private adoption attorney) and I was 45 years old when I adopted my infant son. There were no such intrusive questions or suggestions 16 years ago. So I know this isn’t happening today. This would be unethical and unprofessional. Just stop it.

At Barker we were asked a lot of intrusive questions and told we had to morn the loss of not having biological children which was bizzare as we hadn’t tried for other reasons. Our home study worker was really bad. These things are absolutely true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This agency discriminates and I would not recommend. We used them several years ago for our homestudy and felt we were discriminated against. My husband and I are two attorneys in Washington DC but we had school debt and had not acquired a lot of equity yet. Adoptions Together told us they could not support our homestudy until we had more money. We had a great financial support network, not to mention promising future financial security, but promised donations were not sufficient for Adoptions Together (now Pathways for Families). At the same time we were adopting, our friends who happen to be a homosexual couple and in the exact same financial status as we were, were fast tracked with Adoptions Together and told the agency would work with them on their finances.

Maybe they thought if you are both attorneys working long hours, you wouldn’t have much time for a child or children.
There are other couples out there with more time to spend with a family.

If you had tremendous debt, and/or were not living within your means, it is possible that they could not (in good conscience) recommend you as parents who were ready to raise a child.

There are objective criteria. They cannot endorse you based upon your potential earnings. You should have anticipated that. Did you not understand what a homestudy was?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This agency discriminates and I would not recommend. We used them several years ago for our homestudy and felt we were discriminated against. My husband and I are two attorneys in Washington DC but we had school debt and had not acquired a lot of equity yet. Adoptions Together told us they could not support our homestudy until we had more money. We had a great financial support network, not to mention promising future financial security, but promised donations were not sufficient for Adoptions Together (now Pathways for Families). At the same time we were adopting, our friends who happen to be a homosexual couple and in the exact same financial status as we were, were fast tracked with Adoptions Together and told the agency would work with them on their finances.

Maybe they thought if you are both attorneys working long hours, you wouldn’t have much time for a child or children.
There are other couples out there with more time to spend with a family.

If you had tremendous debt, and/or were not living within your means, it is possible that they could not (in good conscience) recommend you as parents who were ready to raise a child.

There are objective criteria. They cannot endorse you based upon your potential earnings. You should have anticipated that. Did you not understand what a homestudy was?

It did not sound like unreasonable debt if it was school. Many people have student debt.

[Anonymous]

Used them around 2012. They were swamped at the time due to a wave of international adoptions. The got the job done with minimal, minor hiccups.

[Anonymous]

I use their post adoptions services. They have been wonderful.

I think they changed their name to Paths for Families.
https://pathsforfamilies.org/about/our-history/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This agency discriminates and I would not recommend. We used them several years ago for our homestudy and felt we were discriminated against. My husband and I are two attorneys in Washington DC but we had school debt and had not acquired a lot of equity yet. Adoptions Together told us they could not support our homestudy until we had more money. We had a great financial support network, not to mention promising future financial security, but promised donations were not sufficient for Adoptions Together (now Pathways for Families). At the same time we were adopting, our friends who happen to be a homosexual couple and in the exact same financial status as we were, were fast tracked with Adoptions Together and told the agency would work with them on their finances.

Maybe they thought if you are both attorneys working long hours, you wouldn’t have much time for a child or children.
There are other couples out there with more time to spend with a family.

If you had tremendous debt, and/or were not living within your means, it is possible that they could not (in good conscience) recommend you as parents who were ready to raise a child.

There are objective criteria. They cannot endorse you based upon your potential earnings. You should have anticipated that. Did you not understand what a homestudy was?

It did not sound like unreasonable debt if it was school. Many people have student debt.

A child is supposed to be placed in a better home