After filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, here are the correspondence's between myself and the agency....
Nature of Complaint:
| Contract Issues - A failure to honor a contract or agreement |
Problem:
| After meeting with birthmother and before signing the contract,we asked the social worker if the birthmother would recieve post partum counseling. We were assured she would recieve that couseling. It says in the contract ...."Birthparent counseling AFTER placement to resolve loss and grief will continue for an estimated 5 hours. If additional counseling over 5 hours to the birthparent(s) is required, the agency will ask the adoptive family to pay for these services" we proceeded with the adoption and paid $3000.00 deposit and signed the contract. Again, at the hospital after the baby was born I asked the same social worker again "Will she be getting the counseling because she seems like she is going to really need it?. The repy was yes. I asked will YOU be giving her that counseling? The reply again was Yes. Needless to say, the birthmother did not recieve that promised counseling. The adoption did fail after having the baby home for almost 6 weeks. Also, about a On December 30 2012 we recived a bill for $583.05 described as "Special services" phone calls, court time, hospital visit charged @ 100.00 hr, travel time charged @ 50.00 hr and milage @ .555 cets per mile. However in the contract it says.."Travel time, milage, hospital visits and court time are additional and will be billed after the termination of parental rights has been has been competed." The parental rights was never completed. I did pay the bill after recieving another statement stating it was "past due" I had also requested our reciepts that we NEVER recieved, and got an email back saying that until we paid that bill they would not send us the receipts. That was 1.25.12 ....we still have not recieved the receipts. Other than that we were provided with generally less than profesional service from this social worker/agency. We were told by another social worker with the they had other complaints on this same social worker we were working with. |
Desired Outcome
Desired Settlement:
| Apology |
Desired Outcome:
| Since we would absolutely NOT have proceeded with this adoption, if we would have known that the birthmother would not be receiving post partum counseling. I would like an a written apology for being lied to, and for not honoring the contract. I would also like the value of the five hours of counseling returned (the cost was included in the 3000.00 deposit) I would also like the 583.05 back since according to the contract I should not have been billed for that in the first place. Most importantly, I would like them to make thier contract more clear and transparent |
MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAfter reviewing Mr.xxxxx statement of the problem, xxxx Adoption xxxxagency. has the following response:
In regard to lack of post-partum counseling received by the birth mother, post-partum counseling was offered on numerous occasions and was declined by the birth mother. One of the major tenets of social work and adoption counseling is not to force any type of service on a client. Services were repeatedly offered and the social worker stated to the birth mother that counseling would be in her best interest, however she continued to decline these services. As with many individuals of this birth mother's generation, she preferred to communicate via text. Attempts to meet with her in person or talk to her via phone were rejected. The only mode of communication that she would respond to was via text, which limited the social worker's ability to provide any sort of counseling to this individual.
Mr. xxxx also takes issue with the bill for "Special Services". Special services are comprised of phone calls, hospital visits, travel time, mileage, etc. While the contract does say special services will be billed after the Termination of Parental Rights is completed, if the adoption placement fails, there is no termination of parental rights. It does not mean that the services were not rendered and are not the responsibility of the potential adoptive family. When an adoption fails, it a devastating experience for all concerned. Adoptive families often feel the need to blame someone for the failure of the adoption. Their anger is often directed at agency personnel. It is also common that fees paid become an issue.
Mr.xxxxx also refers to "receipts" that he never received. The receipts that he is referring to is actually a Fees Paid Statement. The agency does not issue a fees paid statement until fees are paid. Mr. xxxxx paid his bill in full on 2/1/12 and a fees paid statement was mailed out to him on 2/8/12. Fees Paid Statements are generated on a weekly basis.
Mr. xxxxx desired settlement is have money refunded from his initial $3000 deposit. In the Agency Infant Adoption Contract which Mr.xxxx signed on xxxxx, 2011, it clearly states the first deposit of $3000 is non-refundable and non-transferable. In this same contract, under Birth parent Counseling Services, it states the "agency provides counseling services to birth parent(s) AS REQUESTED BY THEM and required by law. This service is free to all birth parents considering adoption and funded by adoptive parent fees. and the cost of $3000 we incur for this is used for the entire program to all birth parents as well as the cost of advertising, answering phone calls, etc. This fee will be paid when we are selected and it IS NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-TRANSFERABLE." Therefore, due to the language of the contract, no part of the $3000 deposit is refundable. In regard to the $583.05 Mr. Giese paid for Special Services, due to the failure of the adoption, there was no termination of parental rights. Perhaps one could compare this to sending your child to Marquette University and your child does not graduate, you do not get a refund for the tuition.
Again, we are very sorry that this adoption plan failed. We grieve along with our families. We wish Mr.xxxxx and his partner the best in their journey of fostering to adopt.
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID xxxxx, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I am not angry the adoption failed as I understand that there is always that risk. However, when I directly asked the social worker if the birthmother would recieve post partum counseling, the reply then should have been..."If we can get the birthmother to agree to that part of the counseling process." not "yes". Furthermore, it does say the birthmother will reciece up to five hours of post partum counseling in the cotract. Just as I was directed by the agency and its contract to not discuss the terms of my conract with them, how would I know what kind of contract/terms they have in place with the birthmother?.
As for the "Speacial Services" perhaps the agency should consider having their representing attorney make that portion of their contract a little more transparent and while they are at it, consider wording their "Birthparent Counseling" paragragh a little clearer also. Perhaps then they wouldnt have to argue who's interpretation of thier contract is correct.
As for the comparison of a child going to college, not graduating, and a parent expecting thier money back.....hmmm...Well if the parent had paid for classes but the child was not offered those classes and in return the child couldnt finish her/his program. Then yes I think the right thing for the college to do would have been to give back the money for the classes not provided. Although I dont think that comparrison by the agency is relevant to this complaint and only further showcases their lack of accountibility and unwillingness to offer making changes to thier contract. (as requested in the original complaint)
Please know that we understand a birthmother can change her mind at anytime, and we truly repect that right. I hold birthparents in the highest regard and would never want them to regret their decision. An agencey nor good intetioned adoptive family can control if a change of heart happens. However, if promises have been made verbal or cotractual, they should be honored or at minimal each party could give a little. Not just one party.Regards,
MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS:
Agency social workers, as well as the Assistant Director has had conversations with Mr.xxxx on numerous occasions in regard to his conerns. We will have the contracts reviewed by an adoption attorney who originally authored many of the agency contracts for his review in regards to Mr. xxxxx complaints. There will be no further response from us in regards to these complaints.Better
Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID xxxxx, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
As I appreciate the agency having their contract reviewed by an adoption attorney, I need to know that changes are made. The language in the the contract is extremely misleading and in at least two areas the agency completey did opposite of what the contract states. Without a written apology and proof that the contract has been changed (to protect future clients of Community Adoption Agency) I cannot accept thier response. I would also like to note that the agency in there last response to this complaint, noted they recieved full payment for services from me on 2/1/12 & sent my reciepts/statement of services out on 2/8/12, as of today (2/13/12) I still havent recieved them. That leads me to believe they havent been truthful with that as their agency is in the same town as I reside. They also chose not to accept any responsibility in regards to the lack of professional services I recieved from the social worker on this case, considering I was told (by agency staff) there were other complaints on this particular social worker. I still feel that the agency has not taken any of my complaints seriously and feel they are angered that their contract/protocol/integrity has been challenged. I sincerley hope they make the appropriate changes to their business practices as the adoption process is a delicate, life changing, exciting, and unpredictable journey (for both prospective adotive families and the loving birthparents looking for a forever home for their baby).Regards,
to this client's continued complaint, the agency would be happy to forward the revised contract when it has been completely reviewed and suggested changes have been sent to us by the agency's attorney. In regards to the fees paid statement which was mailed to the client on 2/8/12, the client states that as of 2/13/12 he had not received such statement. I have verified that the statement was mailed out on 2/8/12, however on today's date, 2/16/12, the agency will send an additional fees paid statement via certified mail. While the agency has experienced complaints in the over 25 years we have been in business, they have been very few and far between. The agency takes all complaints seriously, including Mr.xxxx and works exceptionally hard to meet the needs of both birth parents and adoptive families.
Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID xxxxx, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I am still disappointed that I have not recieved an apology from xxxxxx Adoption Agency in regards to have been told verbally and per the contract I signed misleading/untrue information. I am accepting this response with the hope that in the future they are more honest, and do not offer thier clients misleading contracts or contracts they do not honor (whether or not it's in the agencys favor).
Thanks for your support!!! Getting this message out to others is so important, I know together we are going to make a diffrence in adoption.
Delete