[Tinkrbel]

Hi!!!
We had a very long drawn out emotional process the first go-round and are trying to avoid that by choosing a good agency / facilitator.

Two of the agencies we have contacted have been unwilling to share any information about the Guatemalan contacts. Is this a red flag, or should I believe when they tell me this is the norm for all agencies????

Any input would be great!
Thanks
Stacey
Anna's Mom

[Mom4Nicholas]

My agency is hush hush about everything and they are terrible. I dont know if this is a red flag, but I have heard of some great agencies. I am collecting agency info for my next adoption. PM if you would like the recommendations and time lines.

[jlinberger]

Just out of curiousity, could you both PM me and tell me what agencies you are referring to? My agency has been very hush hush, too and I see other people knowing so much and have wondered why the discrepancy. Thanks. Just curious if I share the same agency.

[carterj6]

That would be a red flag to me. I have a wonderful agency who is always more than willing to share most anything about their contacts in Guatemala. Pm me if you want and I will tell you the name of my agency and all about it.

[sharon2322]

Yes, I would agree that this is a red flag. We worked with a wonderful agency that freely shared information about Guatemalan contacts, etc. I would be leary or any secrecy on the part of an agency.

[2bASingleMom]

My agency not only shared the info, but they let you choose which you'd prefer to work with based on their style.

I'm just starting the waiting process, but I'm happy to share my agency info if you'd like to PM me.

[csw]

Hi
I PM'd you also...just wanted to tell the newbies that you need to feel totally confident in your agency and if there is something your gut instinct is telling you is not right..stay away and find someone else.. and...get tons of references, check with the BBB etc..and..ask us folks who have been through this and we will be happy to answer any questions..good luck!

[Devora]

I'm not sure exacty what kind of contact information you're referring to, but if you mean who the attorneys are, how they work, current and clear communication regarding what actions have been taken on your case, current rate of referrals, temporary increases or decreases in referrals....then our agency is open with that information and I would not work with any agency that wasn't.

I understand when agencies want to minimize direct communication with the attorneys -- just because the attorneys need to be free to do their work and not be constantly answering emails and phone calls from us. But as long as there is a clear way of getting information and my agency gets it to me quickly and accurately, I'm fine with not communicating with the attorney other than when we are in Guatemala.

Devora

[maggie_va]

I started with one agency and then switched to another.

Both agencies are well known and I received 100% positive feedback on them. In fact, I couldn't find anyone who had a negative thing to say about either. Neither agency would tell me the names of the attorneys they were working with unless I was a client of their agency with a signed contract. They said this was to protect their agencie's relastionship with the attorneys.

(BTW I swtiched agencies bc of a long wait time for referral with the first agency)

Maggie

[Tinkrbel]

Devora,

That was not the case, this particular agency said that it was common for all agencies to with hold the names of the Guatemalan contacts, due to the fact that the contacts “are like gold” and they wouldn’t want them to work with another agency?????
It was all very strange to me; I just wanted to check to make sure the contact was ethical before I decided to pursue an adoption using them.

[kelleymac]

Stacey:

Given your last comment, I would say it's a huge red flag. We were given our attorney's name prior to signing with our agency so we could garner feedback. We were also given both the attorney and facilitator email and phone numbers and were asked to contact first our agency, then our facilitator and the attorney only in an emergency. I thought this was reasonable given the work the attorney had to do.

I would be leery of anyone who refused to give these contact names...if you visit in Guatemala, what would you do in the event of an emergency if you couldn't reach your agency?

I agree with CSW, if something feels wrong, heed that inner warning. You'll deal with these folks for months of your life waiting for the most precious thing on earth: your child.

Kelley

[tinaedmond]

To me, this would be a huge red flag. You should ask yourself why they wouldn't want to share this information with you, what are they hiding. Our agency works with several attorneys and facilitators in Guatemala. They willingly provided the list to me prior to our signing a contract, and I used it in my research. I actually found an attorney I was unwilling to have a relationship with as a result, and our agency was fine not referring us a child who was in the custody of that attorney.

To me, this is like an insurance company not telling you what kind of coverage you're getting in your policy, prior to receiving your money.

Tina