[RuthieG]

Hi, I'm new to the board and in search of an agency. I am wondering if anyone has used an agency out of Florida callend IAS or International Adoption Resourses. They say on their web site that you can have your child within 6 months, whereas I know that HAPS can't guarantee anything before 14 months (for a girl). Any input that you can give me on this agency, or any other that doesn't have such a long wait would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[becky]

Welcome to the Board!

I did not use IAS or IAR but know several people who used them. Most families are happy with their level of communication and seem to be happy with the agency in general. As for their timeframes...I would certainly call to verify that information. In order for you to have a child home 6 months from now...you would have to be completely paper-ready and have your INS approval. Then if the agency had an immediate girl referral you very well could have her home within 6 months.

When HAPS quotes 14 months it is because they have such a huge waiting list for little girls. Their children are typically home at a younger age than most agencies (4-5 months on average with some home as young as 3.5 months)...but the catch is that you may wait 6-8 months just to get your referral once your paperwork is done.

So you have to decide which is more important to you personally...waiting for a referral, so that you can bring home a young child (HAPS). Or getting a quick referral and bringing home a child closer to 5-6 months of age.

It's a hard decision....I know...I started out using HAPS, but found I just could not handle the long wait for a referral. I switched agencies and was lucky enough to get an immediate referral. Best part is that my daughter was home at 4.5 months of age! I used Rudy Rivera and Children of the World in St. Louis...they were great.

www.childrenoftheworldnet.com

Good Luck!

Becky
mom to:
Jayme 15
Kellye 13
Christian 12
Ben 5
Isabella 8 months old today (home from Guatemala on 7/20)

[jen g]

Dear Ruthie G.,

I'm using IAR and, thus far, they get my high recommendation. My husband and I accepted a referral of a baby girl in August 2002. Our home study was done at that point and we'd applied for INS approval by then. (We decided to adopt in June 2002, so all this is clipping along.)

Our dossier was sent to Guatemala in early September and was translated in about a month. We now have INS approval and our DNA test was done October 11. Before Halloween, we got the DNA results. Our case is currently in family court. The embassy birthmother interview is scheduled for the end of November. Things seem to be moving along fairly quickly so far and we have three sets of photos, medical updates, and our precious little girl seems to be thriving. I've been charting her on American growth charts and she is almost off the charts in terms of height and weight. (Our two year old biological daughter is also tall!)

I'm still holding out slim hope that she will be home this year (oh please oh please for Christmas), though I know that would be very fast.

I've been happy with IAR and have met a woman who lives in the same town as I do who adopted a sweet little 2 1/2 year old boy from Guatemala through them. She also was happy with her experience. They are generally very quick to answer questions and we asked a lot of questions before choosing them. I'd been a bit spooked by all the talk of unethical adoptions (I subscribed to "the big list" for a while) and did some research and so had a large list of questions to ask IAR and the other places we considered. IAR was clear and forthcoming with their answers and I felt very good about choosing them.

Now, it's just the agony of waiting. I miss our little one terribly already. As I wrote to Sidra under the "need reassurance" thread, I write a column for our local paper and wrote about the waiting a couple of weeks ago. I'll paste the link here as well. If you're like me, you're hungry to read about anyone's experience!

Good luck and if you have more questions, feel free to email me.
Jen G.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/o.../grant1025.htm

[RuthieG]

Thank you Becky and Jen for your information. I guess I should have mentioned that we are paper ready, INS clearance and all. Just have to make that decision on where to go, and your right Becky, how long we can wait.

I read your article Jen. It was so beautiful, it made me cry. I have felt that way many times. I really hope that you will get to pick up your baby this year. It would be such a blessing to have her for Christmas, wouldn't it?

I would like to email you with some other questions about IAR, but I'm not sure where to get your email address from?

Ruth

[jen g]

Ruth,

Sorry -- I thought my email address was somehow magically attached to my user name here!

Here it is -- email anytime:

jengrant@telocity.com

Best from,
Jen

[lam524]

We are using IAR. We just started everything but to date we have been very happy. Anytime we have a question we get an answer right away. We met personally with Rebecca and felt very comfortable with her. We are also in Coral Springs, FL where IAR is located. We liked the idea that they are right around the corner.

We are in the process of getting our dossier together. I know that when we met with her she gave us a time frame that seemed reasonable.

Good luck, Laura

[crathke]

IAS (International Adoption Services) is based in Edina,MN--they're affiiated somehow with IAR in FL. We started the process (including the paperwork, home study and INS approval) on 7/3/02--we accepted our referral on 9/10/02 and have been told that we can expect to pick up our new son sometime between February and April '03--so that's a little longer than the six months you were told. However--we're adopting a three-year-old and the abandonment process is not yet complete.

IAS originally told us 9-12 months; then once we got into the process, they said "gee, you seem awfully organized...maybe 6-9 months...." Even if Aaron doesn't come home until April, the entire process will have only taken nine months from start to finish! I would recommend IAR/IAS completely!!

The other neat thing about the affiliation between the two is that their coordinator, Mary, works with both agencies--so if you were working with IAR and saw a child posted on the IAS website (http://www.ias-ww.com) that grabbed your heart, you could work through them both to bring that child into your family; I think it's a wonderful way to expand on your search! Mary also visits "her" kids on a regualr basis (she's in Guat now), taking pictures and bringing "gift bags" from the adoptive families (and it's amazing what you can stuff into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag if you put your mind to it!)

If you can't tell--I'm thoroughly delighted with our choice to work with IAS!

[diane in IL]

I, likewise have been working with IAR and hold them in the highest regard. They have done a great job so far in answering all my questions and addressing my concerns. I am almost paper ready and we plan on accepting a referral around the first of the year. We are working with Joy and she is great. She has answered all my questions regarding my dossier prep by e-mail and gets back to me instantaneously including eves and weekends.
Good luck!
diane in IL