[johnronnir]

Hi,
I am really new to this site and to IA. We have just decided to pursue IA, specifically Colombia. We are really very torn on how to select our agency. I have a HUGE pile of info packets, from about 15 agencies and have researched even more than that online without requesting the packets.

The agency that we are really thinking about selecting is Commonwealth in PA. I had a really good first impression when speaking with their coordinator. All the other agencies that I have looked into with Colombia didnt jump out at me, or just plain "turned me off..." when I talked to them.

The problem is that I am hearing a few bad reveiews here and there about them as an agency. Its hard to forget what people are saying. There havent been any real specifcs, mostly people saying what they hear...But I have checked references (called previous adoptive families) checked the bbb in both Tuscon and in PA where they have offices, no complaints and verified that they do belong to JCICS. What more can I do as far as research goes?

The only other agency that is still even in the running with Commonwealth is Wide Horizons. They were really nice and actually a few thousand dollars cheaper than commonwealth, but when it comes down to it, we are spending so much already its not about the money.....

So, I would be really open to any and all advice, and would be acutally very grateful to hear what people think.

Thanks,
Ronni

[crathke]

Hi, Ronni--

If you skip over to the Guatemala forum on this board and look for a thread entitled "Info for Newbies", you'll pick up a wealth of information on how to select an agency.

One of the websites recommended there is http://www.theadoptionguide.com; I have used it myself in the past and found it to be very helpful!

[bennett]

talk to people that have used your agency selections
my sister in law completed an adoption from
wide horizens and was thrilled. she is using them again.

i am using someone else because they have many
programs in guatemala.

my pediatrician is using w.h. for asia also

but you need to find an agency that has many programs
in your selected country...

get referals and call them all!!

good luck

[ccmccoy]

My husband and I are using Commonwealth to adopt 2 children from Rep. of Panama. We spoke with the PA office first then with the Tucson office and have been impressed with both so far. The people at Commonwealth seem to be very honest and caring. They have been very attentive with us and call us every few weeks to see how the process is going.

This is our first time to adopt so we have nothing to compare it to but we have felt very comfortable with our decision. I spoke with 2 couples from their reference sheet that had adopted from Columbia and they both said they were going to use Commonwealth again. I spoke with another lady today from the Tucson office and she is really excited and wanted us to try to speed up our homestudy process. My husband and I have nothing but good things to say about them.

Feel free to email me, I would love to meet someone that is also just beginning their journey.

Good Luck with your journey.

Cheryl