tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post2709910434984360266..comments2023-10-19T03:24:14.204-07:00Comments on ...The Adventures of Breagirl...: Valley of Hope Adoption AgencyBreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01518761061429680489noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-66257055907290396422010-04-26T13:02:20.293-07:002010-04-26T13:02:20.293-07:00I have contacted Dateline, CNN and ABC News (since...I have contacted Dateline, CNN and ABC News (since Cynthia McFadden is adopted and has a special interest in reporting on adoption stories). I have done this in the hopes this story profiled in the Atlanta Journal Constitution can perhaps gain national media attention so they can no longer operate at all. Who knows-- if all the folks who had some horrible experiences with them were reached through a national media story, perhaps there would be some hope of getting financial justice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-69609024862268730872010-04-25T08:49:12.789-07:002010-04-25T08:49:12.789-07:00Check out Alan Judd's article in today's p...Check out Alan Judd's article in today's paper:<br /><br />http://www.ajc.com/news/adoption-agencies-break-rules-491243.htmlBreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01518761061429680489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-14744242033742081962010-04-24T08:10:12.718-07:002010-04-24T08:10:12.718-07:00Valley of Hope will be in the Atlanta Journal Cons...Valley of Hope will be in the Atlanta Journal Constitution tomorrow. I have heard their license has been revoked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-31339241033299985672009-11-23T12:21:39.477-08:002009-11-23T12:21:39.477-08:00http://167.193.144.170:7001/ORSINV/PDFS_CPA/CPFC00...http://167.193.144.170:7001/ORSINV/PDFS_CPA/CPFC001121KDW011.pdfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-52892812419174437032009-10-23T13:09:47.582-07:002009-10-23T13:09:47.582-07:00My husband and I had such a negative experience wi...My husband and I had such a negative experience with VOH and because of the money lost, will no longer be able to seek adoption. ($18,000 in all -- $6,000 in BM expenses- the rest as an agency fee). They have been investigated and anyone interested or affected by them should access the report at www.ors.dhr.georgia.gov. Click on "Find a Facility" and type in Valley of Hope.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-50104594946890028852009-08-19T20:57:53.445-07:002009-08-19T20:57:53.445-07:00FYI- Erin also has recently been found to have sto...FYI- Erin also has recently been found to have stolen birthmothers from other adoption agencies. This woman needs to be stopped. Has anyone contacted licensing in Georgia regarding VOH?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-41529719910489535172009-07-29T08:51:59.604-07:002009-07-29T08:51:59.604-07:00Gloria-
I am a little surprised that you would co...Gloria-<br /><br />I am a little surprised that you would come here and outright lie about saying you never used the term matched. That is exactly what you did. <br /><br />I stated the facts in my original post, nothing more, the facts. <br /><br />I am no longer upset with you guys, but I continue to hear more and more upsetting things about your agency. Matter of fact, Erin's husband contacted my husband about this blog and promised to make these situations right. To my knowledge, he never did anything.<br /><br />The comments I have received here don't even begin to hold a candle to the many emails I have received about this post. Families that are out of thousands of dollars, false promises given, etc. We DID sign a contract with you, but yes, you did not ask us to pay anything because you were unsure if the birthmom was actually going to place. <br /><br />I won't sit here and debate what happened. I've already spent way too much time typing it out in the original post.<br /><br />I can tell you that the reason I posted this blog is to make others aware of our situation. Don't you think that if your agency was spotless and had no other issues, I would have never had any responses. Out of over 50 responses to this post (both on here and in private email), I have only talked with ONE person who succesfully adopted through you guys. ONE. <br /><br />I did not choose to tarnish your reputation, you guys did that yourselves. I chose to tell MY experience in hopes that when others went to find experiences on your agency, they would find this and at least see what our process with you guys looked like. I spoke the truth, nothing more.Breahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01518761061429680489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-23461218032446231532009-07-28T20:27:46.929-07:002009-07-28T20:27:46.929-07:00Brea,
I am amazed at all of the negative responses...Brea,<br />I am amazed at all of the negative responses your blog has generated. I recognize some of the situations, although they don't have the courage to post their names, and can only say there are two sides to every story. I would love for them to contact me to talk thru their complaints instead of publishing them which solves nothing.<br /><br />As far as your situation is concerned, the birthmom came to us from the agency for Women Victims of Domestic Violence. She was homeless and her baby was going to DFACS at birth unless she could prove she had a place to go. We were criticized for not assisting her in finding a home. While we wish we could afford to expand our services to include this type of assistance, we are not there yet. We're all working 12 hours a day, sometimes 6+ days a week. There are agencies, churches and organizations that address these needs.<br /><br />We did not ask you for any money because this birthmom was not stable. Conversation with her was difficult at best, and she gave conflicting statements. She stated she had no family to help her out. At one point she said she had a friend that might take her in, and I passed that information along to you. <br /><br />I did not use the term "matched" with you. That does not occur until there is a contract and partial payment is made. I did say that yours was the only profile she had.<br /><br />I need to address a couple of comments re: older babies/toddlers. When they come our way, it is extremely urgent that we find a placement immediately--usually the circumstances around these situations are dire. If we don't have clients that match, we will work late into the night contacting prospects trying to find a home for the child. Our top priority is always the children who cross our paths.<br /><br />I'm sorry you chose to tarnish our reputation because of a situation that went wrong for you. I'm glad the child God had planned for your life found you. I wish you healing and blessings.<br /><br />gloria@valleyofhope.net <br />404-421-3760gloriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17440455882315987264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-90372818194029259962009-06-17T11:09:26.338-07:002009-06-17T11:09:26.338-07:00http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/452/RipOff04...http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/452/RipOff0452988.htm<br /><br />They are in the business of ripping adoptive couples off, taking advantage of birthmothers, and basic unethical business practices. All I have heard are complaints on the agency. Investigations will follow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-81458852017520197452009-04-21T07:06:00.000-07:002009-04-21T07:06:00.000-07:00THANKS to everyone for leaving their responses. My...THANKS to everyone for leaving their responses. My advice to the last person that posted. I wouldn't give VOH another dime until I have consulted a lawyer. The last thing you want is a contested adoption because you accidentally did something illegal based on your state laws. I can't imagine where you are right now but we will be praying for you (seriously, I don't put that if I am not willing to do it). PLEASE contact an attorney and then call Erin and politely let her know that you plan to sue her and let everyone know that will listen what she has done to you...hopefully you will get some of your money back. This is insane.Breahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01518761061429680489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-2340482466104417792009-04-21T01:42:00.000-07:002009-04-21T01:42:00.000-07:00We have gone through a HORRIBLE experience with th...We have gone through a HORRIBLE experience with them as well recently. Without going into too many specifics, I would stay far away from them. We were matched with a birthmother (not even contracted) and immediately day 1 had to pay out full month of money in expenses. The other agency that was evaluating bmom had grave concerns about bmom and told us to pull out after their 2nd visit. Our attorney also said pull out--bmom was fraudulent they all said. VOH kept trying to tell us that they were wrong, blah blah blah. No, we trusted the other professionals who were boots on the ground actually meeting the bmom. Everything bmom was telling and saying to social worker and agency there was not what VOH was relaying to us or knew about bmom. What?!!! We were stunned to say the least. They knew very little about her, hardly anything of her situation, and were just setting us up for major financial and emotional disaster. Our attorney, other agency director, and social worker for bmom was floored. VOH never ever returned calls to the other agency director or social worker after dozens of messages and emails to, they had urgent issues and questions to be answered and never got 1 answered, and they became livid. Agency director only reached Erin 1 time and within 1 1/2 mins Erin had to 'go' and other director was livid--there was nothing clarified or answered. We had no luck in getting return calls and for 2 solid weeks were calling trying to reach Erin about this horrible situation and the nightmare it was turning into. This was very unprofessional. Yes, they are busy at VOH but they should and need to call back the other agencies that are handling the bmothers in the state she resides in. Our attorney even left a message that not returned. Also, they were illegally paying out money to the bmom against her states laws. YIKES. The director of the agency in her state told Erin this and in no uncertain terms to continue paying out sums of money to her--it was illegal. They had to STOP. Guess what--they still did and had the nerve to send us a BILL for the amount they sent her above and beyond what the contract for this bmom indicated and was agreed upon. Not to mention it was illegal for them to have done so! AND items paid out were against the law in the state of residence of the bmom to boot. These were not items we could pay out due to our state laws and bmom state laws, but yet VOH was going to make us pay them for these items becuase they were still sending her money illegally and for things that were not legal to be paid? No way. We were stunned once again. Thousands in expenses in 2 short months. Yup. We were horrified. That was the entire bmom assistane budget almost in a window of 2 months, and we knew no end was in sight as they would continue to pay out. To top it off they wanted us to switch to another agency to represent bmom. No way.<br /><br />We to date have never gotten any good indication of anything from them and everything they have been telling us just never adds up---we get & got no explanations of what happens next, etc. We are out $12,500 and hoping to be rematched with a valid situation. Now they are telling us we can't be shown and be eligible for all of their situations, but we were told we could.<br /><br />Honestly, we are very leery and don't know what we'll be dealing with next time in a match. We are out over $5k in expenses and fees with this last horrific 'match' and can't afford to have that happen again. We do not know what to do. And we knokw they will be pumping out money to a bmom and just sending us the tab for it, despite being working with professionals in her state to divy out the funds per laws. This is frightening and we have serious concerns about this happening again. <br /><br />Also, they were never in communication with each other and as the original blog said, things were never relayed, information was never passed along, and A didn't know what B was doing at any point. Ever. This is NOT good and caused us great alarm. <br /><br />We are very sorry we have gotten wrapped up with them and our attorney said to call him before we send them another dime for another situation. He feels like we need to try to get out from under them and try to get our money back. We are actually considering contacting a GA attorney to see what legal grounds we have about the situation we are currently in and if we can get out of it and recoup any of our funds. <br /><br />Also--they were turning around and going to rematch the bmom in question with another family immediatly. WHAT! We were horrified. That new family would hae no idea about what had just happened and the problems and bad things that had been uncovered. Also, they were not believing anything the other agency & social worker unconvered about the bmom in question... There were over 17 red flags according to the agency and our attorney (AAAA attorney). While this was going on he looked into them and the GA AAAA attorneys he contacted didn't recommend getting connected with them. He pulled thier agency licensing records and sent them to me. They were only licensed as an agency last fall, and one of the original reports had problems listed on it. It's a provisional 1 year license currently, too, based on what our attorney sent us and pulled on their license records. Also, they seem irritated we are working with an attorney whenever we mention him. Um... hello. You have to--it's the law in our state and we do nothing without conferring with our attorney. <br /><br />Be very wary. That is our 2c.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-35602572914149278642009-04-17T13:59:00.000-07:002009-04-17T13:59:00.000-07:00I'm so sorry for your experience and thank you for...I'm so sorry for your experience and thank you for posting it. We are going through an awful experience with them right now. Too long to go into, but our overall experience is that they are extremely unprofessional, uncommunicative, and their ethics are very questionable. We also had several other adoption professionals warn us about them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-49964602734410949092009-04-13T11:51:00.000-07:002009-04-13T11:51:00.000-07:00Thanks for posting this! You know we've inquired a...Thanks for posting this! You know we've inquired about a few situations with them as well, but never 'worked' with them to the extent that you have. Your opinion means alot and I thank yo for posting it so others will be able to read it when researching agencies. Your in our prayers!Breehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12235941857996466580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-14486557168963895772009-04-11T12:08:00.000-07:002009-04-11T12:08:00.000-07:00Your blog made me feel much better about not worki...Your blog made me feel much better about not working with them. We had a very similar experience (lack of communication, them telling us that an E-Mom was very interested in us and then not hearing anything from them for weeks, late-night phone calls from them wanting to place a 2-year-old child within the next day or two...). They never even asked to see our homestudy or had us apply to their agency prior to trying to match us to expectant Moms. <BR/><BR/>I will be praying for your family and hope that it grows very soon!Angienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-30330245913448694022009-04-10T06:17:00.000-07:002009-04-10T06:17:00.000-07:00perhaps the longest blog post i have ever read - B...perhaps the longest blog post i have ever read - BUT - the most informative and fact-based opinion also. i know this will help other families on both sides of the adoption triad.alison bhttp://www.adoptionphotoblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-71064745008920319612009-04-09T21:10:00.000-07:002009-04-09T21:10:00.000-07:00I am so sorry you had to go through this. Praying ...I am so sorry you had to go through this. Praying for you and J.Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06991159018598991316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-6498622823786303752009-04-09T18:27:00.000-07:002009-04-09T18:27:00.000-07:00Very well written, Brea. I know you are not spite...Very well written, Brea. I know you are not spiteful. But some things just need to be said and that was one of them!<BR/><BR/>Can I add that I am glad now that they cannot work with me because I am in NY? =)Andi-bo-bandihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07291639739572563039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305306990826063612.post-14666360785960146802009-04-09T15:39:00.000-07:002009-04-09T15:39:00.000-07:00I am just speechless. Its sad that a "christian" a...I am just speechless. Its sad that a "christian" agency would try to convince a girl to place knowing she wants to parent but doesn't have the resources. That is what I love about Project Cuddle - they will help all women with their needs whether they want to parent or place. Thank you for sharing this. I am so sorry for your pain. You did the right thing and I am proud to "know" you :).....https://www.blogger.com/profile/10388684183969289971noreply@blogger.com