We began our Adoption Journey in December of 2001 with Associated Catholic Chareities. After some time, We deceded to pursue other options. In December of 2003, and upon several recommendations, We began a relationship with an established and respected afency in San Antonio, Texas. In the interest of protecting the innocent, ME< I will not mention the agency by name. If you are interested, or need to know, you can e-mail rangerxlt@aol.com. Anyway, the agency's reputation turned out to be not so steller; infact, after our experience in 2004 I began an investigation. What I found was shocking, but not quite as much as what I experienced from the state of Texaswhen I complained about our Treatment by this agency.

My story begins in December 2003 with our application to the agency. This particular agency, as do many in the US, specializes in placiong children in the homes of parents who suffer from infertility, a medical disability as ruled by the US SUpreme Court in Bragdon v. Abott SCt 118(2195 -2206) We provided all of the necessary information to the agency including a letter from our fertility specialist.

We attended orientation in March of 2004. At the end of oroentation, we were told by the Director to "spend our money...thisis your pssychological pregnancy...it is nt if but when..you will have a baby". In April of 2004, we were introduced to a birthmother through the agency. We never actually talked to the birthmother as she was not interested in contact or participation of any kind with the adoptive family. She had given all decision making authority to her friend. At 1 AM on the morining of April 18th, the friend called from San Antonio to inform us that we had been chosen. We spent the next twenty four hours in what I can only call a dazed bliss. We shopped, did baby laundry and set up the nursery. We spent the rest of the day preparing for our trip to San Antonio.

At around 9 :45 PM on the night of the eitteenth, our counceler called stating that she had the baby and was on her way to the foster family's house to drop hert off. She told us to be in San Antonio on the morning of the twentieth.

We awoke Monday thinking it was going to be a normal day; but that could not have been further from the reality. Note: we were matched by the agency and chosen by a family before the agency had even recieved our home study. Contrary to what the agencies own policies are and what the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Minimum Standards state, this was deemed to be OK by the DFPS and the Texas Attorney Generals Office.

The agency decided based on our Home Study (received the morning of the nineteenth, the day before we were to take placement) that we had lied about our infertility and that we conspored with our fertility specialist so that we could do business with te agency. We were ejected from the agency and they kept most of our money.

This is a common problem in America and in Texas but no one from the Stae of Texas or the federal Government has yet to recognize the problem with the adoption "industry" in America. I find it appaulling that The Federal Government can report statistics on virtually every form of business in this great countryl but, no one tracks adoption with any detail. This is documented by some well known adoption advocacy and reform groups.

It is past time to do something about this problem. Agencies like the one we got entangled with in San Antonio can not be allowed to continue such business practices. IT IS TIME FOR REFORM.