Best Adoption Agency Grand Rapids Near Me

Matt L: Chloe is amazing to work with! So thankful for our smooth and quick process with Families Through Adoption! A+++++

Smash Lee: 0 stars really. They tell us birth parents that they will help counsel us and do activities but they either stopped or pick certain girls that give the good girl vibe. I've been a birthmom for 11yrs an they dropped counseling multiple times on me and my adoption is a positive story. I'm not sure if they do the birthmothers day anymore as I they haven't kept me in the loop like they did at the beginning. Once you have afew years under you're belt of being a birthmom they just drop you. Feels like that to me atleast.

Courtney Kloosterhouse: I would give zero stars if I could. Agency lacks confidentiality. Please be careful when considering them. Learn from our mistake of simply filling out a reference form with honesty.

T Barkley: I am only giving one star because after reading these reviews and testaments about this service I can't help but ask Bethany CHRISTIAN services WHAT they have done IF anything with these valid complaints?

Nickolas Kellar: What a joke of an organization. For one, the communication breakdown between departments is terrible, its as if everyone hates one another and HR is a nightmare. I was strung along for months, then dropped without cause. I regret ever applying here. Someone at this terrible organization added my personal email address (only provided on my resume) to a spam email list and I have gotten non-stop harassment emails from them since. This is a sick, vindictive organization that isn't really interested in helping people.

Savannah Ballentine: Forgiveness may be in my heart but woe to you all of you for practicing all your evil under a false Christian perspective not one of the ones I've met from this place loves Jesus your all fake and I will see my day in courts against you all 3 of you. I feel bad for all of you because I forgive you justice will be served my God is my defender

Berta Savickas: Horrible organization

Samantha Ferguson: My son was seeing a doctor from there her name is Dr. Mahesh an she shouldn't even be working there at all she is no help an when my son had his appointments with her it lasted less then 5 min if that an she had the nerve to tell me I should put my 8 year old son up for adoption because her hands were tied an she didn't know what else to do for him an told me I should put him up for adoption so someone that is for fit to handle a kid with ADHD can care for him all because I didn't want to jack my kid on so many medications that is not good for him or what he needs!!!

Decarlious Smith: This is our letter sent to Jeffrey Carlson (Bethany’s VP of Regional Operations) on Oct. 12th 2019:We are the Smith's and perhaps you’re already aware of our personal story involving Open Adoption Fraud and Civil Rights violation against your Bethany Christian Services branch office in Memphis, TN.To give a brief glance of our story, we got custody of our grandbaby after she was born through Juvenile court. We are recognized as her birth parents in the State of Tenn. She spent her first two months of her life in NICU and we have raised her for three years.We are an African American couple and our grandbaby is White and we love her dearly. In Jan. 2018, we made a difficult decision to go through an Open Adoption with the agency. In the beginning, we made it known and very clear to the agency and the adoptive couple that we wanted to be natural active grandparents and both sides agreed. We shared in multiple meetings and in letters regarding our detailed desires. Our grandbaby transitioned into the adoptive couple’s home in May 2018.To sum it up, the Memphis agency and the adoptive couple gave us the impression we were in an Open Adoption agreement, only to shut us out of our baby’s life post finalization. In Oct. 2018, we asked for our baby to be returned. Bethany’s director refused and tried to proceed to finalization against our wishes. We hired an attorney and have been in Family Court since Nov. 2018. The attorneys representing the agency and the adoptive couple have used every legal avenue and loophole against us.Bethany’s Memphis branch and the adoptive couple lied, baited and coerced us into believing that we were going to be in an Open Adoption. In February 2019, we followed proper procedures according to your website to file a complaint with Bethany's office in Grand Rapids, MI and spoke to Janelle Beimers. We told her Bethany and the adoptive couple have cut us off from our baby and the adoption is not finalized, " she replied that was strange". We emailed her and received a confirmation response from her. In addition, we filed a complaint to the Director of the Office for Civil Right U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. To no avail, we never received a response regarding our concern. We also learned in February that Bethany hired an insurance attorney. This is just a part of Bethany's tactics.It’s by God’s grace we have managed to survive a full year since asking for our grandbaby to be returned on Oct. 9, 2018. We would like an explanation on why Bethany continues to fight against us after we discovered the truth. There is no reason we have not seen or heard from our baby over a year and this adoption is not finalized. We plan to continue our fight for justice and to bring awareness. My wife and I have done much research on Bethany Christian Services and found this agency has a long history of coerced forced adoptions, family separation and child trafficking. Bethany Christian Services is nowhere close to CHRISTIANITY. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!

Bonnie DeFreese: You need to take off that 4th picture. It is really disgusting.

Donna Lynema-Buchanan: After they placed me with a Christian Ref Evangelist & his wife at the age of 9. & splitting us kids all up & I never saw them again. In 1961-62. STILL LOOKING FOR THEM !!! 😢 😠 YOU NEVER FOLLOWED UP TO SEE IF SHE WAS ABUSIVE. AND I KNOW NEIGHBORS IN GRANDVILLE MI. CALLED YOU

Manda Banks: Very bad place they play favorites don’t listen and play parents against each other also Christine Collin lies in court I know cuz she done it to me and others witch is my friends she also is not a very good worker she has a bad attitude and my child done came to me with scratches on here the foster moms don’t well the one that has mine don’t cater to my child they let my child get a rash on her Lady part n all she said was it’s cuz she sick and cuz she’s growing teeth she been growing teeth since she was with me n has never had a rash down there they are the worse Forster care in Grand Rapids Michigan

Gail Ehlert: I am a foster parent. I love the kids I have, however the courts and agency order the kids to remain in there schools. So we get mileage. However, I have been trying to get my reimbursement for the last 3 months if mileage. I keep getting the run around.

Julie Paine: At the core of Bethany is creating and strengthening families for kids because families are where children thrive.

Diane Neas: Our dealings with this place have been horrible. My friend was kind enough to open her home to a SIL student. From the first week, until today, it's been a nightmare. No help from Bethany's. They dropped off their "hardest case" and left it up to us. This girl lied, had cops show up more than once for people she was hanging out with, multiple men over, stole irreplaceable objects, used drugs. You name it . . . she did it. And what did Bethany's do? Nothing. My friend asked for help . . . did she get it? No. Bethany's may look good on paper . . . but they are not what they claim to be.

Mandy: I am a birth mom who went through Bethany, I am thankful for them and their Services. I found my daughters adoptive parents through them and I am so glad I went through Bethany. I would recommend them. I do think that they should allow birth moms to be available as Volunteers or something to be available to talk to other birth moms because I feel they aren't the greatest with post adoption counseling. But otherwise they are great. They do a wonderful job celebrating Birth Mom's every year for Birth Mothers Day.

Ashleigh Deane: This place is completely corrupt in so many ways. They care about money NOT children.

Jeremy Holloway: Bill Blackwire Brad Keller Meredith Smiley Susan Wonch Sarah Bowman all work for BETHANY SATANIC SERVICES. This place is NOT for familes they work for the STATE they have openly admited that they are CHRISTIAN IN NAME ONLY! There hiusing programs are all FAKE or they tell yoy to apply for HERITAGE HOMES INC. Just to ignore the HHI company when they call to confirm that a client needa help. The rest of there HOUSING PROGRAM IS CRAIGSLIST that is IT the are letting me kids get abused my kids have shown up with surgical STEEL STAPLES in the back of his head covered in bruises as was my oldest son. They gave my middle son the wrong medications and they locked him in a mental instute kuz his meds were not working. They admit it was the wrong meds. There counsellors love to lie to my kids and make them cry

Starr McGowan: I went through this agency before I was adopted and I personally would recommend this place to anyone and I am going to use them for my experience that I am going through so I don't know why people are giving this place a bad rap.

Shayna Gilbert: If i could give a negative star i would they stole my daughter im not signing anything or paying anything she should never of been removed.

Luis Rosario: ❤️❤️❤️

Nexus Denton: As for because ng a kid from here I can say with the up most certaintie, that there org is filled to the brim with lie and cover ups and everything you can imagine that is corrupt, so don't ever trust them always know that there is something bigger at play always .

Tina Hill: This place are very much a big time lier love snatching kids and babies away from good family homes and they don't like to help at all they quickly to falsely Chracterize you and it seem there more black children are under them being place in white people home it all about money 💰🤑 they don't care about feeling being hurt and they call them self Christian God do not hurt people or lie on annocent people it very Sad I can't see how they can sleep at night 😢😔💔of knowing they have a job to hurt annocent family they don't go after real dangerous cases

Stacy Brooks: Cares about everything BUT kids. Full of lies. Disgusting place to be involved with. I’ve been told plenty of lies over the years I had to deal with them. It seems more like a business for money more than anything. They lie to everyone, about every possible thing they can. So sad foster children have to deal with this place.

Lish Brooke: From what I hear they dont have the best interest in the children here. I also know of a worker caught violating someone's rights multiple times and her supervisor trying to cover it up. There a grevience in process right now and even maybe a lawsuit right now. They are desperate for workers so they let them get away with anything. Not all but a few bad ones here...

Patricia Williams: Informative meeting regarding foster parenting.

KingCyrus Assaad: Modern Day Kidnappers! UNCONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL!

Pamela Kranz: These pl flat out dont listen to you. And they blame you for everything they try to say u dont take responsibility for y the tgings that happen...happen. I know dam well y they do but they rather listen to a person who is a habitual lier and a manipulator and narcissist. I would know ive known her way longer then these dumb ppl have. Just shows how dumb they are.

Nal Althier: the staff here are terrible, they do not know how to help with any of the problems that you tell them about and they keep your children with other people that should be in an insane asylum.

Aaron kay: I lived here back in 2004 and left in 2007 started out at Ryan house I was very shy at first but felt at home they had made my bed with fresh clean Blankets and sheets also the people living in the house made me a welcome thing with all there names on my door it was the warmest welcome I’ve ever experienced out of the many homes I’ve been in in my life. The staff was very nice and very helpful to me I was a very very needy kid at the time and required a lot of attention and with having 8 boys and 3 staff it amazes me how hard they worked to make sure we all was taken care of. I would say out of all the places I have lived in my 25 years of being alive this would be the best place I’ve ever been and with all honesty if they allowed a 25 year old to live here I would it’s definitely a comfortable place to be and the staff do very good at understanding that we as residents have been thru a lot and they do the best they can to make things good for us. :) my therapist was Marcia she was a very good woman and she did a lot to help me too I like how involved she got with us all she definitely made sure that my need was met I like how she would stay after hours on her own time to read us books and to bring us together as a group definitely felt love and definitely felt hope. I give St. John’s Home 5 stars because I never felt loved before I lived there. Thank you St. John’s home. ❤️❤️❤️

Kasha Cockrell: Going through this process was one of the hardest things I've had to do, however my daughter needed help so it had to be done. We had a caring gentleman named Randy who was a great worker, he left and my daughter was given a lady named Alicia who has been the exact opposite of Randy. My daughters checks are late, she has to beg for bus cards (she has no license), checks vary, worker won't return calls, and now she's facing homelessness because she was told she'd receive assistance with moving. Windridge is horrible as they terminated a lease for a place that my daughter never seen all while waiting on Alicia the worker to secure her check. My heart is breaking my child is stressing out daily as a result!

archie copeland: The best at what they do. Enough said

Gary Briggs: Awesome and empathetic staff

Danielle Devroy: Amazing agency to work for!!!

Steve Griegelis: Very helpful for our family and community

Jenn Glover: Have more to offer then adoptions, they offer more services towards special needs children and teens between referrals and counseling to others , would reccomend to anyone needing a helping hand or referral to someone who can, great atmosphere, friendly faces all around great place

mike bolling: Very nice doctor and staff

Bethany Hunt: Friendly and helpful people

Jay petroelje: Most staff are really nice others are OK the building is very clean inside and out nice visit rooms and meeting rooms

Katie Hill: A wonderful wonderful place. The staff is centered around helping others and it shows in everything they do!

Stacy: When we were researching adoption agencies, Cathy was the only person that responded to all of my questions over email instead of making us come in for a meeting. Once we did decide to meet with the agency, they made it clear their number one concern was for the well-being of the children they serve and their compassion, honesty and kindness really drew us to them. Cathy and her team care so much about every person they work with and we couldn't be more thankful to have found them!2023-Edited to add that we now have a beautiful son and have been able to blend both our families together, through an open adoption facilitated by Greater Hopes. Cathy and Mya have made it clear they're always available to support us in any way they can and we're grateful. Highly recommend.

Aaly Khan: The child I adopted had multiple accounts of manslaughter as well as theft

Rachel Johnson: We came to Greater Hopes based on a recommendation from our neighbor. I emailed Cathy very late on a holiday and she responded to answer my questions right away. We are so thankful we found this team to help us on our adoption journey!

Ben Brower: My wife and I chose Greater Hopes because of their support to biological parents. It is very evident that they understand what open adoption means, more so than other agencies we considered. Adoption is hard but it can be a wonderful thing if done supportively. Greater Hopes does an excellent job of educating what that means for both biological and adoptive families, then providing support to all involved. We appreciate Great Hopes and encourage others to consider them as well.

Claudia Elzinga: We had an unusual which required a very quick turnaround on our adopted process. Greater Hopes went above and beyond to help us complete all of the steps needed to be approved for adoption and bring home our baby girl. I highly recommend Greater Hopes because they care so much, not just about the adoptive families or the children but about the birth families as well.

Adam Kretz: After a lot of research, it was great to find an agency that does things right. They truly put the kids first and create a lifetime sense of community for everyone involved. I feel confident in referring anyone, from any aspect of adoption, to reach out to Greater Hopes.

Tami Vroma: Greater Hopes took an impossible situation and made it a blessing! We had a different situation and Cathy and Greater Hopes helped walk us through the process and helped us figure it out. As a result, we still get to be Grand Parents and have been blessed beyond measure. There simply aren't enough words to describe how thankful we are for Greater Hopes!!!

Jonathan Elyea: We've had a great experience with Greater Hopes Michigan Adoption Center. Everyone on staff we've interacted with has been helpful, caring, and good at what they do. The organization's mission, approach, and staff set them apart from other agencies. They came highly recommended from close friends who'd had a wonderful adoption experience through the agency, and we're so glad to be on our adoption journey with Greater Hopes.

Brittany Nelson: Cathy and the entire team at Greater Hopes have been so supportive of our adoption journey since day 1. They have displayed compassion and patience for every hard question we have had over the years of waiting for a match. Everyone who is part of the Greater Hopes community truly cares about each individual including the birth family, baby, and adoptive family. We are grateful and blessed to have found this agency and would recommend them for anyone seeking services from them.

Jason Siffert: Cathy and her team are the best. I would recommend Greater Hopes to family and friends without hesitation.

Michael Dura: My wife and I have truly enjoyed working with Greater Hopes and have learned a great deal from Cathy and her staff.

Chris Javens: Greater Hopes have completely changed our family forever. We have loved every minute of working with them since they make you feel so welcome and part of their family. They help and support ALL families regardless of race, sexual orientation, creed in a non-judgmental way. Whether you are looking to place a child for adoption or looking to grow your family, they are there for YOU and they will listen and help in any way they can.They are knowledgeable and have an amazing reputation with hospital nurses and social workers. They are known for their kind, sensitive, experienced, selfless actions. During our placement we literally saw Greater Hopes working day and night for our family.Amazing organization with amazing people!

Carl Brown: We are in the middle of the adoption process and Cathy, Alissa, and Drew are amazing. They work great as a team and individually. Great group!

Collin Laper: I contacted Cathy Raidna with some questions about foster care/adoption. I expected to make an appointment, but Cathy answered all my questions and pointed me in the right direction over the phone all for free. I was so relieved after talking to her and I am very grateful to Cathy for taking the time to explain the things I needed to know. I highly recommend Cathy Ann Raidna.

Autumn Hogle: My husband and I have truly enjoyed our time with Greater Hope. What drew us to this angency is there hospitality. The minute we walked in the door, they knew who we were. We felt like we mattered and that they truly wanted our vision of starting a family to come true. Cathy & Alissa (and the whole staff) are great. Whenever we have questions they are quick to respond and they are very helpful and encouraging. I'd suggest Greater Hope to anyone thinking about adoption.

Ken Heath: Greater Hope’s was different to us right from the start! Cathy took our call and answered all of the questions that we needed prior to going to orientation. We were at a point where we knew that we wanted to start the adoption process but we didn’t know what the first steps would be. The entire team took us step by step along the journey and we were able to do this side by side with others who were also walking the same path towards adoption that we were. We not only had people there to guide us, but to support us in the joys and fears that are faced when working through the adoption process.Our beautiful daughter is 3yrs old and I still reach out to Cathy from time to time for advice. She is always there to take my call and help in any way that she can.If you are looking to adopt, this is the agency that you want to work with. They are passionate about families and helping you to grow yours!

Ramond Parker: G()9

Nicole Ambrose: Definitely does not deserve any stars, but it will only let me put 1.Lack of communication with workers AND foster parents, if they even message me back, so many lies and false accusations. Can't see my kids, making cps reports on me when I was always supervised ON VIDEO at the agency and I still get accused of things that I never did. Will not give me video footage (if they even keep it). I ask for things to help my situation, and they don't answer to that either. I have so much more I could put, but thats all I'm going to put in this review. If you get this agency, I definitely recommend you try going to a different one if possible.

Adrianna Bergman-Swanson: I would give 0 stars if I could but the next best is 1 and they don’t deserve 1 star.They manage to make everything so much more difficult then it needs to be. Its terrible being under the guardianship of Wellsprings cross your fingers that you don’t get them and get a better agency. Hopefully you’re more lucky then me. Definitely don’t recommend affiliating with them IN ANY WAY.

Daniel French: One star bc Zero stars is not an option. Horrible agency. Lazy. Incompetent. My kids are not in care but their half siblings are. Supposed to get monthly visits but all we get are excuses. State of Michigan should 86 this contract. Cut off their state and federal funding. If you have similar experiences file a complaint with Lansing Child Welfare Services ASAP.

Dana Willford: Unfortunately, this agency doesn't care about appropriate placement, or communication. All they want is a child in a bed, I assume for the state dollars. They will lie and manipulate foster parents into situations, then throw their hands up and tell you it's your responsibility to fix it. Communication is a flat 0!! I am in the process of filing a complaint with the state for what I feel were fraudulent practices. I'd highly suggest another agency!!

Kelly Bowers: Wellspring is a great place to work and to get licensed as a foster parent!

Lifes Fun: This place is playing a lot of games and will not place our grandson back within the family when there are many capable people that are willing to take him in..... if your involved with these people best thing is to lawyer up immediately...

Jennifer Gunneson: Terrible organization. Dealing with these people is impossible and they have no compassion or knowledge of how to deal with children.

Leonica Erwin: Best place to work. People care about clients, the community and each other.

Bernie M: Horrible, I have to agree with Michael McElheny, Terrible Communication with Foster Parents. I don't believe that they do everything possible for what is in the best interest of the children and /or the families involved. I also would not recommend this place, Michael is right there are much better agency's in the Grand Rapids and the surrounding area. I feel really bad for the children and families

Michael McElheny: Horrible, Terrible Communication with Foster Parents. Concern is not for the Kiddo's but $$$. I would not recommend this place, there are much better agency's in the Grand Rapids area.

Tami Hedrick: I have worked for this agency for over 20 years. The women I work with are a caring team of professionals serving women, children and families. We have so much respect for women that make an adoption plan. Our caseworkers provide support and guidance to women thinking about placing their baby for adoption. We recognize that each situation is unique and so is the care and support they are given.It is also our privilege to help families grow their family through adoption. Our caseworkers meticulously guide their clients through the adoption process in preparation for their adoption.

Nakisha DeJong: Staff has been great to work with as we walk the journey as a prospective adoptive family. We are grateful for how they care for us and our story thru this part of our journey.

Bidisha Ghosh: Wonderful & compassionate agency to work with