Adoption Connection
I would highly recommend both Adoption Connection in San Francisco, and PACT in Oakland. I adopted my daughter through Adoption Connection, but joined PACT and attended their excellent workshops as well. Adoption Connect is very supportive to both the Birth Mother and the adoptive parent. They worked with me through the "Dear Birthmother' letter as well as each step of the adoption. Check out their website to get more information!
Hi, I have had a lot of experience with Adoption Connection in San Francisco. They are very professional and caring. Start by going to an orientation and see how you feel.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
May 2012
Re: Adopt International, Adoption Connection, or Ind. Adoption Center?
My husband and I used Adoption Connection in 2010 and felt that while many times people were very helpful, overall several large errors were made, especially by our Adoption Coordinator. Given that this was the person who was our main link to the agency the errors started to become extremely frustrating. We both decided not to use them again when we adopt another child next year. Good luck, it's a roller coaster ride! -Anon
Oct 2010
Re: Failed IUI/IVF - starting to think about adoption
We did a similar process and ultimately adopted our amazing daughter. We chose domestic open adoption mainly because the costs were much lower and we were able to bring our daughter home at 3 days old! We used Adoption Connection in SF. They have a pay as you go option so you don't need all of the money up front. Also with domestic adoption you have the ability to take tax credits after the first year even before the adoption is finalized. For us the process was swift. We filled out all our paperwork quickly and did all of the trainings asap. This meant it only took up 6 months from Orientation until we were ''in the pool''. We were very lucky to have our daughter home with us 4 months later. We were flexible and open to various races, ethniciies, etc. and were willing to take an emergency placement where the birthmom did not have a plan before the birth. This meant a phone call one day saying there is baby right now. Overall the process was great. I highly recommend adoption. In fact now I couldn't imagine it any other way. mom!
August 2010
Re: Social Worker in Bay Area for international adoption
We used Adoption Connection in San Francisco to do our homestudy for our Chinese adoption. They are part of Jewish Family and Children's services and we thought they were wonderful: http://www.adoptionconnection.org/international_adoption_program.php
Note that they do not do international placement-- just homestudies-- and it was great having their perspective as objective professionals as we went through the process with our other agency. Good luck! China Mommy
April 2010
Re: First-time adoption - which agency? which attorney?
Hi, We have a fabulous almost 4 year old little girl we adopted with the help of Adoption Connection. She was born domestically, locally and we brought her home at 3 days old. With AC our costs were relatively low and all of our money came back through the federal and state tax credits. We couldn't be happier. happy mom!
Jan 2009
We are looking into adoption and are considering working with Adoption Connection in San Francisco. We would appreciate any comments on recent, or not so recent, experiences working with them. Since we are on a limited budget, and have heard about some horror stories from other agencies that kept coming with more and more expenses, we are especially interested in knowing if people have had good experiences about how they handled the adoption costs. If possible, we would appreciate learning how much the whole adoption process cost for people. Thank you very much!!! Hoping to be a mama soon
My four year old daughter was adopted through Adoption Connection and I would highly recommend them. They were supportive and helpful with the process. In regards to fees: they were very up front about the costs and they did not tack on extra charges. They have several levels of outreach, but there was not pressure to go above the bases costs (I didn't and it worked out beautifully). anon
We used them and had a great experience. They were friendly, efficient and supportive all the way through the process. Write me anytime if you want to talk or need more info. jodi m
We used Adoption Connection and were very satisfied. Our daughter is now 2 1/2. The process was good and for us went quickly. The best thing about AC is that it is ''pay as you go'' so no need to have all the money up front. You pay for only what you need. Our adoption cost at total of $8500 (very inexpensive as the go) but most cost more in neighborhood of 10-12,000. Still much cheaper than anywhere else. We liked the staff and had a good experience. That said, I have talked with other folks who had difficulties with them. I think every agenciy has good and bad stories. Each experience is different, as are expectations. One thing to be sure of is to take intiative, ask lots of questions and be pro-active. Most of all be flexible in your requirements and just may be amazed at the child you bring home! Good luck. Lucky Momma
Adoption Connection...They are a very good agency from my own experience and those I know who have worked with them (which I cannot say about another big SF agency.)
My story is a bit complex because it involved both domestic and international homestudies and, ultimately, placement through a separate international agency. (read: long, expensive journey with very happy ending)
AC is very professional, informed, accessible, well-respected...
What I can say is that, in terms of the costs that *can* be predicted, AC is very very clear about this. In fact, you sign a contract and they honor those fees, even if their rates go up. However, with domestic adoption, the costs vary based on birth mother's living expenses and other factors (medical not covered by b'mom, travel, extra attorney fees for special circumstances, etc.).
The route to private adoption, especially the search/match aspect (agency, attorney, facilitator, or combination) varies greatly from family to family. I will say that I know a number of people who were not successful in AC's search (seeking a match).
Wishing you an easy journey to your child(ren). Motherhood is the best! Feel free to email me off-list. lkm
We are in the process of finalizing our adoption with Adoption Connection and have been very pleased with the process. The social workers there have been very supportive and responsive and have helped keep things moving along. They have stuck to their fee schedule and have helped us know what is reasonable in terms of birthmother reimbursement and attorney fees which is where the costs can really vary. I would be willing to share more of my experiences both in terms of cost and process if you like and give specifics about the kinds of services and availability they provided for their fees, but that would have to be a private conversation. If you email me your phone number I will call you. Good luck on your journey! The wait is very difficult, but it is so worth it. Our daughter, who turns one today, is the light of our lives. tm
We used Adoption Connection to do our homestudy for an international adoption in 2005-6, which is a different program. I would say that I highly recommend it as an organization. They were open, honest and supportive through our entire process and there were no hidden costs. For instance, we had to have our homestudy revised several times and they never charged extra.
I completely understand your concern and you are asking the right questions, having heard of other agencies' practices. However, I don't think you have anything to worry about here, at least from my experience.
I would close by saying that you should ask Adoption Connection to provide you with some referrals of adoptive parents for you talk to. This is standard practice, and I have found that most people are pretty candid when you talk to them, even if the agency has chosen them as references. Adoption Mama
I used Adoption Connection about 12 years ago and had a very positive experience. The person that came out to our house to do the home study was excellent. She made us feel very at ease, recommended some wonderful books. The process was not dragged out. We ended up using a Lawyer in Washington State and adopted a baby girl a few days after she was born. She is now 11! Happy Mom
April 2004
Re: agency for domestic adoption
I stongly recommend Adoption Connection (http://www.jfcs.org/Services/Children,_Youth,_and_Families/Adoption_Connection/). Lynne Fingerman, the co-founder of the agency, is a Berkeley mom and has years of experience with every type of domestic adoption. She is well known and respected throughout the state. They were able to help us connect with birth parents. They help you with your letter, offer advice and counseling on inter-racial adoption, have great pre- and post-adoption workshops, etc. I can't say enough positive things about them. We had a great expeience and have several friends who have as well.
thrilled to be a mom
Oct 2002
I HIGHLY recommend Adoption Connection in San Francisco (http://www.adoptionconnection.org). We did a lot of searching and interviewing before we decided to go with these folks and we had a wonderful experience (and now have a wonderful baby boy). They do mostly domestic adoptions, but also do international home studies if you need one. I would be happy to talk with you about our experiences. Good luck!! Whendee
June 1999
Thanks for all the advice about adoption agencies. So far, my partner and I are pretty sure that we want to do a domestic adoption and are seriously considering working with Adoption Connection, about which we've received some good feedback. They are very positive about working with same-sex couples and have impressed us in other areas as well.
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.