The Family Network

First Adoption went very smoothly… working on second one now!

i’m sorry to hear about the unhappy experiences reviewed below. i can’t speak to the family network’s fee policy, because my husband and i never had to ask for our $$ back. but i do know they are a small agency with a ton of experience completing home studies and even providing families with support after post-​placement visits are done.
georgia, one of the co-​founders, conducted our home study process and we found her to be friendly, positive (though also brutally honest about adoption related issues), and thorough. all of our paperwork was completed in a timely fashion, and nothing ever went missing. they always returned my calls in a prompt manner as well. natalie, their office manager is awesome as well. they are on top of their game.
i found georgia’s expertise as a nurse, adoptive mother of 3 (plus 3 bio kids), and attachment specialist to be invaluable. i still call her from time to time to check in and ask her questions about my daughter’s adjustment. she doesn’t get paid for these calls. she talks to me because she genuinely cares about how these kids are doing and wants to help. i must have called her in tears at least 3 or 4 times after my daughter first came home and she talked me through the stress of being a new adoptive parent and gave me reassurance on how i was doing and how my daughter was behaving. seriously invaluable.
this is not a social work agency that is just going to fill out your paperwork, do your past-​placement visits and move on. they are invested in you forming a real, lasting attachment with your child. which as an adoptive parent, i can say is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing. if you can’t learn how to do this, adoption is not going to play out well for you or your child. they are real and honest about the challenges. they provide classes on attaching and post-​placement support. they also put on a wonderful picnic every summer for the kids to come to and see other families that look like theirs. and do a fundraiser every fall to raise money for their family services. they are currently raising funds to create a non-​profit attachment focused center to provide both parents and children with additional support to set them up for successful, loving bonds.
i honestly cannot recommend them highly enough. from the reviews below it just sounds like you need to know you really want to adopt before you write a check.
please feel free to message me with questions. i am always happy to share my experiences with the family network!

Audrey from TFN was amazing! Not only did she help us over some difficulties that were possibly (so we thought) show stoppers but she kept us informed the whole time and held our hands through it all. She met with the birth parents and even offered some services to the birthmother. She was always professional and even though this was her business I felt like she truly cared; so much so that I have sent her a few updates well after the adoption finalized. In addition, last years TFN fall festival was fun, adorable and we are very sad that we have moved and won’t be able to attend anymore. My lawyer, I wouldn’t recommend but TFN, DEFINITELY!!!

We contacted Family Network in 2008 to start our first international adoption from China. Georgia Leonard, one of the owners, is incredibly knowledgeable about adoption and attachment. She’s adopted three or four kids herself, and she’s counseled hundreds or thousands of adoptive families.
When we finally traveled to China to adopt our first girl, we felt very prepared for any challenges that might come up. Especially after talking to other parents there, we felt well-​armed with information and practical advice about how to handle the all-​important bonding process in the early days. Just in case, however, Georgia gave us her cell phone number, and told us to call her any hour day or night.
The Family Network embodies «service after the sale.» We have called them dozens of times with questions about the attachment and bonding process with each of our kids as they arise. They have always taken our call, and they have always been generous with their time. They are truly concerned that our kids thrive in their new home, and that our family thrives together.
Since our first girl, we’ve adopted two more children from China, a boy and a girl. Each adoption had its own unique bonding and attachment challenges, but the Family Network helped us meet each one. We’ve recommended the Family Network to numerous others, and we’ve never heard a negative word.

Be careful, if you say you want to use their agency, the owner will rush to your home all smiles, drop off a ton of paperwork, and request a check for $ 2500 immediately, then when you have questions, she conveniently is busy, probably rushing to a new home to collect the cash! I was only in the 1^st phase, not even sure, and she took my money, cashed the check immediately, even though my case was a difficult one and it never went anywhere, no refunds! I had a quick glimpse into the process, and I think adoption agencies pray on the vulnerable, it’s very sad. Be careful with this agency, I would look at other places.

I was very sad to read about the experience below. The adoption process is expensive, which is disheartening, and I am sorry to hear about any situation that has further frustrations or bumps in the road.
I am not able to speak to TFN as an agency for adoption because we used them for our home study exclusively. We were very happy with Leonard and Audrey, who came to our home for the home study visits. They were kind and courteous. They presented the process to us in a way that made it seem smooth and easy, even though it is a time consuming process. Ultimately, we are grateful for all they have done for us and would use them again.

We adopted our daughter from Guatemala with Georgia and Luke’s help. They have been friendly, compassionate and helpful through the whole process. Their workshops were very informative, and gave us invaluable tools that we are still using with our daughter and other children. Thank you Leonards!

My husband and I sought the services of this agency for domestic adoption. We filled out the initial application and submitted the $ 300 non-​refundable application fee.
A social worker contacted us to schedule the first part of our homestudy process which was to consist of an interview. Prior to scheduling, he asked that we pay the $ 2200 homestudy fee at that initial meeting. Upon confirmation of our said «interview,» he asked for the $ 2200 again.
He arrived at our home, gave us more paperwork, along with an explanation of what was further involved with the process. He said a $ 2200 check was needed at the end of the visit. NO INTERVIEW was conducted, whatsoever!
After reading over the paperwork and further discussion, my husband and I decided not to move forward. We called to inform them of our decision approximately 2 – 3 days later. We were told it wasn’t a problem and to simply submit our request in writing. At that time, the social worker told my husband that a portion of the $ 2200 might be deducted. My husband immediately inquired as to why, as nothing was done beyond delivery and an explanation of the process. The social worker agreed and said he would see what he could do. They refunded us a check, less 25 percent ($ 550). And to be fair to this agency, we did sign a refund policy with them, which basically states if the initial visit is completed, then they are entitled to take 50 – 75 percent of the initial fee. However, I strongly believe that they could make every effort to accommodate our request, as no further work was put upon them.
Subsequent calls to negotiate the deduction (consideration on paying for travel time and the hour visit) were flatly responded with, «There’s a lot of work involved in putting the paperwork together and taking the time to talk to you as we are now. That’s our policy.»
To sum it up, this agency charged us $ 850 to submit an initial application, deliver paperwork, and explain the process. It’s wrong and disheartening, as you would think an adoption agency – «human services» type of entity would have better business practices.
I contacted the California Department of Social Services, and she was disappointed with what had transpired. She investigated, and said there was nothing they could do because we signed the agreement. However, she did give me other avenues to pursue (filing complaints, etc).
Lastly, only after sending a demand letter, we received a response from them, which partly said we had every opportunity to stop the process before he came to our house. Ummmmmmm… Hello??? We arrived at our decision after that visit; after we met with you; after we went through the paperwork.