Yesterday afternoon, a fellow adoptive family put a post on the America World (AWAA - our agency) Yahoo chat board that described a rather significant fee increase that will affect families effective Nov. 1. The vast majority of us never received this e-mail from AWAA and were quite alarmed because we were learning specifics in a chatroom. Basically, for us, we are looking at an extra $3,000.00 that we now need to pay. Furthermore, AWAA is changing the timetable in which fees have to be paid which would result in over $4,000.00 being due on Jan. 15 when before we did not expect to have to pay the money until next Spring when we receive our referral. With the economy right now and most of America already being strapped, this is not a good thing!
When we committed to the Ethiopian program, we were given a fee list and payment schedule. We depended on this information in order to budget and finance our adoption. We are already out thousands upon thousands of dollars because of the failed Ukraine adoption, so we can't afford to take much more of a hit. Our hearts are torn right now because of many different factors. The first being that this is not the first time that we have had to tango per se with America World about money and standing by their word and the second is that communication - or lack thereof - seems to be a problem. When the overall Ukraine program went belly-up and families were left in a mess, it took time but the problem was rectified and AWAA ultimately ended-up standing by the families and the families also defended AWAA...the same thing needs to occur again in that we must come together as an agency and family and that's certainly what we're praying about. With the economy doing so poorly across the globe, we know that many adoption agencies are shutting down. America World has already slashed much of their staff in order to lower overhead and stay afloat. According to the CEO of America World, the overhead of AWAA has drastically increased because international adoptions are taking longer so the staff members are handling larger case loads than in previous years.
In Ethiopia, America World operates a transitional home that houses orphans who have been referred to families but the families have not yet been to Court and arrived to pick-up the children. Just yesterday, an announcement was made that AWAA is sending another worker to live in Ethiopia and take care of the adoptions from there. I think this is a good thing because the individual is actually the lead person in Virginia for the Ethiopian program. She has traveled several times to Ethiopia this year and each time, we have seen improvements and movements in the program. Also, a nurse has been hired as well as several new staff members and a social worker from TN (she's been there almost a year now and is fabulous) who are also working for AWAA in Ethiopia. The cost of diapers and formula are quite high, and apparently AWAA's old fees just are not covering the new expenses. We definitely do not want our children to suffer and not have their needs met, however there are a lot of questions centering around why such a HUGE increase of fees. We want the program to grow and we want our children cared for, but as a two year pre-adoptive family with AWAA we need to learn about the fees and have them explained by AWAA and not by a post in the chatroom. This has definitely not been handled appropriately and hopefully we will receive clarification and explanations soon.
It does not seem fair that families who are already very committed to the program should have to absorb the new costs. Basically, we entered into an agreement to pay the costs as stated in our documentation at the time we signed our contract with AWAA and in turn, AWAA agreed to provide services for a stated amount. In the past when there have been fee increases, the families who were already in the program were not affected because the agency acknowledged that families were contracted for specified amounts. Apparently, AWAA is taking a different approach this time around and the result is that families are completely up in arms. Our agency has not dealt with this issue in a very professional manner because of the way that most of us discovered the fee increase, and as a result a lot of questions have surfaced. As an adoptive community, we need to be able to resolve this issue and reach an agreement quickly before irreparable damage is done. If there is no other way to keep AWAA afloat, then we will absorb the costs. Right now, I'm praying that God will soften all of our hearts - both those of adoptive families and America World - so that we can work together. Ultimately, we have to focus on what's important - the children.
Last night, I was frustrated and digging through mounds of adoption paperwork for contracts when Jason sighed and told me to put it all away. He "kindly" reminded me that God is in control and already knows where the money is going to come from - even if we don't. He pulled out a CD and said that I needed to watch it with him. Boy did I need to watch it - it was footage set to music about a Nissan family's very recent adoption from China.
Mayme and Bo, I watched the videos with tears streaming down my face. God used Emma to remind me that He is in control and that in the end, what does it matter that we've spent enough to buy a small house to bring Julianna home....because she will be worth every penny! Thank you for sharing your story with us! I truly needed that reminder last night!
Basically, please pray for our orphans, America World, all adoptive families, and finances. God will provide - I've told myself that at least one hundred times since last night and am determined that I will lay my worries at Christ's feet and completely relinquish control to Him.
