Satisfaction Survey of Agency Services

Lutheran Adoption Service
Locations: Ann Arbor, Bay City, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Southfield

Updated: September 1, 2009

All survey data is anonymous. Some questions may allow multiple answers.

TOTAL NUMBER OF SURVEYS :  9

Family Race: 
1
   Black / African-American
7
   White / Caucasian
0
   Native American / American Indian
0
   Hispanic / Latino / Latina
0
   Asian American / Pacific Islander
0
   Chaldean / Arab-American
0
   Other
1
   No Answer
     
Marital Status:
2
   Single
6
   Married
0
   Divorced
0
   Live-Together Partner
1
   No Answer
     
Age:
0
   18 - 24
4
   25 - 34
2
   35 - 44
1
   45 - 54
1
   55+
1
   No Answer
     
Gender:
0
   Male
8
   Female
1
   No Answer
     
How many agencies have you had contact with?
3
   One
4
   Two
1
   Three
0
   Four
0
  

Five
1
   Six or more
0
   No Answer
     
What type of information were you seeking?
9
   Adoption
0
   Foster Care
0
   Foster-to-adopt
0
   Kinship
0
   Guardianship
0
   Step-parent adoption
3
   Training opportunities
3
   Orientation
1
   General information
0
   Other
     
Did this agency work with you in a prompt, courteous and professional manner?
7
   Yes
2
   No
0
   No Answer

Comments:

  • Initial response was quick and welcoming.  However, after special needs training, communication was almost nonexistent and was almost always initiated by me.
  • Whenever I call to check progress it takes approximately 2 weeks to get a response.
Was the information you received thorough and complete?
9
   Yes
0
   No
0
   No Answer

Comments:

Were you satisfied with the services the agency provided to you?
3
   Yes
5
   No
1
   No Answer

Comments:

  • It has been over two years since we first contacted the agency. We have gone through adoption training and nearly a year ago were told our homestudy was about to begin. We filled out the adoption application, submitted our paperwork, had medical exams and TB tests, and then were never contacted again.
  • short staffed -- lack of available training classes -- extremely long home study time -- still not done
  • The length of time to receive a call back each time was approximately 2 weeks after intial message was left. Length of time to have a completed homestudy-it has been over 6 mos. since our training was complete (12/8/2007) and almost a full year since we had our orientation and still have not received a homestudy. We have completed all the neccesary paperwork, but there always seems to be some issue at the agency i.e. short staff, renovations, too many clients to service ect. They have been very nice, but this is very frustrating for us.
  • Complete lack of communication during wait to be matched.  No response when I inquired about specific children.  My phone calls were returned, but were unsatisfactory in providing information regarding my place in the process and what I could do to keep things moving forward.  Once I was matched, I felt our case was very very low priority and workers only had enough time to move from one crisis to another and couldn't be bothered by non-emergency placements, etc.Lots of missing paperwork and what was provided took months and months to get.
  • Lack of response from the agency. They have not returned phone calls.
Do you feel any of the following were barriers to your ability to become a foster or adoptive parent?
6
   Lack of response from the agency
0
   Fees associated with agency services too expensive
2
   Unable to get foster care license or Family Assessment complete in a timely manner (i.e., less than six months)
2
   No Answer / no barriers
     
Where are you in the adoption / foster care process?
2
   Approved (Home study complete)
0
   Licensed Foster Family (Foster Care license complete)
2
   In-Process (Have agency / Home study not complete)
1
   Not yet working with an agency
4
   No Answer
     
Please tell us about the child or children you want to foster and/or adopt:
0
   Infant Adoption
0
   International Adoption
3
   Special Needs Adoption / Adoption from Foster Care
1
   Foster Care
5
   No Answer
   
2
   Younger than 6 years
3
   6 - 10 years
2
   11 - 13 years
0
   14 or older
4
   No Answer
     
0
   Black / African-American
0
   White / Caucasian
0
   Native American / American Indian
0
   Hispanic / Latino / Latina
0
   Asian American / Pacific Islander
0
   Chaldean / Arab-American
0
   Other
5
   Any Race / Doesn't Matter
4
   No Answer
     
3
   Having emotional / behavioral issues
3
   Having physical impairments
2
   Having developmental delays
3
   Having learning impairments
6
   No Answer
     
0
   Single child
0
   Sibling group
5
   Doesn't matter
4
   No Answer

Additional comments:

  • We have had a wonderful experience working with Lutheran Adoption Services and would whole-heartedly recommend them to anyone interested in pursuing adoption.
  • We feel that our adoption efforts failed, and we don't understand why. We were told that the agency has a great many children older than our target range to place, so there might be a delay in getting studied, but it was never mentioned that we simply might not get studied. If we had known that it would not be possible for us to even get a home study through Lutheran Adoption Service, we would have saved ourselves a great deal of time and grief by going elsewhere.
  • Though the adoption of my first child was finalized over the summer, I still have a very bitter taste left over from the process.  It took more than 4 years from start to finish for me to adopt an older, minority child from foster care - supposedly the hardest to place.  I was willing to consider nearly any child/children presented to me, and yet none were.  Any movement forward was a struggle, and months went by with no communication at all.  This was despite many many inquiries through MARE and other photolistings around the country, and attendance at almost any event or training that I was made aware of.I have been considering whether or not to attempt to begin the process a second time.  However, I would not even consider LAS as my agency, and certainly would not recommend it to anybody else interested in older child adoption.  I understand that the children are the number one priority, but to retain potential adoptive parents, much more must be done to improve communication and a sense of partnership between families and agency.