My husband and I are not what one would consider "strangers" to adoption. Before finding Family…read moreResource Center (FRC), my husband had gone through the process to adopt our son (born to me biologically) and we went on to adopt our first daughter internationally. That said, we wanted very much to add to our family once again, and we found FRC to be the perfect fit for us. One of my favorite attributes of FRC is their dedication to the emotional, psychological, and physical welfare of the first (birth) mother (and first father if applicable, of course). As I am an adoptive mom you'll have to take this with a grain of salt, but I truly believe that FRC offers a pressure-free space in which pregnant women are able to explore the adoption option without the "hard sell". Additionally, FRC offers ongoing counseling to first moms for as long as necessary. These elements were ones which we considered to be vital in our agency selection. Having an amazing social worker can, in my humble opinion, make or break the adoption experience for anyone (first or adoptive parents, that is). We had the privilege of working with Gail McGraw and we found her to be professional, thorough, considerate, and easy to contact (and that's a biggie if you've ever tried to navigate your way through a home study!). Also, she's been in the industry for quite some time and has as much heart and soul as someone fresh out of school. We also spoke with Richard Pearlman, the director of FRC, several times during the adoption of our youngest daughter. I found this to be impressive; I can't think of any other agency in which the director contacts every.single.adoptive.family prior to a placement to introduce himself, get to know the prospective adoptive family, and discuss both the agency itself and the adoption process as a whole. When we had a concern arise, Richard spent several hours on the phone with me--while he was out of the state, mind you--and worked to resolve the situation to the best of his ability. In short, I strongly recommend FRC. We couldn't be more blessed--not only by the inclusion of our "littlest" one to our family, but also due to the amazing extended family we've gained through her open adoption. If you're contemplating adoption but overwhelmed by the agency choices, look no further. You won't find better than Family Resource Center, truly.

Our experience with ACI was awful. I was disturbed in the intake interview by how classist the…read moreprocess was - despite both my husband and I having advanced degrees, stable careers and strong incomes, and having a very good home study evaluation, it was suggested multiple times by our case manager that because we came from lower class backgrounds we may not have sufficient self-control to be good parents. We were also given a red flag for doing weekly therapy and had to provide letters saying all our 'issues' were resolved - in my opinion, regular therapy is an indication of a proactive commitment to strong mental health and should be a regular part of everyone's life. Moreover, I found the entire process deceptive - before we had paid the first $10k, our case manager was optimistic about our chances of a successful adoption. After we had paid, the process slowed down significantly, and at one point a volunteer with the organization let slip that he had never seen someone in our situation have a successful adoption in decades with the organization. When they asked us for another $7k we decided to leave the program. The people in my community who've had successful adoptions recommend The Cradle.

The Cradle has an absolutely outstanding staff to help counsel individuals and families through a…read morevariety of adoption decisions. We used them over 15 years ago to help start our family. They have been providing excellent post-adoption services since then and continue to be leaders in the industry. They are also the only adoption agency to have a full time nursery.

I cannot say enough good things about our experience with The Cradle. Start to finish they have…read morebeen incredible. It's no wonder the agency has been around for almost 100 years. They're excellent at what they do. For how hard adoption can be, to have some of that stress lessened by competent professionals who really have the best interest of families in mind has been priceless. Our daughter received excellent care while she was in the Cradle Nursery for the first six weeks of her life before we brought her home. Cradle staff will always be part of our family story and we are so thankful that they were there, and continue to be there, for our baby and her first mother. Our adoption counselor Wendy was a huge comfort during some of the more stressful moments and very adept at guiding us through the process and making sure all our paperwork was in line. From the counselors to the nursery staff to the billing department absolutely every person we came into contact with at this agency was warm, committed to helping and competent. Thank you, Cradle staff for helping bring our family together.

The Cat House is a unique, fun experience to hang out and chill with some adoptable cats…read more If you or someone you're with likes cats - you'll enjoy the Cat House in Roselle. They have a ton of cats walking around and hanging out (including kittens) and you're able to play with them, buy drinks or snacks while you're there or cat merchandise that helps support the house getting cats adopted. I participated in a cat bingo night where you can get cat themed prize bags which was pretty fun. I'd recommend a visit for a unique experience and if you like cats.

We went to The Cat House after my last day before holiday PTO and wasn't entirely sure what to…read moreexpect. There is a small receiving area with free hot drinks and a cooler of for purchase cold drinks. Upon being greeted we were given the rules to play, and made our way in. The space was quiet and relaxing, and we enjoyed it. For me personally, I'd have a hard time enjoying it as much with little kids running about, but since we didn't have said little kids (or any kids) we decompressed, played, and just enjoyed the experience very much. What a great concept and well executed.

There's nothing else I've ever spent so much money on -- and which was so personally and immensely…read moreimportant -- for which the service was so disappointingly and painfully poor. My husband and I were broken by the experience and felt insulted by the way our requests for help and information were handled. We have no interest in ever going through this with acfb again.

We adopted our son through Adoption Center for Family Building. We started with another agency and…read morehad an awful experience with them. Tobi, Maggie and the rest were absolutely wonderful to work with. They were open, honest, encouraging when we had a change of heart with a birth mother. I can't say enough about them We now have the prefect child for us and we couldn't be happier. I would strongly recommend Adoption Center for Family Building for anyone wishing to have a family through adoption.

This is a tough place to review since it's not a "typical" service, but I really admire the work…read moreCACC does despite being overcrowded and stretched thin. They're doing their best for the animals, and I hope sharing my experience helps anyone considering adopting. We ended up with the sweetest little cat that we absolutely love! We first visited on a Thursday around 4 pm. After waiting about 10 minutes, we filled out a form about what kind of pet we were looking for. About 25 minutes later, a volunteer walked us through the facility. It's clear they're over capacity, there were animals even in the hallways and in the cat rooms the cats are kept in wall cages. You don't get much time to interact, so it's tricky to gauge temperament. We chose a cat we thought seemed sweet. She still needed to be spayed and microchipped, so we couldn't take her home that day. They couldn't give a clear timeline, but by Monday we got the call that her surgery was done. We picked her up Tuesday, which took about an hour of waiting. Adoption fees were completely waived (normally $65, which is already very reasonable), and the cost of her surgery and microchip were covered. Once home, she did come down with a URI, so we had to visit the vet and get her some meds, but she's doing well now. Overall, CACC is a great place to adopt from if you're patient and want to give an animal a second chance. The process isn't super streamlined, but the staff and volunteers clearly care, and you'll be helping an animal in need

While staying with a relative on the south side, my daughter and I encountered a very friendly,…read moreferal cat, who we fed regularly. Whenever we opened the back door to let our dog out, she would run in to the enclosed porch to look for a dark place to chill. We would escort her out and she would always come back. The next week we noticed whenever we let our dog out, she would always run under the house. One morning when my daughter was out back with our dog, she excitedly came back in and said there were 6 kittens under the house. Ahhhhh!!!! We took care of them for a couple of weeks but knew we couldn't keep them. I found a PAWS location but was referred to animal care and control. When I got there, there were a few people in line. A very brusque and unfriendly security guard immediately took my id and handed me a form to fill out. The wait was long and people had questions for the guard who was behind a locked door, but she quickly and rudely blew them off . This made everyone very angry and uncomfortable. I was told it was a "no kill" facility, but once I got inside, I became uncomfortable. Staff was very no-nonsense and there was a dude in a hazmat suit walking around pushing what looked like a laundry cart. What did that mean? I really don't know. They took the cats, gave them a couple of shots and put them in a cardboard box and sent me on my way. I left feeling kind of sad. And when I talked to a friend later, she informed me they were a "high kill" shelter and when I told her one of the staff members said it was "no kill" she laughed at me. I don't know.

LOOK NO FURTHER!! To say we are happy with Shelley is an understatement. There is no doubt she is…read morethe best in the business. We reached out for adoption services and we will forever be grateful. She made the adoption process a breeze, I had consulted with 6 other lawyers prior and each were unsure given our complicated case. Not Shelley, she knew the answers right away and was confident she could get the job done, (not to mention it came at a much lower price). I got way more than I paid for and that is so hard to come by these days. If I needed her or had a question she was very quick to answer an email even on the weekend! Thank you Shelley!

From the owner: Attorney who focuses solely on adoption, including agency, private, international, related,…read morestepparent, adult and foster care.

We are currently working with Lisa and we got transferred from Across the World Adoption (as they…read morelost their license). Lisa is amazing. She is very responsive, honest and patiently answers our questions. This is a day and night experience from our previous agency. We would highly recommend America World Adoption without any hesitation. Thank you Lisa.. and hope you continue doing this for everyone who is in this adoption Journey. You are truly a pleasure to work with.

We loved working with American World. Our social worker was very kind and caring, yet asked good…read morequestions. They were always on time and never cancelled appointments. We worked with American World in Virginia for our adoption, and working with America World locally for our home studies and home visits allowed things to work seamlessly. We would use AW again without hesitation.

Maxine is a fraudulent account created by a known animal abuser who has been banned from adopting…read morethrough Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue. Great lakes pigeon rescue does nothing but go above and beyond for their animals. Everything negative "Maxine" said in their review is a blatant flat out lie. Myself, and others I know personally have had only positive things to say about receiving birds from GLPR and GLPR does their utmost to meet the needs of their birds and their prospective adopters.

they take in way more birds than they should. they lack the actual space for the amount(OVER 600…read moreBIRDS IN A STORAGE UNIT) of pigeons they have right now. the majority of the birds reside in non predator proof pens purchased from Amazon. the reason they should be predato proofed is because the amount of wasted feed and grain will attract rats(likely already has) and hi high would be able to chew through the flimsy wire and harm the birds who aren't allowed to perch 4 feet off the filthy floors. several female pigeons forced to lay eggs without nests which is extremely stressful as these are not chickens. pigeons require a semi private nesting space in order to not perpetually keep laying. the food and water containers are open air cat litter boxes which get easily contaminated with feces and require cleaning and refilling more often than standard pigeon/poultry feeders and waterers. The rescue often will put "undesirable" birds that aren't as human social in these pens to LIVE in. Sometimes these birds may not be adopted for months and will be forced to live in these crowded dirty pens longterm. Do Better Great Lakes!!

They treat the animals so well here. It's great! A huge selection of kittens and cats of all types…read more They give them shots and fix them. Great place to support!

Felines and Canines is the most wonderful shelter! I had to put down one of my cats recently and…read morewhen I began looking to adopt a new friend, I stumbled upon Felines and Canines. They were so helpful from the start and made the adoption process so easy. After filling out the application, they were very prompt with responses (even during a holiday week!), I was able to schedule an appointment to meet the available cats. I absolutely loved that they are a "cage less" shelter and I was able to really see all the different personalities of the cats. I met this sweet little Tuxedo cat and knew he had to come home with me! The staff were so helpful in answering all my questions and made the paperwork process very smooth and easy. I've now had Joey (formerly Darth Vader) for two weeks and couldn't be happier!!