Adoption agency cited for violations

After five prospective parents complained that an adoption agency was hitting up parents for more fees to cover a $500,000 budget shortfall, state regulators are recommending the agency only receive a six-month provisional license.

The agency, Adoption Associates of Jenison, assists families in domestic and international adoptions. It's considered the largest agency in the state, currently working with 400 families.

According to a report conducted by the Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing in the Department of Human Services, the parents claimed their cases would be closed if they did not pay the required fees.

Adoption Associates Executive Director Jane Bareman confirmed the agency asked parents to pay $1,000 by March of this year. The agency charged another $250 in April, and $500 in June. Parents will receive another bill due in October for a fee ranging from $250 to $500. Bareman said the quarterly "supplemental fees" are not indefinite, that they are for 2009 only.

The agency's license expires in September.

State investigators recommend the agency receive a six-month provisional license only. Within that six months, regulators expect the agency to come up with a plan to address its financial woes.

The agency sent a response to the report and investigation seven days ago. The state has three weeks left to respond to that response. It could either agree with the provisional license recommendation and make it an order or decide there were no violations and allow the agency's license renewal process to continue as usual.

Bareman said 90% of the families agreed to pay the fees and that the fees were not solicitations of contributions but fees for service as outlined in contracts prospective parents signed.

"It is impossible for an agency to tell you up front that the fees for an adoption are going to be X amount of dollars," she told 24 Hour News 8. "We did not ask our families for a contribution. This is a fee for service."