Closure of Alberta adoption agency leaves parents in limbo

Devastated prospective parents registered with an Alberta adoption agency are looking for answers after the company's sudden announcement to close its doors.

The pending closure of Calgary-based Adoption By Choice (ABC) affects roughly 90 families across the province, according to some of the families who spoke to CBC News.

In a news release and letter emailed Tuesday afternoon, clients were informed that the agency's board of directors has decided to close as of July 30.

"The need for services to birth parents who are making an adoption plan has declined," the email said. "We know that this news will come as a shock to many; the staff and board of directors will be rolling out our plan of next steps for the clients and stakeholders of ABC."

Holding hands during an interview with CBC News, one Edmonton couple said they were blindsided by the news that felt like a punch to the gut.

CBC is not identifying the couple because they are worried it may influence their ability to adopt a child.

Desperate to find out more, they  tried to reach the agency by phone and email but didn't get a response.

"We could have been with a different agency and might have had a placement by now. We could have maybe pursued some fertility treatments and have a baby by now," the woman said. "But we decided to put our money and our time on ABC and we feel extremely disappointed that this is how this has ended."

The couple said the closure came just as they neared the front of the line after more than three years on a wait-list. When they registered, their application was behind 72 others.

They estimate they spent up to $8,000 on the ongoing process which included a home assessment, workshop and a failed adoption in 2017. But it's not about the money, they said.

"At a certain point you just get so tired," the woman said. "We've been on this journey to try and start a family for almost six years. I don't know if we can do it for another four to five years."

They've banded together with other prospective parents, to share information and to support each through the anger and devastation.

On Wednesday, families received a second email from ABC with the subject heading: "Frequently Asked Questions."

It says clients should receive a call or email from staff within two weeks, and that money will be refunded for services not provided.

"Management at ABC are currently negotiating potential file transfers with the other three adoption agencies," the agency said.

CBC requested an interview with ABC but the agency declined.

Transfer won't be easy

Kristy Brosz, an adoptive parent, social worker and author of Healing with Pigtails, a book about parenting, is troubled by the way clients were notified.

She said the lengthy and complex process for waiting families — with the likelihood of loss and difficulties along the way — requires their trust, as well as a trauma-informed approach by the agency.

"They need to be able to trust that the professionals around them are going to handle things as they should," Brosz said.

"So to just take that long relationship that's been had and to have a blanket statement sent out by email and Facebook, with no direct face-to-face contact, is really challenging for a lot of these parents that have already had such a long road."

Brosz said transferring clients to another agency isn't an easy process because those agencies have their own wait-lists and standards.

She said families who have recently adopted will also be affected by the overnight disappearance of a support network needed to help them navigate a range of unique challenges.