Adoption by Gentle Care Still Refusing to Do the Right Thing for this Baby!

Once again, all logic and justice is lost when adoption enters the picture.  This unethical fiasco continues with Ohio’s Adoption by Gentle Care trying to control a situation at the expense of all the parties involved. SO much for the “best interest” of anybody but them!

Hedging Their Bets While We Wait DNA Results

Risk analysis should never enter the conversation when a child’s life and well being is in the equation; but that is exactly what is happening here.   It seems that AGC is doing what so many other adoption agencies have done in the past, even with disastrous results, stall the process, waste time and watch a child’s life hang in limbo while they hope that Carri will give up a very mentally and emotionally exhausting fight for her motherhood. This time, they have bit off more than they might be able to chew.

I can’t say I have ever heard a story that has more truth, more material evidence, more positive testimony and that really shows the unethical  belly of the adoption industry. And so what should be simple; returning a child to a more than willing, more the capable,  more than loving  biological relative, a child’s mother, has turned into something that resembles the Cold War between the USA and the USSR. Both sides are gathering up their armies and loading up their missile silos with nuclear arms while we wait to see who declares open hostility first.

“You want to fight? Good! Look what we will hit you with! Can you survive this?”

The Questions Adoption by Gentle Care Must Ask Themselves

While their available adoption fee schedule  (see Fees Adoption by Gentle Care Columbus Ohio agency ) shows that they stand to bring in over 30 thousand dollars for a successful adoption of Camden, going forth to litigation is bound to be more. Logically, it will cost AGC more to fight rather to give in, but can it be that the just cannot admit defeat even if that endangers the whole enterprise?

They are not by any means a power house of an adoption agency with multi millions in profits nor mutual fund dividends to investment in a last cause.  Before all this, the adoption of Camden  – with little to no time investment on their part nor birthmother expenses –  meant that he was pure profit and represented 1/7th of their bottom line based on their 2011 returns.  That might have been good enough reason for a struggling adoption agency to obtain an unethical relinquishment consent, but is it a good enough reason to continue? Even the Adoption by Gentle Care director, Trina Saunders, doesn’t bring in the big bucks with a salary of only 60K plus. Better to take a loss than bankrupt the whole agency.

Plus there is the public reputation. I can’t see that they can afford to risk it, after the Grayson Vaughn case and lawsuit, that their reputation can hold up after this. While they still maintain a “positive” reputation based on their public reviews on such sites as Yelp, the media attention that this case will receive especially should it continue will be enough to ruin them.

Adoption by Gentle Care Getting Pressure on All Sides

A stalemate at this time on the legal chess board, doe s not prevent other activities to take place.

Ohio’s Attorney General’s Office Complaints

In addition the Ohio’s Attorney Generals office has an official complaint under #NA08999. I know some folks have also registered their concerns overr this matter and I thank you.  Right now the word is that concerned citizens may make a complaint using the online form There are currently three complaints in the OAG’s system which can be looked up here .

Investigating AGC’s License with DFS

An investigation of AGC’s  license has been started at the Ohio Dept of Job and Family Services. Bianca Hickey is heading that up at 624-752-0024 & Hickey@jfs.ohio.gov.

 Official Complaint about the Unethical Actions of Kelli the Social Worker

The Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board is a State agency responsible for the regulation of counselors, social workers and marriage and family therapists in the State of Ohio. They are the governing body in which oversees the actions of Kelli Shoemaker as the social worker that obtained the illegal relinquishment consent and instructed Carri in such a manner. Of course, that is providing that she is even a licensed social worker. Her credentials remain unfound.

Native American Community and the Indian Child Welfare Act

Calls to alert the native tribes and invoke an ICWA violation are also happening. While it seems the Adoption by Gentle Care did not learn anything from the Veronica Brown insanity, this is a sleeping dog that has not been sleeping long enough to forget. The Native American Community will not take lightly to his happening all over again and another member of the First Nations’ being sold for adoption’s unethical profits. Dare I say that having taken such a horrible loss with Dusten Brown, being remobilized can be a welcome avenue to place that frustration.

AGC Playing the Game and Preparing More Lies? Slut Shaming is Next!

So what has Adoption by Gentle Care actually done in the last week?

They have not even had the professional curiosity of replying to the inquires of Carri’s lawyer and have ignored him.

They supposedly brought in Camden for a DNA swab on Monday, but then later that looked to be Wednesday.

For fact on Wednesday,a presumed father DID have his DNA test taken.  AGC did say that the results normally take 24 to 48 hours, but they would pay for this to be “rushed”. He would receive access to the test online AFTER they got the results. Why could they not just give him log in capabilities while the results are waited for so he could spend his days refreshing the page should he choose to, but insist that they get first dibs? Of course, because the results very well be a game changer as they would then know that they have to fight for this baby on two fronts. Here we go with that risk analysis word again.

They might or might not have tested another possible father on Thursday? He says he did NOT get tested, though Adoption by Gentle Care offered him a prepaid  gas card to come on down for his cheek swab. It would almost be funny (gas card?) if an innocent baby was no hanging in the balance.

Of course, Adoption by Gentle Care is proving that the lies just cannot stop. Word  went back to a maybe Grandma that FOUR other “men” have gotten tested. There are NOT FIVE Possible Fathers at all here!! At least that has proven to be something to laugh about; did Adoption by Gentle Care offer gas cards to stray men on the street just so they can say that they  TESTED FIVE DIFFERENT MEN for DNA???

Of course, it’s just too easy to try to being to paint Carri as some slut? But really, how droll and expected. Yawn. They have literally NOTHING else in her character to assassinate, so we know how this works.  Are they trying to book Dr. Phil next?

Of course the “untested”  possible dad is being told how he can have updates and pictures of his son. He has been given the glorious parent profile of the HAP’s Carri did originally choose as a possible adoption match. Adoption by Gentle Care has negated to inform him that any promises of open adoption contact made now is not worth a hill of beans as Ohio does not uphold open adoption agreements.  We all know that that chances of continued contact in a contested adoption is basically null and void; they will say and do anything however, to woo him to consent so they can think they have another ball in their court.  Funny how the same father was  “didn’t matter” before and Carri got yelled at and hung up on when she told Gentle Care she was talking to him!

Meanwhile WHERE is the Baby?

Truthfully, we are not sure and Adoption by Gentle Care with all their understanding and compassion  is not saying.

I personally sent them an email on Sunday, followed by snail mail to their home address on Monday, to ensure that they were aware of the situation. I have to say that I did dislike having to do so, but my trust in Gentle Care even letting these folks know the full story did not exist. We know that  Camden was with them on Monday as through the lawyers it was reported that their four year old was “upset” and they were “distraught”.

On Wednesday, we released a Press Release that identified them. It was not the nicest thing to do, but my feeling is that a few calls form the media might very well allow them to see, despite what reassuring  lies might be coming for the AGC offices, that THIS is what  their lives had the possibility of turning into should they choose to fight for Camden.

Now that Press Release  WAS complained about and removed.  Now it could be that this Meredith Monohan was just lying to get their names down and out of the public eye. She was not protective of the agency, but it was all about the HAPs, so she is probably a connection to them. It doesn’t really matter who she is; We know they DID have him and we know that the family identified IS the ones from the parent profile.

The other option is that the HAPs very well might have bowed out of the situation and retuned Camden to the agency because they are decent folks and do not want any part of this injustice. They MIGHT have made a deal with the agency to retain their monetary investments (they are probably out another 15K since Camden was born on top of another 15K or so already given to the agency) and agreed to keep mum at this time.

I did email again and beg for a simple yes or no so Carri can at least know where he infant son is not. If they are gagged, then they have not broken that promise to stay quiet.

Either possibility has both pros and cons for the case:

If they still have him, then we do know where he is.  I am pretty confident  that AGC NEEDS the HAPs to be willing to fight this as in every major contested adoption case, it is the adoptive parents that take to the front lines while the nasty agency that brokered the bad deal  slinks off quietly  to count their money and pull a fast one on the next unsuspecting victims. Just look at the past news coverage: who becomes the hated folks.. the adoptive parents are the villains!

If they have returned him, then there goes the whole “only family he has even known” and all the bonding agreement crap. Adoption by Gentle Care is now shuffling that baby around like a sack of potatoes. Now they could have found a family that is WILLING to fight in which case we KNOW we are dealing with unethical entitled HAP’s or poor Camden could have not just lost the connection with his mother who carried him for nine months, but now the family that did care for him and is now truly waiting in limbo. Perhaps he IS really in foster care as Kelli so often threatened Carri with.

This is a time that I legitimately do hope that any adoptive parents working with Gentle Care do their homework and research so they can choose to not get involved in something that has to potential to eat up the next 3 to 5 years of their lives and all their money.  I truly do not believe that they would win as the testimony and evidence on Carri’s behalf is so strong; so the chances are that they will NOT even have a purchased child in the end.  They will just taken the public fall for an unethical adoption agency. I would think that any HAPs that did enter in this could also turn around and sue Adoption by Gentle Care for damages for leading them into this firefight.  As I always say, the adoption industry exploits ALL of us for their own benefit.

And 35 Day Old Baby Hangs in Limbo

DNA results are SUPPOSED to be coming in today, so we wait. Of course, this is the word from Gentle Care so they could be jerking us around some more.

I think there is a good possibility that they did not send the DNA in on Wednesday, but waited and sent them out Thursday so even the rush gives us results on Monday. BUT, since we are not dealing with honest folks, they might have gotten the results already and are wasting time as we know that the more time that goes by, the “better” they think their chances might be, or, that Carri might just crack and give up. She is NOT giving up!

There is also speculation that they are waiting so that the Dad cannot file in court before they get some documentation in. The registration window for the Putative Father’s Registery closed on the 31st, so we can get dicey with some legal time lines. I personally do not feel that Adoption by Gentle Care can afford to be even thought of as making more mistakes. If they are found to been playing around and sitting on DNA results, then it’s just another nail in their coffin.

Of course, this CAN be over  any minute. If the HAP’s returned Camden and aren’t willing to take the bullet; if the DNA results prove that they will fighting both an illegal consent of the mother and a refusal to consent from a father, then it just might be too much for these characters.

The BEST and the smartest thing that Adoption by Gentle Care could do would be to throw Kelli Shoemaker under the bus; say she went rouge and acted unethically on her own. Join us in acting horrified. Then they can simple rescind the original consent obtained  by saying it was not legal because it will be proven that it is, truly, an illegal consent. They can just turn around and call Carri to come and pick her baby from wherever he might be and then, it can all go away. The nightmare would be over. Hell, do that before Mother’s Day this weekend and I would even right a post saying how swell AGC is for doing the right thing.

I can tell you  now that these stall tactics and legal maneuverings are not going to work this time. Oh, then MIGHT manage to keep Camden until he is three years old, but then THEY will be the ones with blood on their hands. THEY are making these choices now. THEY have the power and dare I say THEY have the gun to their heads and  in their hands.  Carri is NOT by any means a “typical” resources-less “birthmother” and this dream team is not backing down.  There is a very good chance you will see this story on a major national Iv media this week and once that bell has been rung, the damage to Adoption by Gentle Care might as well be their death toll.

The chess board has been set and we wait for their next move.  I’ll keep you informed as I know!

This post was originally written and published on May 5th, 2014.

The date has been changed so that the updates and stories can be read more easily in chronology order.

Please see the main mini site pages on the Unethical Ohio Adoption Agency   pages to continue learning about Carri and Camden’s adoption story and how you can help Bring Camden Home.

So DNA is in and now we have a father who might or might not do the right thing.  Pray he wakes up in time.