THE STORY DENISE HUBBARD AND BUILDING BLOCKS DON’T WANT YOU TO READ!
This story, in her hometown paper, about Denise Hubbard’s adoption of her daughter Emily from Russia and how it led her to start her own adoption agency, had been posted on BBAS's web site under “Read Our Story” since the site’s inception in summer 1999.
But, in early 2002, we noticed it was no longer there. It had been replaced by this public relations boilerplate, written by Denise herself.
She forgot to change the filename, though. But aren’t the pics of Emily cute?
Why? Perhaps it was simply the evolution of BBAS’s marketing and public relations strategy (although no sane marketing professional would have put out that “Attack of the Animated .GIFs” page, much less have them pervade the entire site. Then again, we’re talking about a woman who wasted two years trying to sell her own house here).
But it’s far more likely that Denise had finally realized how much damage it was inadvertently doing to her business and her credibility (such as it is).
At that point, the story of Cyril’s death, BBAS’s efforts to retaliate against us during Anguel’s adoption after we complained about their pattern of misrepresentation to clients to the ODHS had been public for over a year.
In both our FRUA postings and our ODHS complaint as reprinted at Mary Mooney’s site, we made reference to the contradiction between Denise’s Nov. 21, 1999, statement to us on the telephone in Perm that Emily had the same severe diaper rash we had just discovered on Cyril and what she is quoted as saying below on the same subject (see highlighted passage).
This was brought to our attention first by Linda Wright while we were still in Russia waiting to go home. When we later confirmed it, it was the first inkling we had that Denise was not totally on the up and up. Within two months, she had lost all her credibility with us.
We can only presume that other potential clients realized the same thing we did, and chose to put their money and adoption hopes in the care of better qualified and more ethical people.
Denise herself came to the same realization, conveniently enough, at or before the time of year when most people start their adoptions and are surfing through websites deciding who to use. (It was not the first time she’d posted inadvertently damaging material on her site and then taken it down, either).
The story is reprinted below as it originally was posted on BBAS’s site. The second highlighted passage is also good for a hoot or two, or three.
See the end of the story for Denise’s pitiful attempt to explain this away.
“Our Story”
As
published in the Medina County Gazette, March 3, 1998
MEDINA TWP. – The
Hubbards just wanted a daughter, but with Emily Kathryn-Ann, they received more
than they bargained for.
“At
first, we wanted a daughter, “ Gary said.
“Later it was about giving a needy child a good home.”
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done; I enjoy it so much, “ said
Denise, who is now helping 21 couples adopt through her company, Building Blocks
Adoption Services, Inc. “I’ve
looked for something in life that we really like to do and I found it.”
With challenges like the
laid-back Russian bureaucracy and the language barrier, foreign adoption can be
a difficult task, the couple said. But
it’s one that’s very worthwhile, said the Hubbards, who in December [1997]
traveled about 800 miles east of Moscow to an orphanage in the Perm region of
Russia to adopt Emily.
They brought clothes,
vitamins and other items for the children donated by local businesses and
individuals. “If I had a big enough
duffle bag, I would have brought all the children back,” Denise said.
Unlike other countries,
conditions in Russian orphanages are rather good, the Hubbards said.
But it isn’t quite like what Americans would be accustomed to.
For example, there are no
diapers on the children. They just
find it easier to change clothes than deal with diapers, Denise said.
The Russians the Hubbards
met were proud of their country but also aware of their shortcomings.
“If a child can be brought up in a better home, they’re all for
it,” Denise said. “The only
thing these children lack is love, their emotional needs,” she added.
“Love and parents – that’s what they need.”
Due to the slow pace of
American adoptions through the public sector (including a wait of up to eight
years) and the expensive, potentially problematic private attorney route (rife
with the fear that the birth mother would renege on her decision to place the
child up for adoption and want the youngster back), the Hubbards opted for a
foreign adoption.
The couple, who has three
boys but is medically unable to have more children, considered China and Korea,
but decided against those countries because little information about the
children is provided. Russia looked
much better, in part because Denise is of Russian decent.
The Russians offered some
information, like the fact that Emily’s father is a driver and her
college-educated mother is a 36-year-old secretary. The two are divorced and were unable to afford Emily.
Their girl has three siblings, the Hubbards learned, who were also put up
for adoption. Their whereabouts and
even their gender is unknown and likely to remain that way due to poor
recordkeeping, but Denise is determined to find them, so Emily will know who her
siblings are, they said.
Giving Emily a family was a
process that began in February 1997, when they began working with the Russian
facilitator who would help them with the adoption. They had many tasks ahead of them, including passing checks
of the child abuse registry, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the state
Bureau of Criminal Investigation; authorization from the Immigration and
Naturalization Service; a fact-gathering on family finances and the home
environment; and independent interviews of family members.
The Hubbards wanted a girl
who was as young as possible. They
first saw Emily on a videotape and the instant they saw her, they knew she was
theirs, they said. Once in Russia,
they had the chance to meet Emily for the first time before the legal
proceedings. At which they knew
they had made the right choice. Denise
remembers how alert Emily was and how she was just so happy!
At the meeting, the director of the orphange took the Hubbards on a tour,
and Gary remembered thinking that he could not believe how the orphange was so
clean and organized. He noticed the abundance of toys and the paintings on the
walls. There were also children
dressing for a morning walk in the snow. Denise
was amazed at how attentive the caregivers were with the children and how the
young children were able to dress themselves, they seemed so independent, Denise
said.
That part of the process
went smoothly, but they were sweating a little at the adoption hearing because
the judge left the courtroom to consider their case when they believed he would
grant their request on the spot. But
upon meeting the judge in her chambers, they realized that the paperwork was
completed for their adoption in the absence of the judge.
In Russia, they learned
what a cockroach looks like [What? Denise never looks in the mirror?] and, in this land where it is dark from 4 p.m. to 9
a.m. and 2 feet of snow is often on the ground, they experienced heatwaves in
the low 30s.
The experience also taught
them that foreign adoption isn’t cheap. The
Hubbards paid $17,000. Adoptions
can cost up to $28,000 or more from other resources, they found out.
The high cost prompted
Denise to charge $14,500 for her company’s adoptions, Denise said.
If she could do it for
nothing
she
would, but she also understands that people need to be paid for
their services, as well as supporting the orphanages.
The profit margin is slim, she said, adding, “I’m
not in it for the money. I’m in
it for the children.”
And what did the Hubbards
do upon returning from Russia? They
went to Disney World, of course – a mere three days later. They had planned the trip a year ago and it allowed for
plenty of bonding, walking and playing together, Denise said.
But even now, their
adoption work isn’t over. Five
post-placement visits from an American social worker are required – after the
third, sixth and ninth months, and the second and third years.
Watching Emily –
nicknamed “Dragonfly” at the orphanage because of her active nature –
crawling on the floor alongside a crawling Minnie Mouse character, suggests
she’s adapted rather well to life in the West.
Clearly, the Hubbards and
their sons are happy about this latest addition to the family.
Take it from Emily’s brother, Michael, 11, author of “Sweet Sweet
Emily”, written for his mother. “God
gave us the greatest gift of all! My
sister,” he wrote. “Thank you,
God!”
Denise’s advice to those contemplating an overseas adoption is this, “Don’t think about it, just do it. If you can find a way to go on vacation, you can find a way to adopt a child.” “What you’ll come back with is the greatest gift,” she said. “Look what we brought back.”