Chapter 5:
Ping-Pong
This email, provided by Richard J. Marco, Jr. to the Akron Better Business Bureau after Janet’s complaint is from Lee Slater to Kelly Carter-Hubbard and “BBAdoption” (Denise Hubbard). Denise deliberately forwarded it to Janet in mid-August, leaving all of Lee Slater’s information intact:
From: Lee Slater [mailto: lee@adoptwithlee.org]
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 12:45 PM
To: BB Kelly Carter Kelly Carter; BBAdoption
Subject: Georgia
Aloha, just returned home and the news though rather slow is sill very positive. Although the
parliament is in recess – committees are still engaged. The latest report is that the legislation
will pass through the judiciary committee in about a week or two. It has to go through one more
minor committee before it reaches the floor of the parliament. So far there is no opposition. We
still remain very optimistic and hope that Janet will remain so too.
With aloha,
Lee
*Please note new tell: 808-988-7674
Lee Slater Adoption Services
Specializing in international adoptions for over 13 years
2621 East Manoa Road
Honolulu, HI 96822
*Tel/Fax: 808-988-7674
web page: http://www.adoptwithlee.org
Still reeling and hurt by the wild story about non-existent pregnant women carrying female fetuses, Janet emailed Denise on Aug. 7 asking her what real progress had been made. She was still waiting on an official referral. Denise responded:
Janet:
Just returned from vacation. I keep hearing the same thing over and over. That the program will opensoon. Now I hear Sept. I do not know what to tell you? You may want to consider Guatemala. I will ask
again on Monday, but as of last week, it was still up in the air
Best Regards,
(Link added).
Denise “just returned from vacation” Hubbard. Didn’t the woman stay in Medina anymore? Didn’t she raise her children anymore? Is that what the $2,000 per Guatemalan child per adoption was really going toward? More “vacations” Denise?
She should have been realistic in her response. Instead of writing “you may want to consider Guatemala” she should have written “change your paperwork right now to Guatemala cause it ain’t happening in Georgia.”
On Aug. 13 Janet sent this to Denise. This email was also provided by Richard J. Marco, Jr. in BBAS rebuttal of Janet Ostrander’s complaint to the Akron Better Business Bureau:
Hi Denise….after talking with you and reading the email you sent from Lee, I have decided to stay with your
agency as the email sounds like positive changes are going on in my region. Please keep me updated and
informed. I will be anxiously awaiting your call with a referral. My apologies for any inconvenience this may
have caused you.
Janet Ostrander
Here is Denise’s response. The email was sent to Janet and Karen@bbas.org, or Karen McFarland, BBAS “Administrative Director.”
Subj: Lee
Date: 8/16/2004 12:57:43 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: denise@bbadoption.org
To: Janet Ostrander, Karen@bbas.org
Janet:
Per our conversation today, I have told Lee that she has one month to get you a referral.Best Regards,
Denise Hubbard
Executive Director
We wonder if Denise really told Slater that. But it sounded good.
Two weeks later Janet questioned what was going on. Something wasn’t right. Getting the run around with non-pregnant women, facilitators who she’d never heard of before, dealing with adoption agency personnel with no qualifications and more paperwork requests took their toll.
Her social worker was wondering what was up. None of her other international clients were sent on wild goose chases to the state capital for more authentication of documents. Did that agency have any idea of how to get its paperwork requirements under control?
Janet begged Denise to give her a true and official referral of a child. She’d been strung along for over a year. Other PAPs she’d run into at the state capital were in the final stages of their adoptions. Their adoptions weren’t taking over a year. Friends of hers who had adopted internationally were telling her something wasn’t right. She should have had a referral months ago.
Janet asked for a refund. The charade had gone on long enough. But Denise is not keen on refunds. Janet’s checks had long ago been cashed and cleared. Where the money truly went is a matter of speculation.
Denise instead blamed Lee Slater, who did, after all, deserve it. She emailed Slater on Aug. 13, and forwarded it to Janet later.
Subject: (no subject)
Date: 8/13/2004 4:15:13 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: denise@bbadoption.org
To: Janet Ostrander
Lee:
Janet Ostrander has been working with you/us for 14 months. We have given her no referrals andno hope of getting a child. We would like her entire dossier back from you with a full refund. Janet
will not be working with our agency and has requested everything back. She is very irate. She has
been told by the Dept of State that no adoptions will occur in ROG. We will expect the entire dossier
and fee back by Wednesday August 18, 2004 or you will hear from our agency attorney.
Best Regards
Denise Hubbard Executive Director
Denise lied to Lee Slater. Since when had Janet had any dealings with the US Department of State on the Republic of Georgia? She hadn’t. She’d relied on Building Blocks to help her along during the process for both Azerbaijan and Georgia. She would have had no idea how to contact the US Department of State either on the telephone or on the Internet .
Denise was frustrated with Janet too. In another piece of correspondence Richard J. Marco, Jr. provided to the Akron Better Business Bureau after Janet’s complaint, Denise is ranting to somebody. It is unclear as to whether this was an email, a memo in Janet’s file, or Denise’s personal notes.
Later that same day Denise emailed Lee asking for Janet’s dossier and “Full refund” (ROG = Republic of Georgia).
8/13/2004 12:34 PM
Spoke with Janet. She is so confused on the process explained again she is not getting a referral because
she signed up for the ROG program. She keeps telling me Moscow is not closed why is she not getting a
child.
I explained that Moscow is a city in Russia and Russia is a country that is diff from ROG.
They she brought up Azer, I explained it was closed and SHE chose ROG. She tried to tell me we forced her
into ROG. I explained that was not true that she signed a contract for ROG, did the dossier for ROG and it
was her choice because she did not want to travel for 21 days in Russia. Also she did not want to wait for
a baby in Russia.
I explained that the wait time is the same, just that they wait time for Russia was with a referral while ROG
was w/o a referral. She is totally confused…
She needed approval for Moscow or Guat to do adoptions we have kids. She was very upset and screaming
on the phone that we wronged her and refused to give her info on referrals in Russia or Guat. I explained
she signed up for ROG that if she wanted Russia or Guat she had to do a dossier and sign on for that program.
We can’t imagine why a client would be “upset and screaming” at Denise Hubbard on the telephone.
Janet said afterwards, Denise called her several times in one day “irate and angry.” This was a rarity, considering the fact Denise has never, ever called her prior to her request for a refund. It was Janet doing all the calling to Medina. Not the reverse.
Denise made it seem that it was Janet’s fault that no adoption was going through. She maintained it was Janet who had chosen Azerbaijan and Georgia. At the same time, she still said those programs were open and running. Yet it had been up to Denise in her position of Executive Director (or whatever position she holds) to keep her paying clients up to date on open and valid adoption programs.
Denise, Janet claims, had her conned into believing Georgia would be opening very soon. Because she was in a bad emotional state, wanting a girl so desperately, Janet agreed to slog through it one more month with BBAS.
Denise also knew Janet had wanted a Caucasian child, a child who was more or less Slavic. A child from Guatemala would not have been a good fit for Janet. Therefore, to Janet, Guatemala was an impossibility.