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December 2022 by Sandra Drumke
I am proud to have worked in the Cradle Nursery for 18 years. During that time I had a front row seat to the wonderful work done at The Cradle for the babies, the birth parents and the adoptive parents. The Cradle is truly a very special place and it was a privilege to have been a part of the wonderful work they do.
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August 2022 by S B
I placed my daughter for adoption through the cradle in 1999. I was a 15 year old girl who didn’t have much guidance and trusted the cradle throughout the process. I recall my counselor being very attentive with regular visits and talks.The weekend I gave birth she was off and I had her on call replacement instead.I don’t ever recall seeing her again as she switched to being the adoptive parents counselor instead of birth parents.I went to one counseling session where one emotional birth mother ruled the meeting with her woes…I was never able to openly express my hurt. I felt disregarded and discarded after the placement. Like they got what they ultimately wanted and I wasn’t needed anymore. It has caused a lifetime of bad memories from the trauma.22 years later my birth daughter lives with me now…after 20 years of living with her adoptive parents. It’s crazy how life has played out.I wanted to share my experience as a birth parent and say I didn’t feel supported during such an emotional process and it was a true let down.
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January 2022 by Samantha Brown
I placed my daughter for adoption through the cradle in 1999. I was a 15 year old girl who didn’t have much guidance and trusted the cradle throughout the process. I recall my counselor being very attentive with regular visits and talks.The weekend I gave birth she was off and I had her on call replacement instead.I don’t ever recall seeing her again as she switched to being the adoptive parents counselor instead of birth parents.I went to one counseling session where one emotional birth mother ruled the meeting with her woes…I was never able to openly express my hurt. I felt disregarded and discarded after the placement. Like they got what they ultimately wanted and I wasn’t needed anymore. It has caused a lifetime of bad memories from the trauma.22 years later my birth daughter lives with me now…after 20 years of living with her adoptive parents. It’s crazy how life has played out.I wanted to share my experience as a birth parent and say I didn’t feel supported during such an emotional process and it was a true let down.
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January 2022 by John Darnell
I am a Cradle kid, glad for that.
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January 2021 by Faith Carlson
The Cradle is horrible. They are unethical when working with vulnerable mothers. They do not provide ethical choices counseling as they claim they do. Proper choices counseling would have involved informed consent which warns a mother about the lifelong risks of her child being adopted and the lifelong risks of adoption to the relinquishing mother. I was never told of any risks just lied to by the counselor. The counselor said things that adoption was best for my child and that she deserved to be raised with "lots and lots of cash." When asked about parenting resources, I was given a packet that showed high expenses and low wages for young mothers who parent. The packet included bogus stats saying that, "most young mothers who parent end up poor the rest of their lives." The packet goes on to state that the joys of parenthood can quickly become stresses if the mom is unable to provide their baby with the life they want them to have. The packet had no resources listed for parenting support and my counselor admitted to me that she did not know of any parenting resources in my area. After signing I started learning about the risks of adoption on my own which included learning the truama alot of adoptees go through from just being adopted, this information was from adoptees themselves via social media.
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January 2020 by Aaron K. Heltsmith
I am compelled to write this review as I learn that more families continue to feel the same kind of pain, concern and confusion about their own experience with The Cradle. I would encourage anyone considering entrusting The Cradle in their adoption journey to do your research and compare with other agencies, locally and nationally. There is public documentation from the state of IL citing The Cradle and counselors for privacy violations and other infractions. There is litigation documented that seems to get settled out of court. What may not be documented publicly is how families are mistreated, children are referred to as ‘inventory’ and the power dynamic of those families waiting is taken advantage of by counselors and leadership. Our experience illustrated a lack of advocacy for us as perspective parents and most importantly for children awaiting placement. As you are doing your research, ask questions, find out placement numbers vs completed home studies, talk to other families and advocate for yourself. Don’t let the nice location, grand piano, SEO and storied history of The Cradle be determining factors for you. Those who have successful placements via any agency will sing it’s praises, those who do not should be considered as well as you entrust an agency in your journey to becoming a family. Would never wish The Cradle on any family, child or birth mother going thru the adoption process.
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January 2020 by Casey Karl
Writing this … takes me all the way back … to my beginning.
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December 2019 by Jonathon Raclaw
Adoption is not an easy process, but the Cradle goes above and beyond to make this process positive for everyone involved
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August 2019 by Laura Caragher
These are fine people who maintain a foundation of honesty and openness, both personally and in the process itself. Trust is everything. Additionally, The Cradle is responsible for quite a few of my friends having been placed with families. Grateful.
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August 2019 by Beth Gonzalez
Forever grateful to the Cradle and their help in completing our family. From the moment we walked in the door we felt right at home.
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June 2019 by Brian Heltsmith
I urge families to do extensive research on agencies before choosing one. ESPECIALLY this agency. They strung us along for over 2 years before we had to make a tough decision and walk away. (Just for the in-home study) During that 2 year+ time period, our concerns about their process were disregarded, our privacy was compromised and our feedback on their "diversity" seminar was approached with open hostility and outright anger. It could very well have been an issue with our counselor, but there were no checks and balances within the organization. I know that The Cradle does a large amount of same sex adoption, so it seemed that this was just a personal issue for our counselor. Please do not be fooled by the address and stately manner of the organization. If something seems too good to be true, it is.
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May 2019 by Timothy Crawford
Drove by, memories
