The Cradle

I cannot say enough good things about our experience with The Cradle. Start to finish they have been incredible. It’s no wonder the agency has been around for almost 100 years. They’re excellent at what they do.
For how hard adoption can be, to have some of that stress lessened by competent professionals who really have the best interest of families in mind has been priceless.
Our daughter received excellent care while she was in the Cradle Nursery for the first six weeks of her life before we brought her home. Cradle staff will always be part of our family story and we are so thankful that they were there, and continue to be there, for our baby and her first mother.
Our adoption counselor Wendy was a huge comfort during some of the more stressful moments and very adept at guiding us through the process and making sure all our paperwork was in line. From the counselors to the nursery staff to the billing department absolutely every person we came into contact with at this agency was warm, committed to helping and competent.
Thank you, Cradle staff for helping bring our family together.

My wife and I adopted our precious little girl in May of 2015. We had talked about adopting a child ever since we found out it would be our only opportunity for a fourth child. After having three boys in three year increments when our youngest turned three our talks became more serious. Once our youngest son turned five we started exploring our options. My wife Mary and I also felt like we could provide a healthy, safe, and loving home for a child with special needs. We contacted the Cradle and began the process. After our first interview with our Cradle counselor the excitement of what was to come was so real. Our counselor and the Cradle organization as a whole handled the entire process professionally and thoughtfully. Not without any hiccups, on May 7^th 2015 our family was given a beautiful, precious, and perfect little blessing. Jordyn Amanda would really be ours forever. Thank you Wendy and The Cradle for helping us complete our family!

The Cradle has an absolutely outstanding staff to help counsel individuals and families through a variety of adoption decisions.
We used them over 15 years ago to help start our family. They have been providing excellent post-​adoption services since then and continue to be leaders in the industry.
They are also the only adoption agency to have a full time nursery.

We adopted our baby girl in February through the Cradle’s special needs program. I cannot say enough to commend the Cradle’s expertise, professionalism, and dedication to the world of adoption. The staff at the Cradle are all wonderful, enthusiastic, and incredibly supportive. The agency prides itself on promotion of ethical adoption practices, and their commitment to both birth and adoptive families is evident. If you are looking for the «experts» in adoption, I highly recommend the Cradle. Yes, the adoption process itself is emotional, complicated, and unpredictable. The Cradle provides resources and support every step of the way.
The counselor/​social work staff are knowledgeable and were super communicative throughout the entire process. The nursing staff are all amazing– they provided the best care for our baby while she stayed in the nursery and are clearly invested in the infants they care for.
The Cradle is also committed to adoption education– helping the community as a whole understand the adoption process, debunking stereotypes and myths, and providing comprehensive information about identity, attachment, and other adoption issues. I think this makes it obvious that the Cradle doesn’t operate with a «hidden agenda». The Cradle truly conducts itself with every child’s needs at the forefront, preparing families for their new addition!
Considering adoption? Call the Cradle. Have questions about adoption? Call the Cradle. Looking for the experts in adoption? Call the Cradle!
Thank you for everything you have given us, and keep up the great work!

We brought a baby girl home on April 27^th. We are thrilled to be parents and everything is as amazing as you would expect. Katherine is healthy, happy and right now sitting beside me kicking and smiling.
Katie was born to a smart, beautiful, brave woman who chose us to parent her. We tell Katie about her mother and about how much she loves her. When her mother is comfortable we hope Katie can know her.
The Cradle has been supportive, educational, professional and caring through the entire process. If anyone has any questions about please message me and I will try and answer anything I can.
Chris, Kearby and Katie

We had a very negative experience with this agency. As potential adoptive parents we didn’t feel respected and we didn’t feel that it was a safe place to learn about the adoption process. They have a rigid approach to adoption and parenting and if you are not on board with their specific ideology, you should reconsider working with them. No matter how educated or informed you are about topics, there does not seem to be a place for having your own opinion as a potential adoptive parent. As one of the other posters stated, they will do whatever they can to keep you from having a child unless you meet their description of the ‘ideal couple.’ Their definition of an ideal couple seems to be something beyond being in a stable, loving life situation, with financial security and solid references from friends, family and community. From talking to others who have bad experiences with them it seems that you can be discriminated against for so many things with this agency; being in an interracial relationship, being single, being older, being divorced, etc.
In my opinion, working with the agency is a gamble. You may end up financially and emotionally drained.
Pros:
*They do come widely recommended by many, including many people who have never worked with them. They have a long standing reputation.
*They have an on-​site nursery.
*They are reasonably priced.
*They do offer long term support for adoptees, but most agencies do this.
Cons:
*I personally thought that requiring a letter of recommendation from an employer for the home study (a requirement unique to this agency) was inappropriate and patriarchal. Nobody should have to disclose their family planning intentions to an employer until they are ready.
*Trainings are difficult to attend and are not offered very often.
*The chain of command for complaints is somewhat broken, if you don’t like something you can be cut off before your problem is ever addressed.

I cannot say enough good things about the Cradle and would highly recommend this agency to other prospective parents. We adopted our daughter in November 2013, and should we ever adopt again, there is no question that we would return to the Cradle. Based on my own experience and that of other couples we know, the Cradle is the most ethical, the most thorough, the most child-​centered, the most supportive, and (let’s just state the facts) the best around at getting it done, at making adoption happen in an efficient, cost-​friendly, above-​board, and yet sensitive and caring way for everyone involved. This institution has literally been helping children, birth families, and adoptive families for almost a hundred years. They know what they are doing, and they do it very well. Their educational programs are excellent – we felt very prepared to meet challenges both before and after adoption as a result of the training we received. Our counselor was wonderful at shepherding us through every step of the process. She was always available to answer questions and provide much-​needed support during difficult moments along the road. When we met our little girl, I could tell that she shared our joy in a very personal, rewarding way. I consider her to be a true friend as well as a counselor. I think it’s telling that at least two other couples we know adopted their first children from other agencies but have switched to the Cradle for their second. I feel so incredibly lucky that we started our journey in the right place and now have the most wonderful, amazing little girl in our lives.

I adopted my daughter through The Cradle in 2012, and I have recommended the agency to several friends since then. I found the required classes to be so helpful, as they really help prospective adoptive parents to understand open adoption, transracial parenting, and the experience of all members of the adoption triad: the child, the birth family, and the adoptive family. The classes prepared me well and my counselor did an outstanding job in supporting me as I made the transition to motherhood after bringing my daughter home. In the years since, I’ve felt comfortable contacting her if I have any questions or need a little extra support.
I adopted my daughter as a single woman, and this was in no way an issue in terms of how I was treated at The Cradle. My counselor did let me know that while most birthparents prefer a two-​parent household, there are certainly many who will consider single parents. She helped me to accentuate my strengths in my adoption profile. She also put me in touch with another single woman who had adopted her two children through The Cradle, and who was able to offer great insights into what it’s like to be a single mom and what I might want to include in my profile. As it turned out, my daughter’s birthparents actually asked to see profiles of single women when they were making their adoption plan, in large part because they wanted to help someone become a parent who might be overlooked by other birthparents.
From start to finish, my experience with The Cradle was outstanding. If I ever decide to adopt again, I will certainly go back to The Cradle. I highly recommend this agency to anyone considering adoption. Best of luck!

The Cradle says they are open to singles, but I found that from their perspective my only options for an infant was «a medically at-​risk» child or a child that would need «assisted equipment». For me that means a child that needs a two parent home, not a single working parent. Also, ALL of the links for information for singles were broken or disconnected. I found another agency that works with everyone! Still not a parent yet, but I believe I will be this year! Just not through this agency!

We love the Cradle! We began our adoption journey at the Cradle in the summer of 2006. It all began with an informational meeting that included a guest speaker, an actual parent that adopted her child through the Cradle! Sigh of relief! Someone that could share their journey, from paperwork, to the wait, the emotional roller coaster, the support and of course, the arrival of her little miracle. Eight years and two sons later, our dreams of a family are fulfilled. From the knowledgeable and supportive counselors, to the nurses who cared for them in the nursery, and the staff that is so excited to see my sons when we visit, we can’t say enough about the Cradle. My husband and I found all of the classes interesting and thorough. While taking these initial classes, we were encouraged to exchange emails and communicate with others that were going through the process. Those emails turned into dinners and eventually play dates. Our sons always look forward to having play dates with their Cradle friends.

We adopted our special needs child from the Cradle and it was wonderful! Their staff was attentive, dedicated, and available every single minute we needed them during the process. They have an amazing history and are well established in the adoption community, which is a huge plus. Our son is doing as well as he is because of them and we couldn’t be happier with our experience. I highly recommend them to both adoptive AND birth families.

We adopted our child from the Cradle in summer 2012. We had a great experience and would recommend the Cradle to anyone who wants to adopt a child.
One of their strengths is the preparation and training that prospective adoptive families receive during the home study process. We also received very knowledgeable and caring support during the match process (after a birth parent selected us, but before we took placement of the baby).
The on-​site Nursery is also a very valuable service that is unique to the Cradle. Our baby received excellent care there for 2−½ weeks before we took her home. We were even able to call the Nursery to ask questions about her care after we took her home.

Pros:
— «The Cradle» is the least expensive company for obtaining your home study in all of Chicagoland
— they have a very efficient and streamlined process for getting a home study completed
— they offer lots of in-​person educational group sessions that allow you to meet other families going through the same experiences as you
Cons:
— if you don’t fit within their standard box, it really throws a monkey wrench into their system and they don’t seem to understand how to work around the challenges. Worse, they seem a little irritated and inconvenienced when this happens.
— Religion seems tolerated but discouraged. This theme is constant and very disappointing.
Bottom line: adoption is a hugely emotional process for both the children and adoptive parents, but over time it is understandable that for the workers involved it becomes only a job. I don’t fault them for this and perhaps this is best as it might allow them to make more objective decisions/​suggestions than otherwise. Also, your experience with «The Cradle» is almost *entirely* dependent upon the counselor you are assigned and how you and s/​he match up in personalities. Some counselors are probably incredibly warm, respectful, punctual, and have some of the same viewpoints you have. Unfortunately, just like any interpersonal relationship, this can’t be guaranteed and you will only start to recognize a poor fit long into the process. At that point making a change would only slow things down and cost more money, so you’ll probably come to the same conclusion as me that it is better to grit your teeth and plow through to the end than take the chance of getting a new counselor assigned only to discover the same or other problems.

Had a very unprofessional and disappointing expieriance with the cradle. They seem to have an agenda and if you as a couple don’t fit into their ideal image of a couple they are unhelpful. But they do not mind taking your money. From what I gathered from other biracial couples who had a similar expieriance with this organization they are not supportive of multiracial interfaith couples. Although it was costly and emotionally painful dealing with these people I’m glad that we went elsewhere. We were told in a group meeting that the organization defrays the delivery cost for the birth mother if her health insurance does not cover everything. I have since found out from some birth mothers that this does not always happen. Even though the adoptive parents are paying thousands of dollars for their «services». We were not on the mature side age wise 32 & 34 respectively but I could tell from our first meeting they did not want to help us. The strangest quote I remember an employee saying is «adoption is a very painful process». That whole approach goes against the very fiber of my way of thinking. I say if you are a young, wealthy, same race and faith couple you will have no issues adopting here. My sympathies go out to the other Unilocaler that had problems. Glad you have your baby. I was blessed with being able to deliver after five yrs of trying this summer.

We started our adoption journey with The Cradle, for all of the reasons posted on the other review. However, as our journey with The Cradle soured, we continued on with them, but for every step forward we were presented with two or three steps back. Basically, we were too old to adopt a healthy baby from the US. I was 45 and my husband 46. We left The Cradle — went to another agency and within one year — we adopted a healtly baby boy from Gary, IN. I have spoken with other older couples and they were faced with the same issue.
Bottomline — if you don’t fit within their description of an ideal couple then they will do all that they can to prevent you from adopting.
I love my son, and he is the prefect child for us. I do have to thank them for causing such delays for us — otherwise I won’t have my son.

This is one of the oldest adoption agencies around — they were founded in 1923. They provide support for the parent putting a baby up for adoption, and they have a range of services for adoptive parents. Domestic and international adoption. They have an excellent reputation.