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Adoption ordeals a 'living hell'

Erie foundation's CEO facing theft, fraud charges

By Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 31, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated March 31, 2008 at 6:02 a.m.

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Carol Kuzdek said she doesn't expect to see a penny of the thousands of dollars she paid Lisa Novak of the Claar Foundation.

Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky

Carol Kuzdek said she doesn't expect to see a penny of the thousands of dollars she paid Lisa Novak of the Claar Foundation.

Carol Kuzdek thumbs through photos of her adopted daughter-to-be, Alice. Kuzdek is getting her chance to adopt the Guatemalan child, but not through the Claar Foundation, which she says defrauded her of more than $18,000.

Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky

Carol Kuzdek thumbs through photos of her adopted daughter-to-be, Alice. Kuzdek is getting her chance to adopt the Guatemalan child, but not through the Claar Foundation, which she says defrauded her of more than $18,000.

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Next month, Carol Kuzdek will travel to Guatemala and pick up the adorable 6-month-old girl she has named Alice, after her own mother.

It's a moment Kuzdek had feared might never come.

After 18 months and more than $18,000, the Boulder woman gave up hope that the international adoption agency she was working with, the Claar Foundation, would ever come through. Now the agency has declared bankruptcy and its owner and CEO, Lisa Novak, 48, of Erie, faces theft and fraud charges.

Kuzdek's baby is coming from another agency, but her experience with Claar has left her jittery.

"With Lisa, you always felt that at any time the rug could be yanked out from under your feet," she said. "I still feel that way."

Kuzdek's ordeal began after she ran into an old friend who had just adopted through the Claar Foundation and spoke highly of it. She went to an orientation meeting and signed a contract at the end of 2005.

By the end of June 2006, Kuzdek had been cleared to adopt. Then it was just a matter of waiting for a referral for an available child.

In the meantime, Kuzdek said she began hearing complaints about Claar.

"I talked to Lisa, and she said that there are always those people who complain, that you can't please everyone," Kuzdek said.

But months passed without a referral - three, then six.

"Lisa would say that we don't buy babies, we're legitimate, all the other agencies are buying babies," Kuzdek said.

In January 2007, a frustrated Kuzdek asked for her $13,100 referral fee back.

"They told me they weren't going to give it to me," she said. In May, almost a year after she had been approved to adopt, she withdrew from Claar and asked for her money and her file. She got neither.

Though she later, through arbitration, won approval for a full refund, Novak shut down Claar the day after payment was due.

"I don't think I'll ever see a penny of that money," Kuzdek said.

Her friend, Kirsten Bailey, of Lafayette, also went through Claar to adopt her son, Oliver. He was born in February 2007, but they are still waiting for the adoption to be finalized.

"It's been a tumultuous journey," Bailey said. "As the process went on, communication got worse and worse."

She said people who complained to Novak would be threatened with the loss of their adoption.

"They wanted you to be quiet and not say anything," Bailey said. "Everyone was so intimidated to talk to them."

Novak could not be reached for comment. She was released from the Boulder County Jail last week on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court in April.

Bailey said she has paid close to $30,000 for the adoption but never received any photos or updates about her son, who she and her husband have visited several times. They've met the people who are caring for him, and the adoption process is now in the hands of an agency she trusts.

"I don't regret it at all, although it's been the worst living hell," Bailey said. "I love that little boy and I want him to be part of our family."

ryckmanl@RockyMountainNews.com

Comments

  • March 31, 2008

    8:42 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    vudumom writes:

    I am sorry she had to go through the nightmare of being ripped off by an adoption agency.I don't have much sympathy for people who adopt children from overseas, when there are so many children here that need homes.Spending $18,000 trying to buy a baby from another country could have gone a long way to giving a child in foster care or a child needing to be adopted a home . It sickens me when I see people paying that kind of money and much more, ( I've seen stories of up to $30,000 ) for a child from another country and they won't adopt children in need here.

  • March 31, 2008

    9:48 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scott writes:

    These yuppie broads spending $18k to $30k of up-front money would have made one heck of a college fund if these pieces of fluff would have adopted a U.S. kid. But then it would not have been the "sheak"(sp?) thing for a Stonerville socialites to do. They must have the latest designer kids ya know.

    Scott

  • March 31, 2008

    10:48 a.m.

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    Steve writes:

    You guys are ignorant as hell. (Scott, MarineGrunt, vudumon)

  • March 31, 2008

    11:03 a.m.

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    Brooklyn writes:

    How sad are the comments from our community - let's consider the families trying to adopt, shall we? Who knows what ethnic backgroud these adopting families have...would you have scorned someone with family ties in China for wanting to adopt a Chinese child? How about if they forked out $30,000 for artificial insemenation instead of adopting locally - would you still be incensed and is that anyone's business but theirs? And quite honestly, I find their possible choices in coffee establishments to be irrelevant in the quest to adopt a child.

    In the long run - it's about the children. One less child w/o a family is a good thing, regardless of where they or their adopted family is from. The actions, or lack thereof, by the Claar Agency have harmed not only the baby/child who is in a state of limbo, but the family trying to adopt as well. It's not about money or ethnicity. It's about providing a loving home and family for children that need one. Thankfully, by removing the Claar Agency of it's practices, this will once again be made possible for these poor families.

  • March 31, 2008

    11:49 a.m.

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    jendustin writes:

    For Scott, MarineGrunt and Vudumon, You truly are so unbelievable ignorant. There are children all over the world who need loving homes. Have you been to Guatemala? Have you seen the living conditions of these people! Shame on all of you!!!

  • March 31, 2008

    11:49 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scott writes:

    1: "How about if they forked out $30,000 for artificial insemination [sic] instead of adopting locally - would you still be incensed ..."

    Yup.

    2: " .. and is that anyone's business but theirs?"

    Only when they go whining to the media. Then THEY made it a public issue.

    3: "... choices in coffee establishments to be irrelevant..."

    It was used as an illustration regarding the views and actions of yuppies. (Sorry for speaking for you MarineGrunt)

    4: "... In the long run - it's about the children ..."

    Absolutely correct. Try starting at home. Once EVERY child in the U.S. has a loving home, THEN start overseas. Until that state of nirvana has been reached, help the American kids first. BTW, my view is that a Dutchman should help Dutch kids, a Mexican help Mexican kids, etc., until all of the kids in the person's home country are placed in loving homes.

    Scott

  • March 31, 2008

    12:14 p.m.

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    Spencer writes:

    you're right about that Steve. These people have no idea what they are talking about.

  • March 31, 2008

    1:41 p.m.

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    peachy0301 writes:

    To Scott and MarineGrunt,

    While I appreciate your feelings on this matter and do understand where you are coming from there are some other things that need to be considered here. My husband and I adopted our son here in Denver. We wanted an infant because we really had not had much dealings with older kids and wanted to learn with him/her as we went along. The wait for a domestic infant is usually 2 years - it can be less. We got lucky. Our son was born 11 months after we started the adoption process.

    We had one adoption that fell thru because the 14 year old mother decided to keep the baby. It has become so acceptable in society for kids to keep their kids that it is usually hard to get a domestic infant for adoption.

    If you want to adopt a child in foster care you have to go thru a similar process that we went thru. I have seen people who have had several kids go thru their home before they were able to adopt one. Some kids are not legally free to be adopted. Others have problems that it takes very special people to deal with. In a society where it is uncommon to have one parent who can stay at home and give these kids the attention and care they need to have is hard. A large number of the kids in foster care are part of a sibling group and every effort is tried to keep them together so these kids need to go to families that can handle two, three, even more children, and not everyone is in a position to do that.

    It's not as cut and dried as it seems. There is a lot to look at on all sides of this issue.

  • March 31, 2008

    2:13 p.m.

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    jendustin writes:

    Yes Scott I have been to Guatemala. I am very aware of the adoption process because my husband and I have adopted (from Guatemala). We spent 1 year looking into adoption before starting the process. Our first choice was to adopt out of the foster care system. We spent months going thru the training only to have the social worker come to our home and explain that a child placed with us could be taken out up to 2 years. The social worker recommended we turn to international adoption. I know several couples who have tried to buy (as you like to put it) a baby from the birth mother here in the US, spending up to $80,000 only to have the birth mother change her mind and they too lost all of their money. I would like to point out to you that not all people adopt because they have fertility problems. My husband and I believe it is our duty to give a home to a child (any race) that is in need. If you truly have been to Guatemala and this is your position on this topic than I will include you in my prayers. I also recommend you educate yourself on adoption before having such strong opinions (well put peachy). I do hope that the US/state government will work on changing the fostadopt system, I know many families that would love to adopt locally if they could.

  • March 31, 2008

    2:27 p.m.

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    Scott writes:

    jendustin,

    MarineGrunt has served in Central America, not me.

    Scott

  • March 31, 2008

    3:53 p.m.

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    CWW writes:

    I have some friends who adopted from China because they were unable to meet the criteria (the wife was older than the husband). Plus, the lack of children for adoption makes it almost impossible. Since any 15 year-old twit who can get pregnant is encouraged to keep her child and go on welfare, there are virtually no adoptable babies.

    It's a shame this agency was corrupt, but there are many others out there who are trying to help children all over the world.

  • March 31, 2008

    4:43 p.m.

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    jendustin writes:

    Sorry about the mix up Scott.

  • March 31, 2008

    4:52 p.m.

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    exdenvergirl writes:

    Wow. I knew there was something wrong with this agency. My husband and I tried adopting with this agency about 4 years ago. After giving them thousands of dollars we were told we weren't approved to adopt. No other explanation. We were told we would not be able to get a refund of any size. The only thing they allowed us to do was read our home-study, which was written horribly. We took a copy of the study and sent it to another agency who agreed that it was written so poorly that no one would have taken it under consideration.

    I hope everyone involved with this agency has a really long prison stay.

  • March 31, 2008

    8:29 p.m.

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    Kolohe writes:

    There are children in need everywhere in the world. Quite often children waiting overseas to be adopted live in far worse conditions than what's in the US, so who's to say you should only adopt locally. Furthermore, adoption within the US is not that much cheaper. We have had estimates in the range of $15k to $25k for a local adoption. Which is not all that significant of a diference. Forget what you "could have saved" for a college education lets get these kids in loving homes first.

  • April 2, 2008

    6:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mums_the_word writes:

    Marine Grunt, and others who feel Americans should not adopt children from "outside" this country.

    Get your Facts...Have you ever looked at the Denver Adoption Exchange Web site? Are you aware of what children here in the US are "legally" available for adoption? Let alone that they come into the foster/adoption system at an older age, having expereinced things you would only have nightmares about; and really needing life long extra financial commitments (for health and therapy)far over "college funds?"

    I HAVE adopted Older children from the US...as well as children from orphanges from overseas. I AM an Expert...it IS costly to adopt a child on Any side of Any pond. And there is NO financial assistance for on-going special needs children in the USA (or from anywhere else for that matter) once they are Finally adopted here.

    Most of us cannot afford the financial cost of adopting (let alone the day to day on-going financial care)of the available Sibling groups of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 - yes - 7 brothers and sisters - Children who are available for adoption today! (LOOK on the current Adoption Exchange web site for children (of all ages) Needing a family.) And they should all have one!

    These siblingss range from age 3 yrs to 17 yrs old. They are Hispanic, African American, Caucasian..all races..and all older children. There are also numerous children who will never be able to live independently, or who are seriously handicapped....

    How many children have you raised? How many children have you adopted?

  • April 2, 2008

    6:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mums_the_word writes:

    People of Critical Tongue...
    I did everything you criticize these adoptive these parents for- not doing..I adopted American and overseas...Doesn't every Child deserve a home?

    You say you care about American kids who need parents? At lease honor these American Kids by getting your facts straight; then step up...What one thing are You willing to do for them?

    ONE MORE TIME...

    Look at the Denver Adoption Exchange. Find out how many multiple sibling groups need families. Tell me if YOU can afford to take on such emotional and financial responsibility for Sibling Groups of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 - yes - 7 brothers and sisters - Children who are available for adoption today!They are groups with 3-17 years old...

    Most of us adoptive parents would adopt the world (including numbers of American siblings) if we could financially afford it...would you?