Adoption House and Harlan Tenenbaum

Tenenbum's Deep Affiliation with National Council For Adoption

"Unparalleled Expertise and Integrity"

"...gentle hands-on approach and expansive vision of adoption, establish him as

one of the nation's foremost authorities on adoption today."

For a few years, Harlan Tenenbaum was a bright and shining star in the crown of National Council For Adoption. Among Harlan's other achievements and awards, he served as NCFA's legal advisor and helped to develop the federally-funded Infant Adoption Training Program (IATP), bringing NCFA a handsome $6.1 million grant "...to develop a national program curriculum consistent with the best-practices guidelines and implement a national training program based on that curriculum."

 . IATP's stated goal was:

To develop and implement programs to train designated staff of eligible health centers in providing adoption information and referrals to pregnant women on an equal basis with all other courses of action included in non-directive counseling to pregnant women.

Harlan subsequently served as an IATP instructor in Delaware.

He apparently represented NCFA's tenets well. Reviews of the training program by attendees reported:

Kelly McBride of Planned Parenthood of Indiana noted the exclusive and "constant focus on 'child-centered' counseling" and "how to inform clients that adoption is a 'good choice for the child.'" She said she was given "tips and techniques...about how to work against [women's] resistance, make them proud of their decision and convince them that adoption is a good choice." One family planning provider from Planned Parenthood of Collier Country, Florida, said she was told to repeatedly bring up adoption as an option, even if a woman says she is not interested. These examples border on coercion and clearly violate both Title X guidelines and principles of medical ethics.
Another key criticism was the negative lens through which trainers viewed clients. Marquardt noted that counselors were encouraged "to identify clients as deluded, not living in the real world, not being practical, participating in self- betrayal, being ignorant, and generally being unable to make good choices, unless...it's the choice the counselor would make for the client." He commented that such a negative view of the client is counterproductive, by preventing the counselor from establishing a constructive rapport with the client or aiding the client to make the choice that is best for her. 

Not only was Adoption House a  member of NCFA, but it was actually the stepchild of another NCFA member, Adoption Associates, Inc., headquartered in Jenison, Michigan. In a 1999 Adoption Associates newsletter, Accept Adoption, founder and president Richard Van Deelen boasts:

Van Deelen's history with NCFA goes back to at least 1984, when he testified, along with Bill Pierce, on behalf of NCFA in a Senate hearing. More about Adoption Associates in a forthcoming posting.

Back to Harlan Tenenbaum

Something was out of synch between the achievement/award persona projected on his and his step-parent agency's websites and that of the one that managed Adoption House. Adoptive parents and prospective parents had little good to say about either Harlan Tenenbaum or his agency. A good example is the fiasco at a 'Babies R Us' store on 'Adoption Day' 2007. 'Nightmare!' describes the arrogance and total insensitivity of this man and the effect his behavior had on one prospective adoptive couple.

On the website Adoption Agency Ratings, Adoption House drew an average of one star out of a possible 5, with allegations of unexplained additional fees, "emotional blackmail," inept agency counselors and more.

More telling, however, is what happened in the summer of 2008, as described by shocked Adoption House clients:

Some couples did report being notified of the agency's closing, but missing in those cases was any explanation for it. In the coming months, other clients made vague references to a possible explanation. From a comment added to the Adoption Agency Ratings website:

By September, Joint Council on International Children's Services, of which Adoption House was a member, noted that the agency was closing.

By February, there seem to have been previous discussions about Adoption House's troubles, as revealed in this posting:

Whatever the reason, Harlan Tenenbaum has not renewed his membership in the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. (Notice that listings on the grievance decisions page "may or may not be related to any Grievance matter.")

So the "Angel in Adoption" who proclaimed himself to be "one of the nation's foremost authorities on adoption today," and who served as legal counsel to National Council For Adoption is no longer even an adoption attorney.

So what is he doing today?

He is now an "Executive Coach and Leadership Development Consultant" for JCris Consulting Group, apparently a virtual entity, since it lists no brick-and-mortar address on its website.

Notice on his bio how he minimizes his role in his previous enterprise, Adoption House. His info, which one would assume he wrote - or at least approved - states he "was asked to serve as the CEO of a non-profit adoption agency..." Granted, his mother probably asked him to serve, but contrast this with the bio blurb he furnished for the Angels in Adoption Award he received in 2001: (bold print added)

Harlan S. Tenenbaum

Rep. Michael N. Castle

Harlan Tenenbaum is an “Angel” and worthy of the Congressional Coalition’s Angel in Adoption Award. The child of an adopted mother, Harlan learned how important it is for each child to be brought up in a loving family. Together, he and his mother have opened an adoption agency in Wilmington, DE, called Adoption House. Adoption House is a non-profit, full-service adoption agency that handles domestic and international adoptions. Harlan serves as managing director and his mother, Leah, serves as its Executive Director.

Notice how he lists himself as "managing director" in the Angel award, while on his present job bio he "was asked to serve as the CEO" of (an unnamed) agency.

Is there a reason Harlan Tenenbaum has divorced himself from past affiliation with Adoption House? If so, why? Inquiring minds want to know.

One thing we do know is that one of NCFA's bright and shining stars somehow took a fall. And in doing so, it seriously sullied yet another piece of NCFA's integrity and credibility.

But that's only the beginning. You need to know about Harlan's dad and business partner, Joel. Are you ready for this? Go for it!