Adoption Blessings Worldwide finally surrenders their license after playing FL/GA whack-a-mole
Adoption Blessings Worldwide (ABW) based in Georgia, has apparently surrendered its license as of July 31rst. But Adoption Blessings Worldwide is only the latest name Tedi Hedstrom was operating under. Her previous agency in FL, then operating under the name Tedi Bear Adoptions surrendered its FL license back in 2003.
This past July, First Coast News (Florida), who have been following Hedstrom’s actions since her FL days, ran a useful backgrounder article and video, Embattled Adoption Agency Gives Up Its License:
The complaints were made weeks ago, but First Coast News learned that on Thursday, Georgia officials received notification that ABW was relinquishing its license.
The agency was once licensed in Florida and based on the First Coast under a different name, Tedi Bear Adoptions, years ago. After numerous problems and state investigations, the agency surrendered its license to Florida authorities in 2003.
The agency was already licensed in Georgia, and changed its name from Tedi Bear to Adoption Blessings Worldwide, but its executive director, Tedi Hedstrom, still had a home in Ponte Vedra.
Complaints against ABW started rolling in to Georgia and Florida authorities months ago.
“That’s why they’re shutting down. There’s been too many problems to continue doing business for them,” Andreas Ernfridsson told First Coast News.
Hedstrom did not return phone calls to her home and cell phone.
In a statement released by her attorney, Rick Rumrell, Hedstrom says she’s been “….praying that God give her direction in regards to the future…with Adoption Blessings Worldwide…. It is with great regret that Adoption Blessings Worldwide and Tedi Hedstrom will be formally closing its doors to adoption services.”
A lawsuit is also in the works.
First Coast News has learned that a number of former ABW clients will soon be filing a lawsuit against the agency.
Others have been keeping an eye on Hedstrom and doing far better coverage on her antics than I have. For example, CHEW has been blogging along some of the other news articles and media related pieces about ABW. Cribs, Crimes, and Corruption, also has some, including a link into a primary source archive of ABW pieces here.
There are numerous older materials on Tedi Bear Adoptions, (the name Tedi Hedstrom was operating under 1997-2003, in FL) , I’ll link just a couple:
Despite her history in FL, the St. Augustine (FL) Record as recently as this past February 19th, did a fawning puff piece on Tedi Hedstrom entitled Ponte Vedra: Agency makes international adoptions possible.
This August 17, 1998 Florida Times Union piece, It’s what God wants me to do, also profiles the Hedstroms and Tedi’s adoption “ministry”.
Clearly, Hedstrom in her personal life is a ‘collect-a-set’ type, going for that idealized dozen herself.
Apparently her god given mission in life has been to rip off other wanna-be adopters.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/nablo_typer_160px.jpg")
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:16 am
Also note Adoption Blessings Worldwide was also featured in Dateline’s recent “To catch a baby Broker” piece, particularly in the early segments and final segment dealing with the selling of kidnapped Guatemalan children.
See the Jan 20th 2008 Dateline transcriptand view the video segments.
Naturally, it being Dateline, the piece drips with ‘Datelinisms’ and places the entire thing into a consumer protection/few bad apples’ recontextualization.
Note that the couple in question remained with ABW even after they had originally been matched to a kidnapped child due to ABW having their paperwork and their money.
This is the bind that keeps many PAPs who are being strung along with fraud after fraud from walking away. They continue to play along due in part to their deep investments, emotional and financial.