Adoption nightmare: Family sues Eugene-based Holt International

From

KLCC Studios,

this is

Oregon on the

Record. I'm Michael Dunn. Holt International, based in Eugene, is a globally recognized adoption organization that helps families find children all over the world. The service they offer can help literally build families and make the dreams of some parents come true. But as you'll hear, for one family, their interaction with Holt International was a nightmare. Today on the show, you'll hear from a reporter at the Registered Guard who broke the story of what happened when the family found out that the child they were adopting through Holt had undisclosed mental health challenges of such a nature that the parents feared for her safety and theirs. Then, in the second part of the show, our own Zach Ziegler will join us to talk about several interesting stories that give a reading on the housing and real estate market in our community. That's next on Oregon on the Record. One could imagine that adopting a child must be a delicate balancing act between hope and reality. Expectant parents hope for the best, but must be prepared for some unknowns, not having known the child for the first part of its life. But as you'll hear today on the show, one family who adopted a child in Asia from Eugene-based Holt International has lost all hope for a normal life and are confronted with a grim reality. A Registered Guard reporter brings us the story now. Haley Kochanski, who is a breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register Guard. Haley, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming in.

Happy to be here.

Yeah, boy, a very large and exhaustive piece that you did involving Eugene's Holt International and a family. Let's start with this. Just, you know, for folks who may not know, remind folks what Holt International is and what it does.

Holt International is a locally based international adoption services agency founded in 1956 by Harry and Bertha Holt on the heels of the Korean War.

Okay. Okay. Um, and so they're one of the biggest names in global adoption, right?

Right.

Yeah. So then why don't you tell the audience who are the, I believe it's the Irwin Colasantis?

Right. So, um, Benjamin Irwin and Angela Colasanti are a Pennsylvania family who sued Holt International in 2025, alleging they were coerced into adopting a child from Thailand with severe psychiatric and behavioral health needs beyond what they could reasonably accommodate.

So maybe take us through... their allegations, how this could sort of happen, maybe set up sort of the process by which they engage with Holt International to adopt a child and maybe take us through from their allegations, what went wrong?

Right. So Erwin and Colasanti were matched with a then seven-year-old girl, identified in court documents as KR in 2021 through the Holt Thailand Special Needs Program, where children are labeled to have minor to moderate physical and developmental needs. And so they engaged with this process, having experience with international adoption with their daughter from China.

So it sounds like perhaps, and correct me if I'm wrong, kind of different levels or degrees of challenge here. This child was identified as having some special needs, but the family is