When Morgan stepped into the hospital, she found herself in labor, completely unaware she was pregnant. While faced with the decision to parent her son, Morgan found strength, guidance, and support from Adoptions From The Heart (AFTH), alongside the hospital staff. Her journey went from fear, uncertainty, and confusion to a place of hope and [...]
This week, our public relations intern sat down with Nicole Fowler, Adoptions From The Heart’s Director of Social Services. Fowler takes on many roles with AFTH, and in her personal life, she is also a foster mother. Below is a look at the Q-&-A style conversation that begins our National Adoption Month blog series. [...]
Adoption is a lifelong journey that deeply impacts all members of the adoption triad—adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents—in unique ways. At Adoptions From The Heart, we recognize the complexities involved and are committed to providing specialized therapeutic services to support everyone experiencing adoption. What Is Adoption Therapy? Adoption therapy is a specialized form of [...]
For almost forty years, Adoptions From The Heart (AFTH) has been dedicated to changing the face of adoption, in hopes of better serving the needs of women, children, and families. The woman behind this mission is Maxine Chalker, LSW/MSW. Chalker has personal ties to adoption, as she herself is an adoptee. Not knowing much about [...]
This article was written by Christopher Peszka, MSW/LSW, AFTH's District Supervisor. There are occasions when private licensed adoption agencies and public child protection service (CPS) agencies are both involved in working with expectant and birth parents who are considering adoption. There could be several reasons for both private and public agency involvement. Some expecting and [...]
Adoptions From The Heart has launched it's new therapy center, servicing all members of the adoption triad in Connecticut. Julia Ruggiero, LCSW is an adoption therapist and adoptee working with AFTH to offer clients adoption-competent therapy. In this post, Julia shares how adoption-competent therapy can help members of the adoption triad and the services that [...]
April 21-27 is National Infertility Awareness Week. This week is all about making people aware of infertility, supporting those who have experienced it and educating others about the topic. This year, AFTH wants to take time to highlight a story of infertility within the adoption community and how open adoption ended up playing a part in the family’s story.
My mom has always been incredibly open with me about adoption. When I really stop and think about it, I have quite a few family members who were adopted.
The connections AFTH has made go beyond just people the agency has hired or parents it has helped. There is actually a large amount of overlap between these groups. Many people who collaborate with AFTH frequently are parts of the adoption triad. One prime example is Mary Kiker, a birth mom who placed her daughter through AFTH and frequently works with the agency on different events and classes.
AFTH’s latest Heart-to-Heart event took place on Feb. 22. The virtual event was hosted by AFTH’s own Amanda Aliberti. The purpose of the Heart-to-Heart webinar was to spotlight different transracial voices of adoption. Three birth parents and one adoptee spoke about their experiences with transracial adoption, going over the highs and lows of the process. The panel included birth moms Se’Ayra and Sharmaine, birth father Samai and adoptee Christian.
