When you are searching for the right adoption agency for you, the choices can be overwhelming. There are some things that set Adoptions From The Heart apart from other adoption agencies and we compiled a list for to help in your decision making process.
Education and Support from Knowledgeable Staff
The social workers at Adoptions From The Heart are spectacular. But your don’t have to take our word for it, check here or here. Everyone at the agency goes above and beyond for expecting parents, adoptive parents and adoptees. At AFTH, we know that adoption is a lifelong process and our social workers are available for continued counseling services after the finalization of an adoption and whenever it is needed for our clients. As an agency, we also can help adoptive parents and adoptees find any other post-finalization services or resources they may need as time passes.
Education courses are a huge part of the adoption process at Adoptions From The Heart. All year long, AFTH offices cover topics like effects of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy, caring for infants and older children, ethnic hair care, surviving the wait, and estate planning just to name a few. Birth parent panel discussions are another way that AFTH educates the adoption community about open adoption, what works and what doesn’t and what to consider when prospective adoptive parents are creating their profile key.
The agency also finds way to support birth mother’s after placement through the Birthmother Fund. Since the conception of the agency in 1985, AFTH has worked with women who have chosen to make an adoption plan for their babies. Some of these women have shared with us unique stories and have faced unique challenges which led to the creation of the Birthmother Fund. A passage from our website says it best: Those in need are not demanding financial help but are silently trying to find a way out. A little financial relief from difficult circumstances can make a huge difference and AFTH has seen it propel women into a better place with ongoing stability. The silent struggles these women are facing are given a voice by the social workers who are watching over them in support.
Shorter Wait for Families Open to Adopting African American Children
We try to never tell families that we have an average wait time, but instead to stay something about how wait times really depend on many different variables including how open a family’s profile key is as well as the specific placement situations the agency is seeing at that time. We can say, however, that it is typical for the majority of families open to adopting African American children to be waiting less. For example, currently of those families who are in our books and being shown to expecting mothers…
For families who are open to racial background other than African-American, 94% of our families (including those on hold) are waiting 2 years or less, 82% waiting 18 months or less, and 66% are waiting 1 year or less.
For families open to African America children, 72% of families are waiting 1 year or less, 52% 6 months or less and 21% waiting 3 months or less.
Openness Required for Every Adoption
Adoptions From The Heart requires families to agree to a minimum amount of openness. The minimum amount required would be to meeting the expecting parents on a first name basis prior to delivery and/or at the hospital, and also to exchange letters and pictures every month for the first six months and then every year after that on the child’s birthday until the child reaches 18 years of age. Families also must agree to at least one visit a year with the birth parents until the child turns 18 as well. Some states like Pennsylvania and New York legislation that make agreements regarding post adoption contact binding. As an agency founded on the principles of open adoption, we found it fitting to require openness from the adoptive families.
Fees
A major positive for AFTH adoptive families is the disruption policy. An adoption disappointment is when a parent considering adoption changes their mind and decides to parent before they relinquish their parental rights and the child is placed in the care of the adoptive parents. An adoption disruption is when birthparents who have already relinquished their rights decide to parent within their revocation period which varies from state to state. Disruptions may happen while the baby is still in the hospital or after the adoptive parents return home with the baby. It should go without saying that we always try and prevent disruptions or disappointments from happening before they happen, but in the cases when they are the reality, AFTH assists families through the struggle and pain of these situations. Not only do social workers and counselors feel very deeply about the emotional loss that the adoptive parents experiencing disruptions go through, but they are available to support them through the trying time. If a disruption occurs, placement fees are credited toward the family’s next placement and they are marked as priorities on the waiting list. Adoptions From The Heart will, of course, be willing to provide all adoption services for any of these future placements.
Other Positives AFTH Can Offer
Adoptions From The Heart has been recognized by The Human Rights Campaign as a leader in supporting and serving LGBT families and also places children with single men and women.
AFTH is able to have one social worker for each the adoptive and expecting parents and most often smaller agencies can’t offer that. Ethically, we are able to provide all services and counseling needed without social workers being pulled in two different directions. The assignment of different social workers to the prospective adoptive parents and the expecting parents establishes an environment where each social worker can advocate for their clients best interests.
Like we mentioned earlier in this post, Adoptions From The Heart is present in the lives of our families well after placements are finalized. AFTH is a family and encourage everyone to attend the annual family picnic, holiday parties and join local groups of AFTH families so that everyone is connected after placement. AFTH birthmothers will mentor other birthmothers, creating a uniquely strong support system that is fostered by the agency – ongoing support for all touched by adoption is something special that AFTH holds to a very high standard.
Choosing the Right Agency for You
Making the decision about which agency to use for your adoption is one you have to make based on what you are specifically looking for. Adoptions From The Heart has a lot to offer both birth parents and adoptive parents and if you are interested in learning even more about the agency, don’t hesitate to reach out today for more information!
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