Find the Adoption Assistance You Need
The emotional rollercoaster of choosing adoption may seem challenging enough without adding all the paperwork and steps involved in the process. Looking at the adoption process with one glance can make it seem impossible to get through. However, just like with anything, if you take it one step at a time, it will be much easier to complete. With every step, you are entitled to adoption services to help you get through the process. From making your adoption decision to relinquishing your legal parental rights to post-adoption services, there is adoption assistance available to you.
Read on to learn more about some of the most important adoption services available to prospective birth mothers.
Adoption Counseling
The emotions that come along with adoption can be overwhelming at times. Not only are you making life-long decisions for your child, but you are also processing your own thoughts and feelings. Adoption counseling is available for such times as these. From the moment you begin considering adoption, counseling is available to you. There is also adoption counseling that can guide you through the process of adoption, along with post-adoption therapy services.
Finding a Family
Finding the right family for your child is probably one of the most important decisions you will make after choosing adoption, if not the most important. Perhaps you already have chosen a family and don’t need help with that aspect of adoption. That’s great! However, many women who choose adoption do not have the family picked out immediately and need help finding the perfect adoptive parents. Adoption help is available when you are ready to find the family. Different adoption agencies have different formats for profiles; from videos to brochure-style profiles, there are plenty of families out there looking to adopt, and adoption programs can help guide you to that perfect fit.
Legal Representation
Legal representation is a crucial component of the adoption process, especially if you have a complicated relationship with your baby’s birth father or if other factors make your situation a bit unique. Many adoption agencies will coordinate legal representation for you, while adoption attorneys can also be found independently if you find that you do not require an agency’s services.
Mediation Services
Contact mediation may be required when the woman choosing adoption wants more privacy throughout the process. Perhaps she wants to keep her information private, or doesn’t want direct contact with the adoptive family until the child has been placed. Perhaps she desires an open adoption but needs assistance with the agreement for the long-term relationship she will have with her child and his or her adoptive parents. Whatever the situation may be, a mediator will be able to guide a birth mother through this process and act as a go-between for her and the adoptive parents.
Financial Assistance
Living expenses during pregnancy increase as the grocery bill, doctors’ visits, and the need for supplies increase. Financial assistance may be available from the agency you are working with. There are also non-profits and local churches that aid as well. If you need help during the pregnancy after choosing adoption, be sure to learn about all the local resources available to you. Such information should be accessible through the adoption agency that you choose.
Adoption Planning
Paperwork. Paperwork. Plans. Goals. The entire process mapped out. These are all part of planning an adoption. While putting pen to paper may seem a chore at times, it is important that your desires throughout the process are made clear to those helping you. Mapping out an adoption plan will also help you in your decision-making process as far as the type of family you are looking for, how you want the process to move forward after relinquishment, and more. This adoption support will be made available to you through the agency that you choose.
Where Can You Find These Services?
Please keep in mind that there is a plethora of adoption services available, but they may not all be found in the same place. A national adoption agency, like American Adoptions, is going to offer a more centralized bank of resources.
This doesn’t mean that local adoption agencies are not an option as well, though. I chose a private, local adoption agency. Local adoption agencies will have different resources, but you can always consider the surrounding community to see what else is available. For example, I had a counselor outside of the agency to help me with the emotions that I was processing, but also had an adoption agent who walked me through the entire adoption process. I even continue contact with the director of the adoption agency I used just to touch base occasionally.
What Do You Need?
Consider what resources you may or may not need. Once you have an idea of how extensive your need for services is, and what type of resources those may be, you will have a better idea of what type of adoption professional will be the best fit for you. There is no right or wrong adoption professional. However, there are good fits and poor fits. If at any point you feel uncomfortable with your adoption professional, do not hesitate to look at other options and change your mind if need be.
Why Should I Use Adoption Services?
Adoption services will keep you mentally strong, focused, and motivated. I highly recommend you tap into any resources you even have the slightest interest in. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. Even if you feel you don’t need one of the services, I would suggest checking it out because you never know what you can get out of it. You may not think you need adoption counseling, but upon further investigation, realize it to be only beneficial to you.
If you have questions about the types of resources available, or if there is something you need and don’t know where to go to find it, feel free to reach out to American Adoptions at 1-800-ADOPTION for help.
There are many adoption support resources out there. Make sure you seek them out and use them. They are there to help you, and there isn’t anything wrong with a little help when it comes to such a significant decision such as adoption.
