Getting Your Profile In front Of Birth Mothers

I was speaking to an adoptive couple recently about their methods of basically letting birth mothers, friends, family know they want to adopt. Some of their methods include word of mouth, Pass along cards, websites, and blogs.  Some of these couples are utilizing these tools as their sole source of being considered by a birth mother and others are supplementing the work of their professional adoption service provider such as an adoption agency, attorney, or facilitator with it.


I think it's a great way to spread the word about their desire to adopt.  One of the great things is it's relatively low in cost for the most part and certainly when you consider what adoption professionals charge for their services.  One of the drawbacks I feel is the potential for scam artist who understand the adoptive process and language and use that against a prospective couple for their own monetary gain and can leave an already emotional charged situation a painful memory.  Now that's not to say that many couples are not contacted through these means and are placed with a baby through their own efforts.  It's amazing what you can accomplish if you just put yourself out there and make it known to your community.


But it brings me to my mindset today.  When a couple decides to work with an adoption professional they are basically contracting with that professional to put them in front of birth mothers.  So it is very important that families understand that all adoption professionals are not alike in providing this key service.
An adoption service is only as good as the birth mother pool in which they work.  Birth mother pools come in many sizes.  In order for a couple to know how effectively their family profile will be shown to expectant birth mothers they need to know three things, 1 how many birth mothers are in your ACTIVE pool, 2. How many ACTIVE and PENDING families are currently working with that service provider 3. What are the fees needed to be included in those numbers.


If an agency for instance has 100 active birth mothers in their pool that might sound good at face value.  But if the active and pending number of families is 4 to 5 times that number you can expect that every birth mother they are working with will have 20+ profiles to consider before making their decision as to who they would like to have a conference call.  This can and does increases your wait time and decreases your chances of being chosen.  But if an agency is working with 100 birth mothers and their active and pending list of families is 100 to 120 you can see what a difference that could make for any adoptive couple.


Most professional services do charge a application or registration fee to you in order to help with home study review, file creation and access to their birth mother pool.  There is nothing new about this practice since it does cost money to provide these services.  These fees can range from $400 to $1000 in most cases.  If your contracted with the right agency your money is well spent.  


The Adoption Center of Choice where I work recently did a brief study of a couple who had not been match with a birth mother in two years.  They wanted to find out why and what could be done better for that couple.  Their research found that they had been presented to over 50 different birth mothers in that time.  Now while that may or may not be the case for every family working with us, it was for them.  ACC's conclusion was  to consider all factors and most likely make some rather dramatic changes to their family profile.  What startled me was the number 50.  In two years their profile had been considered by a very large number of birth mothers.  


So going back to what it is a couple contracting for with a adoption service professional, does anyone remember?  To put your family profile in front of birth mothers.  50 sounds like that part of the puzzle is being accomplished.  I don't know if pass along cards and the other admirable self promoting advertising can come close to that number.  What stops all families from doing this?  Well it's number three on our list, fees.


Private adoption can run upwards of $35,000 and that is not something everybody can afford.  Even if that is within your budget paying an application fee or registration fee to a service provider who cannot put in front of many birth birth mothers is a waste of your time and money.


So why you may ask am I thinking about such things on a Friday morning?  I'll tell you.  We have come up with a new idea.  What if you could reap all of the benefits of an active and vibrant birth mother pool and not have to worry about any upfront fees?  What if you could be in front of 25 birth mothers in one year and not pay a penny?  Would you be interested?


We have such a pool of anxious birth mothers all across the country.  We love our birth mothers and we go above and beyond when it comes to providing them quality services.  We have a need for new families and we realize in this economy we should do something to help you.  So to that end we are offering this as a free service for the month of December.


Here are some recent averages from our birth mother program 

What would you say is the average # of new BM calls a week/a day we are getting? 50-60

How many new BM packets are going out a week? 20

How many active BM are in our program?  75-100 total
In Utah 20 the rest out of state.
Active families 50 - Pending Families 40
Open to Caucasian Placement 75 % - Open to Biracial 20% - less than 5% Open to African American 


I am excited about this and I wanted to share it with you.  I am sure you have some questions about this program, I know I would.  So give me a call and I can explain it in greater detail.


Have a great weekend,


Dave Williams
Adoptive Family Specialist
The Adoption Center of Choice
801-473-9350

The Phone Call

I was reflecting on my many blessings before the Thanksgiving month comes to a close.  One of the things that is a real blessing to me is making the call to a family to tell let them know a birth mother has chosen them to adopt her baby.  For me it is a miracle that I am put in this position to share this wonderful news with families.  For many of them it has been a real uphill battle as they have had to overcome personal disappointment.

The phone call itself is only the first step along the adoption placement journey.  It is a time of cautious excitement, and overwhelming hope.  My wife and I have been on the other side of the phone twice myself and I can appreciate the uncertainty of the moment.

I get emotional after everyone of those calls.  I am so happy for my family and it touches my heart that they can put down the emotional weight of not having children as they get ready to meet the woman that will place her child with them.

I am so grateful to be a stepping stone for them as they come closer to ending their adoption journey.

Change is Never Easy

Over the next two weeks our agency will under go some personnel changes.  We will be losing two valued members of our team and we wanted to thank them for their hard work, dedication and friendship before they move on.

Brittany who has been the voice and the face of the agency for the last year after changing positions in January has a new opportunity down south.  Natalie who is our new family worker and for many of you has been helping you organize your paperwork and get you ready for the home study process has a new opportunity closer to home that she will be excepting.  We are sad to see them go, they have been an integral part of the agency and they will be missed.  We wish them luck with their new positions and are excited for them.

Because of these changes we want to welcome a new member of our team.
Liliana Olvera will soon be taking over Brittany's position and will be working in the front office.  She will also be assisting new families with their paperwork.  We are excited to work with her and want to officially welcome her to our adoption team.

Our program has also undergone some new changes in the last year due to several factors.  We are excited about these new challenges and hope these new changes will only enhance the services we offer our birth mother and our adoptive family programs.

Don't Listen to Critics, Strive for High Achievement

In every difficult situation is potential value. Believe this, then begin looking for it. Norman Vincent Pealespan 


I was reading a blog post the other day about adoptive families and a prospective adoptive mother was commenting about some of her frustration as she has to endure insensitive comments from others who either say something stinging to them unintentionally or from those who have an agenda to keep regarding infertility and adoption. As an adoptive father of two myself I have endured some of these same things and I know they can be very painful.


The adoptive process is a true journey of the heart. The reasons that have brought couples and families to make this decision are numerous but in most cases it has been a refiners fire of sorts. Sometimes it seems like life is preventing you from achieving your goals. You define your goals right, you make them aligned with you values, you plan the time to work on them and then … something unexpected happens. Those who have never felt this pain or have never had to endure the many treatments and humbling procedures to get pregnant naturally will never fully appreciate the complexity of adoption.


For those who can plan when they want to get pregnant and have complete control over that part of their life it is a completely different ball game and the rules that govern it are not in anyway understood completely by those who cannot play. In the words of my brother in law who once told my wife as she shared her frustration and amazement with him about our infertility "I have the power to do it and so I do" with all the compassion of a police officer as he gives you a speeding ticket. It's not his fault he just can't relate to our circumstances and nor can we with him and that's okay. But it still hurts just the same.


In what seems a lifetime ago before I had the pleasure of working in the field of adoption I worked as a physical education teacher and coach for some 100 plus teams and over 1000 athletes for a small school in claifornia. I have coached youth from preschool age to high school age. I have had the honor to work with some very talented athletes and teams over my career. I never thought I would find something as fulfilling and as rewarding as helping young men and women reach their personal best in life through sport. I looked forward to getting up and over to school each day and relished the opportunity to work late after school with my teams.


I was wrong, working in the field of adoption is something that gets my heart racing everyday and I am excited to get into my office to begin helping adoptive families reach their adoption goals through our agencies birth mother program. The same fire that I had back then as a coach still burns brightly today and i am grateful for the opportunity. As I was thinking back to that time in my life I realized that some of the same struggles that I and my players went through could loosely apply to adoptive families and birth mothers.


One of my favorite quotes of all time and something I used to share with my teams after a tough loss or when I felt they need some encouragement was a section from the speech given by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910 referred to as "The Man in The Arena" which many of you may be familiar. Here is a quote form that speech that was later added to his book entitled Citizen in the Republic.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."


In my opinion, those of us who have adopted, are trying to adopt, or are contemplating adoption have had this experience to a greater or lesser degree. Adoption is a risky adventure that requires families to be valiant and sometimes there are failures as we go through the adoptive process and we can come up short time and time again but remember it is while you are daring greatly . The critic will always be there in some form or another but they do not count. The credit belongs to you as you spend yourselves in a worthy cause daring greatly and in the end the gift of a new addition to your family is your reward.

How Do Medical and Legal fees Effect Overall Placement Fees?

Medical and legal fees can add substantially to the overall cost of a domestic newborn adoption. Placement fees for an average adoption in the U.S. are somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000.

Medicare coverage for a birth mother cannot transfer from state to state.  Therefore any placement done inside of the state where you service provider is licensed can cost between $5000 and $12,000 extra depending on the type of birth and the length of your birth mothers hospital stay.  In most cases the legal fee is minimal.

On the flip side of that are placements done outside of the state where your service provider is licensed.  In these cases medicare coverage is intact and will most likely cover the bulk of your birth mothers and babies hospital stay barring any major complications.

However, since it is done outside of the state where your service provider is licensed an attorney in that state is hired to handle the documentation of the adoption.  Their fee can range from $4000 to $8000 depending on the state and the attorney.

In both cases these fees are added to the placement fee along with any confinement or post placement fee the birth mother is given by her agency.  In most cases this runs $1500 to $2500.  This fee helps a birth mother to get back on her feet after the birth.

The total average placement fee including medical or legal and post placement with our agency for an African American baby are approx. $24,000 and for a biracial placement approx. $30,000.

When talking with service providers find out what the total fee required is including those extras.  it can make a difference when selecting a service provider to work with.

Who Needs Protection?

In the world of adoption service providers it is not always the case that your adoption funds are going to be fully protected in case of an interruption to your adoption.  Adoptions are interrupted for several reasons but the most common is when a birth mother changes her mind.

It is a very difficult decision for any birth mother.  Most of the time this decision is made after the baby is born.  So for prospective adoptive families it comes as a shock.  Birth mothers of course have every right to change their minds and as an agency we support that decision when it does not put the child at jeopardy.

But for families and adoption service providers it is one of the risks involved in adoption.  The Adoption Center of Choice handles this situation two different ways.  Both will give families the peace of mind that their adoption funds or the money they have spent up to the point will not be lost.

As an adoptive father myself of two beautiful little girls who did not have that safety net when we adopted it really is a big deal.  Adoption is risky enough without having to worry about your funds being lost.

For any placement that is interrupted for any reason we offer our famillies the ability to have their funds rolled over into another placement situation until a placement is made.  For Biracial and Cauacasian placements we also offer a refund within 90 days of the interruption.

Either way you are guaranteed to be placed or get your money back regardless of any problem that may come up during the process.  I have spoken with many families that have lost up to $30,000 to a failed placement. We guarantee that will not happen with our service.

One thing that adoptive families should keep in mind is that many agencies will allow you to have your profile brought back into their birth mother pool and continue to advocate with their birth mothers on your behalf working hard to find you another match.  Very few however will do it without penalty of total loss or a partial loss of funds.  You can start over with another birth mother but you do it from square one all over again.

Some families I have spoken to have had part of the overall funds lost as each failed adoption occurred.  So over two or three failed placement attempts their adoption budget has taken a significant hit and they no longer have the necessary resources to consider all the options they could before they began.

Adoption can be a risky venture no doubt.  But if you are considering an agency ask them about their policies regarding refunding, about failed placements, and how many birth mothers a year they anticipate they will show your profile too.  These three things can save you money and time.

If you'd like to talk about our ability to provide your family professional adoption services without any risk to you send me an email at Dave williams@theadoptioncenter.com

All but one of our five outreach cases are matched

We had five outreach cases over the weekend. Four of the five were matched with a family by Monday morning. We still have one left, an African American baby boy due in early Jan of 2010 that we are still advocating for the right family.

In addition, we have a brand new outreach case as of today 10/27/09 for a African American baby girl due in late November. Both of these cases can be found on my Outreach Website http://www.wix.com/AdoptionCenter/-Adoptive-Family-Outreach-.

For more information call Dave Williams at 801-473-9350

Creating A Profile Pool for Outreach Situations

Over the last few months you may have seen my various postings on my AdoptionVoices.com group "Prospective Adoptive Family Outreach". Because of the tremendous amount of opportunity that our active families have experienced we have depeleted our pool of famliies that are open to an African American or biracial African American placement entirely.

In June and July of this year we had enough active families that we only needed to do outreach once or twice a month. Since then our outreach case load has risen steadily with five new cases in August, and Seven in September. Now almost a week away from the end of October we have had ten outreach cases so far.

In an effort to recreate an active family pool we would like to invite any family that has a current home study done with background clearances from any other adoption service provider to forward their information to Dave Williams for immediate consideration with NO fee requirements upfront whatsoever.

Our goal is to then have an active pool of profiles that we can present to any of our birth mothers expecting a African American or African American biracial baby. For the African American placement the associated fees are then not due until two weeks before the baby is born. For our African American Biracial placement $1350.00 in fees are due at matching and the remainder two weeks before placement. In cases where delivery in immediately pending upon match all fees are due before physical placement.

All adoption fees are protected 100% by The Adoption Center of Choice in two ways. For all African American placements that are interrupted for any reason we roll your paid fees into another matching opportunity until a placement is made. For all Biracial placements we offer the same service as the African American placement plus an option for a refund within 90 days of interruption.

In creating this "profile pool" we hope that familes will recognize a great opportunity to be show cased to a large number of birth mothers with any out of pocket expense. On average a family working with us through outreach is matched within 3 months. Our latest numbers would indicate that if it took us a year to match you with a birth mother in our pool your profile will be in front of 40 - 50 different birth mothers.

What this does in essence is put the burden on our shoulders to show your profile to as many birth mothers as we can as quickly as we can. So my question is, where are you going to find an opportunity to have that done for you with no upfront fees? If you want to take advantage of this opportunity call Dave Williams directly at 801-473-9350 for more details.

Five New Outreach Opportunities For Homestudy Prepared Families to Consider

I have been posting outreach cases on AV sinceJune and I have never had five new outreach cases at one time. Outreach is when I don't have a family in my agency that I can show to a birth motherin my birth mother pool. It is a great opportunity for home study prepared families to consider. We have three African American situations and two biracial situations. I have posted information on each case on my group "Prospective Adoptive Family Outreach" on this website. We are in need of families for all five placements. Each case is unique depending on the state, legal fees, and medical fees.
These cases are all due at various times with the last due by Jan 10th 2010 and are both baby boys and baby girls with one unknown gender. If you would like to be presented on any of these situations after careful consideration please contact Dave Williams at The Adoption Center of Choice at 801-473-9350.

Current Outreach Cases

This morning I have an outreach case. It is for a full African American placement. Birth mother is expecting a boy. She is due Jan 10th of 2010. Birth father is unknown, She is 19 yrs old and has had some depression recently and is taking Zoloft as prescribed.

She is in good health otherwise and so is the baby. She has had pre-natal care since May of this year. She is delivering in Utah.

Fees are:
$16,975 placement fee
$6000 - $8000 medical fees ( no medicaid)
$2500 post placement fee

If you would like more information on this case please contact Dave Williams at he Adoption Center of Choice 801-473-9350

Opportunity for African American Placements

Our birth mother program is compromised of women from all over the United States of varying ethnic and racial backgrounds. In our program approximately half of our birth mothers are living in our Utah program and half across the country.

Of late a certain segment of our placements are stretching the limits of our capacity. This segment is the African American placement and we are finding that each adoption case is becoming what we term as an "Outreach" probably 75% of the time.

"Outreach" is defined by our agency as any situation where by we must look outside of our active and pending adoptive family pool for a suitable placement option. In the summer of "09" I have personally worked on 10 different outreach cases for our African American birth mother pool.

These cases are limiting to many adoptive families because they are for the most part a fixed fee and can incorporate out of state legal fees and medical fees on top of our agency fee. Fees can range anywhere from approx $22,000 to $30,000 depending on the case. For that reason "outreach is not for every family.

Because of that our African American birth mothers are receiving one to four profiles before making a decision. So for families interested in these opportunities there is a high chance of not only being considered by birth mothers but also of being selected. I have had five families that have contacted me this summer and early fall matched with a birth mother in most cases within 96 hours.

For those who can consider these birth mothers it is a great option. If you'd like to learn more about our outreach program contact Dave Williams @ 801-473-9350

Obstacles

Along the adoption journey there are enough obstacles along the path from infertility, fertility treatments, surgery, pills, and so on that once you get to the place where adoption is your next step the last thing you need is another hill to climb.

Adoption is a task for anyone first trying to educate themselves to the process. Once you navigate your way through the complex web of adoption agencies, attorneys, facilatators your still not done. But you have come a long way and have done your due diliegence and have decided on which course you want to proceed. Now what is the next obstacle? Adoption fees.

Adoption fees run a wide range of costs depending on many, many different factors. We won't get into that today. But we will talk about what to do about it. I have adopted twice and both placements were completety unrelated in fees, and service. It required me do things with my assests that otherwise would have precluded me from adopting. If you want something bad enough you will do whatever is necessary within reason of course.

So what if your assests are limited? What are some of your options? i put together a list from the internet that might be of help. I do not recomend any, or endorse any of the options. Some are grants, some loans and some just ideas on how to do it yourself. I am very aware that their many families looking, waiting, hoping to adopt and money is the reason for their delay.

I hope this information will be a benefit to families everywhere looking for some financial assistance. Remember the journey is for a reason. "The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” Don Williams Jr.

Options for Financing Your Adoption


• Corporate Matching Gifts (Check with your employer’s human resources division. Also check www.adopting.org/employer.html, www.adoptionbenefits.com or www.abanet.org/family/advocate/sp97tax.html.) (Target, Wendy’s, Hewitt, and Hallmark all have adoption assistance benefit programs).

• Call The National Adoption Center at (800) TO-ADOPT for information on corporate employee adoption benefit plans.


• Fundraising. Many churches and civic organization will support and assist in fundraising efforts for adoptions.


• Federal Tax Credit of $10,000
o The federal government provides a tax credit of just over $10,000 per child to help with adoption expenses. The details are available in I.R.S. Tax Publication 968 and available online at www.irs.ustreas.gov in downloadable form.


• State Tax Credits
o Several states offer tax credits to aid in adoption expenses as well as other grants and subsidy programs. To learn if you qualify, contact your state tax office or link to state website at www.state.yourstate.us, with “your state” being the standard two letter state designation.
• Grants and Loans
o The National Adoption Foundation offers low interest loans and grants to offset the costs of adoption. www.nafadopt.org.
o The Hebrew Free Loan Association offers interest free loans and grants to assist with adoption expenses for needy families. www.hflasf.org/adopt-loans.html
o The Gift of Adoption Fund offers low interest loans and grants to assist with adoption expenses for needy families. www.giftofadoption.org
o Adopt Share is a Christian Ministry offering assistance with expenses involved in adoption. www.adoptshare.org
o Bright Futures Foundation offers small grants to adopting families. www.homestead.com/brightfutures
o Acres of Hope offers financial assistance and loan programs for the adoption of physically and emotionally challenged children. For information, call (715) 765-4118.
o Christian Adoption Resources (717) 492-1868
o God’s Grace Adoption Ministry offers grants and loans to adopting families. Call (209) 572-4539 for more information
o Grants for Adoption is a private foundation awaiting non-profit approval status to provide grants for adoption. Please email them at info@GRANTSFORADOPTION.COM
o Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries offers fundraising and grant assistance. (509) 465-3520
o Love Knows No Borders will provide information on financial assistance if you send a SASE (two stamps) to 500 B Monroe Turnpike, P.O. Box 350, Monroe, CT 06468.
o Promise the Children provides grates to adopting families working with approved facilitators. ptcstaff@swbell.net
o Sibling Adoption Grants provides up to $4000 for two the adoption of two children. info@siblingadoption.com
o Americans Adopting Orphans provides low interest loans and grants to qualifying families. Call (206) 52-4-KIDS (5437).
o The Boatner Family Foundation provides grants up to $10,000. Write to: P.O. Box 132272, The Woodlands, Texas 77393-2272
o Adoption Financing.com provides a no obligation expedited loan process.
o Adoption Funding-Adoption Network Law Center offers credit based loans (800) 367-2367.
o MBNA offers unsecured loans to qualifying families to assist with adoption related expenses. For more information, call 888-627-8767. MBNA also provides a credit card that contributes to each the National Adoption Foundation with each purchase. (800) 932-2775
o Fifth Third, First Union, and US Bank also provide for adoption loans. Please contact your local branch.
o Building Families Adoption Loan Program is a loan program through Old National Bank for families in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
o Child Adoption Funds #225 9393 N. 90th St., Suite #102, Scottsdale, AZ 85252
o A Child Waits provides low interest loans to qualified parents. (866) 999-2445.
o United Way International provides assistance for the cost of travel for children in need of immediate medical attention. (703) 519-0092.
o The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption provides numerous resources for adoption assistance. View their website at www.davethomasfoundationforadoption.org
o Many banks will give second mortgages on home equity. The funds can be used for adoption and interest is tax deductible.
o Check into your IRA, 401K, or retirement plans for information about borrowing against those funds.
o Steven Curtis Chapman runs a foundation called Shoahannah’s Hope that provides grants to adopting families. Shaohannahshope.org
• Dependency Deductions
o After adopting, don’t forget that you will be able to deduct your child as a dependent, saving tax money.
• Military, Nonrecurring Program
o Full-time military personnel are eligible for a one-time subsidy of up to $2000 per child. www.calib.com/naic/pubs/f_militia.htm
• Tax Questions
o Tax Accountant Len Titone has adopted 6 children and is a tax consultant. He can be contacted at 21 E. Cedar Street, Zionsville, Indiana 46077. (317) 414-9332.

“How to Make Adoption an Affordable Option” is a free comprehensive booklet published by the National Endowment for Financial Education. Order at www.nefe.org or call (719) 948-4000 and ask for Item #602-E.

The Domino Foundation SLC Utah - http://dominofoundation.com/index-3.html
Cost of Adoption
• What Adoption Really Costs
The results of AF's 2007/2008 cost survey.
• Adoption Costs
Sample budget worksheets, by country.

Resources and Funding Strategies
• Special Report: Affording Adoption
AF looks at how families do it.
• Where to Go for Help
Make use of the credits, benefits, subsidies, and other resources available to you.
• Adoption Grants and Loans
Several organizations offer adoption-specific grants and loans.
• Tips from the Trenches
AF readers share their strategies.

Tax Credit and Employer Assistance
• The Federal Adoption Tax Credit Explained
AF answers readers' questions about the tax credit.
As reported in AF Mar-Apr 2009 issue: Adoption tax credit rises to $11,650.
• How to Lobby Your Employer for Adoption Benefits
Here's a road map, including a sample letter, to persuade your employer to add adoption benefits.
• Top Adoption-Friendly Companies
Let's hear it for companies that get the message: Adoption benefits are vital in today's workplace

I CARE FOUNDATION
P.O. Box 19020
Baltimore, Maryland 21284
800-513-9896
info@intlcare.org
I CARE was created to help families meet adoption costs and to expand the opportunity for children to join loving families in the United States. I CARE accomplishes its goals by streamlining the process and helping to make adoption more affordable. They encourage exhausting all other available sources of funding first such as employer adoption assistance programs, tax credits, vacation savings accounts and making your desire to adopt known to your church family and your family and friends
GIFT OF ADOPTION FUND
www.giftofadoption.org
101 East Pier Street, 1st Floor
Port Washington, WI 53074
1-877-905-2367
info@giftofadoption.org

Gift of Adoption provides grants usually between $2,000 - $5,000. Applicants must have an approved home study before applying for a grant. You can apply online at https://www.giftofadoption.org/Grant.asp using a credit/debit card to pay the $20 application fee (e-mail Gift of Adoption for to apply for a grant without a credit/debit card). Grants are awarded based upon financial need and/or extraordinary hardship on the part of the adoptive parents or the child.
NATIONAL ADOPTION FOUNDATION
www.nafadopt.org
100 Mill Plain Road
Danbury, CT 06811
203-791-3811
Families can apply for outright grants from this organization. The grant program is open to all kinds of adoptions. There is no income requirement for applicants. Grants range from $500 to $4,000 and are available to prospective adoptive parents 4 times a year. Although there is no income requirement to apply, the NAF is inundated with grant requests so funds will be awarded to the neediest families first, depending on the funds available at the time of the application. More information can be found at http://.nafadopt.org/fund-your-adoption/fund-your-adoption.shtml

A great website for adoption Grants
http://www.dreamadoption.org/index.php/finances_panick_relief/adoption_grants
Adoption Grant Opportunities


A Child Waits Foundation
1136 Barker Road; Pittsfield, MA 01201
866-999-2445
www.achildwaits.org cnelson@achildwaits.org
This is a nonprofit charitable foundation providing grants and loans to prospective parents that lack savings to pay for the cost of adoption. Eligibility is based on financial need. Each case is judged individually.

Caroline’s Promise
1950 Beeson Road; Kernersville, NC 27284
336-993-9046
www.carolinespromise4u.org/assistance info@carolinespromise4u.org
Provides $3,000 grants to Christian Couples living in North Carolina

China Care Foundation
P. O. Box 607; Westport, CT 06881
203-227-3655
www.chinacare.org info@chinacare.org
They provide grants and/or low-interest loans to families who qualify by adopting special needs or older children. Typically $1,000 to $3,000.

Gift of Adoption Fund
101 East Pier Street, 1st Floor; Port Washington, WI 53074
262-268-1386 or 877-905-2367
www.giftofadoption.org info@giftofadoption.org
Provides grants regardless of marital status, race, creed, or national origin. The amounts vary between $2,000 and $5,000.

God's Grace Adoption Ministry
P. O. Box 4; Modesto, CA 95353
209-572-4539
www.ggam.org info@ggam.org
Provides grants to two parent Christian families ranging from $1,000 to $4,000.

Hadassah's Hope
20472 Crescent Bay, Suite 100, Lake Forest, CA 92630
949-600-5252
www.hadassahshope.org customerservice@hadassahshope.org
Striving to help families with the financial burdens of adopting internationally.

Hebrew Free Loan
131 Stewart Street, Suite 425, San Francisco, CA 94105
415-546-9902
www.hflasf.org info@hflasf.org
Provide interest free loans up to $10,000 for adopting families in Northern California

I CARE Foundation
P. O. Box 19020, Baltimore, MD 21284
800-513-9896
www.intlcare.org info@intlcare.org
Provides grants for international adoptions

International Adoption Resources
1080 Boranda Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94040
650-969-1819
www.theiar.org
International adoption grants ranging from $500 to $1,500 as funds are available.

Lifesong for Orphans
P. O. Box 40; 202 North Ford Street, Gridley, IL 61744
309-747-3556
www.lifesongfororphans.org info@lifesongfororphans.org
Christian organization provides matching grants and interest free 'covenant' loans to adopting families

National Council for Adoption
www.adoptioncouncil.org
Has established an adoption loan program with Bank of America
888-628-7700 priority code LODK

North American Council on Adoptable Children
800-470-6665 or 651-644-3036
www.nacac.org/adoptionsubsidy adoption.assistance@nacac.org
Provides adoption financial assistance information by state

Northwest Airlines Special Delivery
www.nwa.com/features/adopt.shtml
They Provide significant fare discounts for international adoptions.

Promise the Children
11939 Manchester Road, Suite 136, St.Louis, MO 63131
www.promisethechildren.org ptcstaff@swbell.net
Grant recipients are chosen without regard to age of adoptive parents, current family size, race or religion, or marital status. Adoption agency must be an approved agency.

Sea of Faces Foundation
6920-B Bradlick Shopping Center #200, Annandale, VA 22003
www.seaoffaces.org director@seaoffaces.org
Grants of $1,000 to $3,000 for professing
Christian families adopting from a developing country


Shaohanna's Hope
P. O. Box 647, Franklin, TN 37065
615-550-5600
www.shaohannahshope.org
They provide grant assistance to Christian families up to $7,000. Single parent adoptions are acceptable.

The ABBA Fund
P. O. Box 7880; Charlotte, NC 28271-7042
888-775-3422
www.abbafund.org
The ABBA Fund assists Christian couples who are committed to train and educate their children in accordance with Biblical Principles. They will grant interest free 'covenant' loans which do not require collateral or a promissory note.

HelpUsAdopt.org
http://www.helpusadopt.org/faqs.html
info@helpusadopt.org

Fee-Nominal Idea! (Updated)

Too help clarify our outreach fee program for our current families we have updated this post as of Oct 27, 2009.
In an effort to help prospective families expose their family profile to a larger circle of Arfican american and biracial birth mothers the Adoption Center of Choice is offering a new outreach program. In the past our agency required a registration fee, upfront, with additional fees due at the 45 day mark, at matching before a outreach placement could be made.

Now we are offering families access to our entire pool of outreach birth mothers. No fees will be required to have your famiy profile presented on a regular basis to our outreach birth mothers. Once you are matched with a birth mother and she is placing with your family will any fees be due.

For African American outreach if there is any reason for an interruption in the placement your family will be put back into our birth mother pool and we will again start advocating for you again. For Biracial outreach you can have the same service provided or a refund within 90 days.

There is no loss of funds what so ever. 100% protected guaranteed. We have put the financial burden squarely on our shoulders and lifted it from yours. Is there a catch? No catch, no registration fee is required.

For more information call Dave Williams at 801-473-9350

Bottom of My Heart

Last week I got a voicemail at home from my Cardiologist. It went something like this. 'We have found something near the bottom of dave's heart we don't like, I need him to call into the office and schedule a procedure as soon as possible." I go in tommorrow morning to find out what it is.

Now two weeks ago, I went into see him because I had been experiencing some discomfort in my chest. No pain really just pressure and an overall strange feeling. I had some test done and from what I could gather from their responses something was up. Boy am I glad I listened to my body.

In life so many things seem to originate from the bottom of our hearts. Love, compassion, empathy, kindness, tenderness, faith and friendship are just a few that come to mind. In my work I find that these are attributes that are dearly needed and neccessary when speaking to prospective adoptive families. I should know, my wife and I have been on that side of the fence twice before.

It is also in my opinion a vital character trait needed by any family wanting to adopt. In order to fully appreciate the complexities of the adoptive process couples should have a tender heart for those women that make such an important decision for their unborn baby and for themselves as well. Once you have been through it your heart is changed forever. I have felt your compassion many times over for the birth mothers in our program.

It is a rightious desire for any married couple to want to raise a family of their own. It is in most cases the secret desire of their hearts eminating I am sure from the very bottom. Adoptive families learn very quckly that it is the heart to heart connection between themselves and their new son or daughter that will define the relationship they will share through out their lives. There is no genetic connection, no direct physical connection that binds them. Yet they are bound just the same.

So as I was pondering what could be wrong with the bottom of my heart and It came to me, that's the section in my heart that has been used more than any other throughout my life, the very bottom. Thank you for helping me wear it out it on behalf of you and the women I serve. It is a blessing in my life.

Dave Williams
Adoptive Family Specialist
The Adoption Center of Choice
Davewilliams@theadoptioncenter.com
801-473-9350

Matches, Matches, Matches!

My mom always told me not to play with matches when I was a little boy. I took her advice back then because she knew better and I didn't want to start a fire in the house.

If only my mom coud see me now. I am a big fan of matches. This weekend we as an agency had five families and birth mothers matched for adoption. If you ask me there is a fire going on in our house and we couldn't be happier.

Our birth mother program is continuing to grow at a very steady rate and our families are reaping the rewards of the growth. With over 60 active birth mothers on any given day and up to 15 new calls a day our birth mother intake team is working very hard to keep up with the demand.

If you are a prospective family that would lke to know more about our program please give Dave Williams a call at 801-473-9350 and he will glad to discuss your options with you.

Urgent Outreach Still Looking for a Family

Our agency is still hoping to find a Utah based home study prepared family to be considered for our little guy in Louisiana. If you would like to be shown to our birth mother please contact Dave Williams at 801-473-9350.

This situation is very clean and a perfect situation for the right family. The birth father is a colloge football player and the birth mother is very healthy and active. She is described as very beautiful with a great personality.

The birth father is aware and will consent to the adoption. She is due in late October. Please see our post below

Thank you,

Dave Williams
Adoptive Family Specialist
davewilliams@theadoptioncenter.com
801-473-9350

We have a new African American Oureach Opportunity

We have a birth mother who placed with us a year ago. She came to Utah but has decided that she wants to go back to Louisiana (and will be leaving on Tuesday Sept 29th 2009 ). We need profiles to show to her before she leaves. We MUST have a Utah family to place with her baby.


Current information:
African American Boy
Due Date: 10.26.09
birth father is aware of the pregnancy and will consent to the adoption
She will probably have a c-section
Birth mother is athletic no medical or mental issues (Grandmother had diabetes)
no drugs, no alcohol, no tobacco
Birth father is tall, athletic - plays college football no drugs, no alcohol, no tobacco
no medical or mental issues
Birth mother has medicaid - no medical fees
This is an urgent request

Placement Fee 17,575
Out of state legal fees $6000-$8000
Post Placement $2500

Contact Dave Williams 801-473-9350 for more information

African American Outreach Efforts

Our agency has three birth mothers that are needing a family. All three are due within the next month and we do not have any families in our pool that we can use. If you are looking to adopt and are homestudy and background check cleared I would like to speak to you.

I have social medical reports and fee schedules for each one. Call Dave Williams at 801-473-9350 for more information.

Mississippi Outreach

Still hoping the Mississippi outreach effort will work out. The BM was not completely upfront about BF issues it turns out. Legal fees may create a problem for our family. Should know more later today.

Annual Family Picnic Coming up!

Our annual "Picnic in the Canyon" for all of our wonderful families is coming up in August. Details we be posted very soon. We hope to see everyone there!

Georgia Update

The two little one is Georgia have found a home with a wonderful family. Again thank you to all who inquired about them and their birth mother. If you want to be put on a contact list for future outreach eforts contact Dave Williams at 801-473-9350

Birth mother outreach efforts are paying off

Our outreach efforts are paying off. Yesterday we were able to find a great match for one of our Utah birth mothers from a family in Virginia through a twitter post.

Today we are sending multiple profiles for an outreach effort in Mississippi from efforts on Adoptionvoices.com. Thank you to all that have shown interest and have helped us in our efforts.

Dave Williams has created an "outreach list" for any prospective adoptive family that is able to step in on an emergency or semi urgent placement. You must be homestudy approved by a licensed agency or social worker and have completed your BCI criminal background check information to be considered.

If you would like to be added to our list or learn more about it call Dave Williams 801-473-9350.

Urgent Update on little ones in Georgia

This morning we had a fee schedule revision on the two angels in Georgia due to some new information. Again we are taking about a 2 year old girl and a two month old boy both African American who are outside of our pool of families.

Interested families would have their profile shown immediately to birth mother. To be considered on this particular case you must be adoption ready. Home study and Background checks completed. We are limited in this case and can only consider Utah families for this particular placement due to new changes in Utah adoption law.

If you would like more information please contact Dave Williams at 801-473-9350

Two year old and Two month old need home

Hello everyone,

I have another adoption situation that is out of the norm for us. We have a two year old AA girl and a two month old AA sibling boy that we are not able to find a match for within our existing pool of families.

Families who are homestudy and background check ready and are from Utah because of Georgia adoption law can only be considered. Medical, drug and abuse history is very clean. Profile can be shown to birthmother with 48 hours.

Children are in Georgia and would require travel expenses.

Contact me for more information

Dave Williams
Adoptive family Specialist
801-473-9350

Looking for two loving homes for two sets of twins

Our agency is doing outreach to find families who are interested in adopting twins. Two of our birth mothers are due in approx 10 weeks. We are not able to match them with any family in our current pool of families. In both cases the birth mother will be selecting the adoptive couple.

Therefore, we can only consider families who have already had their home study completed and up to date as well as their BCI background checks completed to be given an opportunity to have their family profile approved by our agency before consideration.

Background
African American twin girls (East Coast)
Adoption fees are approx $30,575
Additional legal fee of $5000
Additional information - Birth mother has history of mental health issues.
Birth mother has delivered twins before prematurely so there is a risk of same.

Hispanic twin boys (Utah)
Biracial Hispanic/African American
Adoption fees are approx $37,375
additional legal fee of $1000
Additional Medical Expenses approx $10,000
Additional Information - Birth mother suffers from gestational diabetes that could effect newborns health so medical expenses are approx

If you would like to know more about these twins contact Dave Williams at 801-473-9350.

Dave Williams
Adoptive Family Specialist

Adoptive Couple Seminar

We will be offering a seminar for all of our prospective couples toward the end of this month at the La Quinta Inn in Orem. We will keep you posted with dates and times in the coming days.

Tender Hearts for a Special Child

Attention all prospective adoptive couples.

We may need your help. The Adoption Center will have custody of a very sick baby in the next few days. She is suffering from some serious problems that we understand are not life threating at this time. The test being done have not come back conclusive from the geneticist yet. We will be looking for a family to place her with very soon. If you are open to such an adoption please let us know. There maybe some additional medical costs in he future.

I will keep you posted in the coming days.

Adoptive Couples

Our agency is working with three different couples this week. Our average placement time is less than six months.

Inter-Country Adoptions

We have had some wonderful couples outside of the United States recently contact us about a possible adoption plan. Unfortunately there are some limitations regarding inter-country adoptions as dictated by the Hague Adoption Convention. All prospective adoptive family homestudies outside of the US must be completed before April 1st 2008 before an adoptive family can be considered for placement.

Here is a link for more information: http://adoption.state.gov/

Birthmothers Seek Our Help for Second Time

Our agency is currently working with 10 birthmothers this month who have come back for the second time. Many of these women commented that they feel "appreciated, cared for, safe, and secure" during their pregnancy. We are grateful to have an opportunity to provide quality services for these women and others like them through our outreach and birthmother programs.

Tender Feelings of the Heart

The Adoption Center is currrently working with four birthmothers this week/end in Oaklahoma, California, North Carolina, and Louisiana. Two of the birthmothers have recently given birth so we have two social workers flying out to see them over the memorial day weekend to help them through the adoptive process while two more are due very soon.

Our agency understands the difficult decisions these woman are making and have a love and appreciation for them. Our prospective adoptive couples are grateful for the opportunity to add to their families and care for and raise these sweet little ones on their behalf

More on this over the weekend

The Adoption Center of Choice announces their new blog!

We are so excited to launch our agencies first blog on blogger.com! Here you will find all the latest information about our adoption placements, events, videos, links and photos!