For the Baby - Our Most Important Consideration

As a licensed, nonprofit adoption agency, Adoption Affiliates (also known as Connecting Hearts) works with 3 sets of clients in each adoption case: Birth Parents and Adoptive Parents and the Baby.

Adoption will certainly affect the lives of everyone. For this reason, our work focuses on using our best professional skill and good judgment to do everything possible to ensure that each one of "our" babies has a happy future.

Some of the things that we do to help our babies are:
We counsel with the birth parents to help them decide if adoption really is the best decision for them and for their baby. We review all possible options with them so they can make an informed decision. We support whatever decision they make.

We ask the birth parents all about their lives, and their social, medical and educational history so that we can have this information available for the baby's well being. The birth parents select an adoptive family that is a good match for them. They can plan to meet during the pregnancy, at the hospital, at placement, or afterwards if desired.

No family is 100% "perfect", but we counsel with all birth parents to find a family that meets their special needs.

Whenever possible, our staff works with the physician and hospital staff before, during and after the delivery to serve as another caring "partner", helping the birth mother and her family during this emotional time and providing continuity for the baby.

If the baby has a prolonged stay in the hospital, or needs extra help in some other way, our staff is there; ready to do whatever is necessary.

Although the legal requirements for the termination of parental rights will vary over time and jurisdiction, Adoption Affiliates understands that taking shortcuts and "the easy way" may in fact jeopardize the security of the adoptive placement. We are very careful with the legal work. In order to protect our children's future, we strive to adhere to the highest standards of adoptive practice.

If the baby cannot go directly home from the hospital to the adoptive home, we maintain a loving and safe "transitional home", or foster family, so that the child is nurtured and protected while the birth parents are finalizing their decision and waiting to terminate their parental rights in court. The transitional home does not care for infants from any other agency, so "our" baby will receive all the attention that he or she needs.

Our staff stays in touch with the transitional family every day so that both the birth family and the adoptive family can have a daily update on the baby's care. The transitional family will share with the adoptive family all the details of the baby's early days and routines so that the baby can benefit from a smooth transition into his/her permanent home.

With the adoptive parents, we use our best experience and professional skill to choose prospective adoptive families who have the desire and capacity to provide a stable and loving home for each of our children.

We provide education about adoption to all our families, and encourage them to study and prepare themselves for the special demands of raising an adopted child.

At Adoption Affiliates, we supervise the new adoptive family for the first six months after placement to assure the court and ourselves that the child and the family are happy and thriving together.

Adoptive families and birth parents are encouraged to stay in touch with us at Adoption Affiliates, and to use us as a resource for adoption issues that may surface later on in their lives.

For the future, we understand the importance of honesty and integrity in dealing with such personal matters as a child's heritage. Therefore, we strive to document our work and safeguard our records so that we might be a resource to our "children" when they become adults.

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