Creating Your Unplanned Pregnancy Plan
Adoption Services:
Counseling and Support
As a birth mother, the decision to choose adoption is not an easy one to make on your own. Although placing a baby for adoption may be a difficult choice, we will be there to provide adoption services, support, and nonjudgemental counseling if you would like. We understand how important it is for you to stay healthy and well taken care of, and we are here to support you through your adoption plan. We want to help you customize a plan that you are 100% comfortable with. Counseling and legal representation is provided to you at no cost. We also have many resources to help you during and after the placement of your child. We provide counseling to you as the birth mother, the birth father if he is interested as well as your family and other children. We want you to have a great support system and we believe that helping others around you understand adoption and what the future brings sets you up for success.
Financial Assistance
Financial AssistanceOur adoption agencies in Colorado will provide court approved living expenses for birth mothers who need the help. We can help with expenses such as rent, utilities, food, sundries, and your phone bill. We understand how difficult it is to get back on your feet and return to work after delivering a baby and we want to help you as much as possible. Depending on your State of residence, the amount of court approved expenses may vary.
Medical Care
Medical CareWe will help you find assistance in paying the medical expenses that are a result of your pregnancy and delivery. The portion of your medical expenses that is not covered by private insurance or state funding will be provided by the adoptive family. Your birth parent case worker is available to help with finding and scheduling prenatal appointments as well as setting up a hospital tour if you are interested. Also available to you is a Lamaze/Birthing Education Coach through our agency. She is available to you and can do private classes to help you feel comfortable and ready for delivery.
Housing and Transport
Housing and TransportWe can help you find or apply for housing, and help with paying your rent during your pregnancy and up to four to six weeks after your delivery. We want you to feel safe and secure in your living situation and help provide shelter to you and your family. Your birth parent case worker will help you with transportation to your doctor appointments, to pick up your prescription and to take you to any legal representation appointments. They are also available to help with transportation to apply for Medicaid, food stamps, employment or furthering your education. If further assistance is needed, i.e., trips to the grocery store or a ride to work, your birth parent case worker is happy to help arrange that for you or provide a bus pass if you choose.
You Can Choose the Adoptive Family
With Adoption Choices of Colorado, you have the option to choose the family you want to adopt your child. We have waiting families who have created profiles for you to explore and find the right match. Our families are thoroughly screened with a home study and certified to be adoptive parents.
Birth Mother Support Group
Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado welcomes anyone who has ever placed a child for adoption with any agency, anywhere, anytime to join our Post-Placement Support Groups for Birth Mothers
We offer a monthly support group in Golden – the second Monday of every month! We provide food and childcare. For more information check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/adoptionchoicesofcolorado/ or contact Christy Ikeler at 720-371-1099.
It’s important that you RSVP to Christy at 720-371-1099.
Upcoming Support Groups:
Monday, June 13th
Monday, July 11th
Monday, August 8th
Monday, September 12th
Monday, October 10th
Monday, November 14th
Monday, December 12th
Support Groups are held from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at 2801 Youngfield St., #320, Golden, CO 80401
Download BM Support Group FlyerSupport
As a birth mother, the decision to choose adoption is not an easy one to make on your own. Although placing a baby for adoption may be a difficult choice, we will be there to provide support, including counseling if you would like. We understand how important it is for you to stay healthy and well taken care of, and we are here to support you through your adoption plan. We want to help you customize a plan that you are 100% comfortable with. Counseling and legal representation is provided to you at no cost. We also have many resources to help you during and after the placement of your child. We provide counseling to you as the birth mother, the birth father if he is interested as well as your family and other children. We want you to have a great support system and we believe that helping others around you understand adoption and what the future brings sets you up for success.
Financial Assistance
Our agency will provide court approved living expenses for birth mothers who need the help. We can help with expenses such as rent, utilities, food, sundries, and your phone bill. We understand how difficult it is to get back on your feet and return to work after delivering a baby and we want to help you as much as possible. Depending on your State of residence, the amount of court approved expenses may vary.
Medical Care
We will help you find assistance in paying the medical expenses that are a result of your pregnancy and delivery. The portion of your medical expenses that is not covered by private insurance or state funding will be provided by the adoptive family. Your worker is available to help with finding and scheduling prenatal appointments as well as setting up a hospital tour if you are interested. Also available to you is a Lamaze/Birthing Education Coach through our agency. She is available to you and can do private classes to help you feel comfortable and ready for delivery.
Housing & Transport
We can help you find or apply for housing, and help with paying your rent during your pregnancy and up to four to six weeks after your delivery. We want you to feel safe and secure in your living situation and help provide shelter to you and your family. Your worker will help you with transportation to your doctor appointments, to pick up your prescription and to take you to any legal representation appointments. They are also available to help with transportation to apply for Medicaid, food stamps, employment or furthering your education. If further assistance is needed, i.e., trips to the grocery store or a ride to work, your worker is happy to help arrange that for you or provide a bus pass if you choose.
Choose Adoptive Family
With Adoption Choices of Colorado, you have the option to choose the family you want to adopt your child. We have waiting families who have created profiles for you to explore and find the right match. Our families are thoroughly screened with a home study and certified to be adoptive parents.
Post Placement Support
Birth Mother Support Group
Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado welcomes anyone who has ever placed a child for adoption with any agency, anywhere, anytime to join our Post-Placement Support Groups for Birth Mothers
We offer a monthly support group in Golden – the second Monday of every month! Our next session is August 9, 2021. We provide food and childcare. For more information check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/adoptionchoicesofcolorado/ or contact Christy Ikeler at 720-371-1099.
It’s important that you RSVP to Christy at 720-371-1099.
Upcoming Support Groups:
Monday, January 10th
Monday, February 14th
Monday, March 14th
Monday, April 11th
Monday, May 9th
Monday, June 13th
Support Groups are held from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at 2801 Youngfield St., #320, Golden, CO 80401
COMMON QUESTIONS
Why choose adoption?
When facing an unplanned pregnancy, adoption is a positive alternative and one that we encourage you to consider along with your other options. There is no set structure for an adoption, instead we work to ensure that your adoption plan fits your wants and needs as a birth mother and is in the best interest both you and the baby.
Who will help me to understand my decision to place my child for adoption?
The decision to choose adoption is not an easy one to make on your own. Although it may be a difficult and painful choice, we will be there to provide support, including counseling if you would like.
Can I choose the adoptive family of my child?
Yes, you have the option of approving the parents who will be adopting your baby. Each family makes a picture profile, which is a mini-scrap book that tells you about their lives. The profiles we will present to you are filled with photos of the family, their vacations, their home and lots more. It will also include a “Dear Birth Mother” letter that addresses other frequently asked questions such as their likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc…
How do I know the adoptive family will provide a safe environment in which to raise my child?
All of our prospective adoptive parents go through extensive background checks. Case workers meet them in their homes to interview them. The couples are required to provide a State Bureau of Investigation report and a child abuse clearance report as well as birth certificates, a copy of their marriage license, physician’s reports that include HIV test results, etc… Adoptive families are carefully screened.
Can the agency help me with living expenses if I am unable to work?
We offer CO adoption services! The agency will provide court approved living expenses to birth mothers who need the help. We understand how difficult it is to get back on your feet and return to work after delivering a baby.
Where is your agency located?
Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado is headquartered in Golden but you don’t need to come to us! Our caseworkers will come to you. We work with birth mothers across the state of Colorado and match with adoptive families across the country. So whether you are looking for adoption agencies in Denver, adoption agencies in Colorado Springs, adoption agencies in Northern Colorado or in any other location in Colorado, we can work with you to develop a successful adoption plan.
Meet families who are waiting to adopt
BIRTH MOTHER RESOURCES
Exploring your options as an expectant mother
Stephanie joined the Adoption Choices family in 2014 as the Child Placement Supervisor. Her love for adoption began in first grade when she made friends with twins adopted from Vietnam. Her heart grew strong over the years for adopted children and ultimately led her to graduate school where she continued her focus to her dream of working in the adoption field. Stephanie earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2001. Over the past 15 years, Stephanie has worked as a pregnancy counselor and as an adoptive parent counselor for foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption, writing hundreds of home studies for families, and helping build their forever families. Stephanie is married and has three boys ages 12, 9, and 5. Together with her family she enjoys riding bike, playing games, watching her three sons compete in their various sporting and musical activities and go on vacations.
Christy Ikeler, is our Executive Director and Birth Parent Director. Christy has been with Adoption Choices Team for 18 years, since opening the doors in 2002! Christy has a true passion for what she does and her true love is working with and helping each birth parent. Whether she is up all night on the phone talking with them, taking them to doctors appointments, out for their favorite treat, providing counseling or at the hospital during labor and delivery, Christy is very involved every step of the way. She has a contagious laugh and a spunky personality that our birth moms all can bond with and relate to. As an adoptive parent herself, adoption holds a very special place in her heart and she can relate on every level with both birth parents and adoptive parents. In her free time Christy loves spending time with her daughter, gardening, baking and taking vacations with her family. Christy is an excellent leader for our team at Adoption Choices and is truly one of a kind!! As Executive Director, Christy spends time with the staff, birth parents and adoptive families in order to ensure that the agency is running smoothly. She has placed a huge emphasis on community outreach and programs for birth parents. Christy loves the opportunity to lead the agency into a brighter future.
Ms. Mackenzie has built a successful counseling career over the past 20 years, supporting mothers and families, people of all ages and genders, students, community professionals and fellow clinicians. Liv values a diverse professional focus, including the entrepreneurial life of a sole proprietor, the evaluative process of certifying foster/adoptive homes, the insightful and mindful one-on-one one work with enthusiastic clients, and serving as an advocate for underserved populations. Liv is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a BA in Pre-Law and Economics from American University, an MA in Counseling from Adams University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University. Away from work you will find Liv spending time in nature, biking to the farmer’s market and adventuring with her family.
Catherine A. Madsen, joined the Adoption Choices family as legal counsel in 2013. Catherine is responsible for providing legal guidance to the Agency, training and updating staff on developments in adoption law and legislation, and program development. Catherine
Virginia Frank is an adoption attorney accredited since 1991 with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Ms. Frank is a leader in the field of private adoption and has completed over 4,000 adoptions in her career. Ms. Frank has a law degree from Oklahoma City University and a BA in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Oklahoma.
Cassidie has been with Adoption Choices since 2015, she has her bachelors in Interdisciplinary Affairs with concentrations in both Sociology and Business Management. Cassidie has additional training in Victim Advocacy, foster care and has been working in women’s services for over 10 years. Cassidie has always had a heart for adoption and it was her career dream to work in adoption. She started off doing volunteer work for advocacy programs, adoption organizations and worked in High Risk Maternal Fetal Medicine through the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Cassidie is also blessed to have personally experienced an adoption of her own in 2012, completing her family of five! Cassidie loves what she does as a case worker from initial phone calls, meetings, doctor appointments, interaction with the adoptive families to delivery and counseling. Cassidie has a passion for those in need and strives to help make a difference in the lives of the people she meets. She is a firm believer in being kind, compassionate and open minded in all situations. “Unless you’ve walked in their shoes, there’s no place for judgment. A kind word or compliment can go a long way!” The bittersweet moments in adoption reminds Cassidie each and every time, why she loves what she does!