All About the Adoptees
By Tyra Watts
When it comes to adoption, one of the goals that Adoption Choices of Colorado aims to achieve is to satisfy the birth mother, the child, and the adoptive families with our services. We want to ensure that our team of wonderful employees is doing what they can to make the adoption process go as smoothly as possible for both parties involved. With adoption, we know that the birth mother plays an essential role because they are the ones who decide whether or not they want to place their child for adoption, and if they do choose adoption, they are the ones who are in control of their adoption plan. However, we should take into consideration the child, also known as the adoptee. Here we will discuss adoptees and who they are, what you should know about them, and how placing your baby for adoption would work from their perspective.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption Choices of Colorado.
As stated earlier, adoptees are children. They are the ones who are being placed for adoption and are adopted by the adopter, also known as the adoptive family or adoptive parents. Most adoptees are fairly young and placed with adoptive families as early as they are born.
How Do Adoptees Feel? Are They Happy or Mad?
Our adoption agencies cannot tell how adoptees feel about adoption if they are still inside of the birth mother. It takes time for the adoptee to know that they are adopted (if their adoptive parents tell them) and come to terms with it. Telling an adoptee that they are adopted is a difficult task because adoptive parents would not know how the adoptee will react to major news like this. The best way to know how the adoptee would truly feel is if they start looking for answers. Some adoptees do this, while others choose not to for various reasons.
How Does Adoption Work for the Adoptee?
If the adoptee is unborn, then they would stay with the birth mother until they are born. At the beginning of the adoption process, the birth mother would have to reach out to Adoption Choices of Colorado and schedule a meeting with an adoption specialist. Next, our Colorado adoption agency will help the birth mother with financial assistance and prenatal care while the birth mother looks over potential adoptive families and the type of adoption.
There are three types of adoption that birth mothers can select: open adoption, closed adoption, and semi-open adoption. These options can affect how the birth mother can communicate with the adoptee and adoptive family. After choosing a type of adoption, you choose an adoptive family. Then, you create your hospital plan. By the time your due date comes, your baby will be born, and the post-placement begins. When the adoption is finalized, you will be provided post-placement support.
What Should I Know About Adoptees?
One thing you should know about adoptees is that the birth mother has the chance to reach out to their child, depending on the type of adoption they’ve chosen during the adoption process. As stated earlier, there are three types of adoption: open adoption, closed adoption, and semi-open adoption, and they can affect how the birth mother can communicate with the adoptee and the adoptive family. For example, if you pick an open adoption, then you’d have full communication with the adoptive family and the adoptee during the adoption process and after everything has been finalized. Depending on the situation, the adoptee would most likely be more open to talking to their birth mother and family.
However, if you choose a closed adoption or semi-open adoption, this can alter the communication between the adoptee and adoptive family, and the birth mother, especially after post-placement. With a closed adoption, there is a lack of contact between the birth mother and the adoptive family. Once the adoptee is placed with the adoptive family, there is not much communication between the adoptive family and the birth mother. Meanwhile, with a semi-open adoption, communication between the birth mother and the adoptive family is made through the adoption agency. After the post-placement, contact is limited to sharing pictures.
We Are Here To Help
If you need assistance in how to put a child up for adoption, then Adoption Choices of Colorado is the adoption agency for you. We have an adoption agency in Denver and an adoption agency in Colorado Springs. If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and want to learn more about your adoption options, contact Adoption Choices of Colorado by email, phone, or text: Email Us, Text us: 720-371-1099, Call us: 303-670-4673 (HOPE). If you are hoping to adopt, please contact us here.
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!