Benefits of Creating an Adoption Plan in Colorado
By Jessica Exstrom
Finding out you are pregnant can be wonderful, but it can also be stressful. Your world is changed in an instant, and many decisions need to be made. One of those important decisions is the consideration of adoption. The choice is yours, and we can help you. Creating an adoption plan with us, Adoption Choices of Colorado, can make your adoption experience worthwhile and personal. Creating a plan with us in Colorado, including Colorado Springs, involves ensuring your decision, having access to various resources, like financial assistance, and learning the laws surrounding the adoption process.
It’s important to know you aren’t giving up when you give up your baby for adoption. Instead, we like to keep in mind that you are creating an opportunity for yourself and your baby. You have experienced a lot, so let us help you in making the best decisions and adoption plans for you and your baby.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption Choices of Colorado.
Benefits of Creating an Adoption Plan
Adoption is Permanent
Creating an adoption plan and learning how to put your baby up for adoption is one of the first steps in the adoption process, but ensuring you want to pursue adoption is the very first. It is not bad to place your baby for adoption if you know your baby needs more than you are able to provide at the time. Choosing adoption for your baby does not mean that you are giving up on your child; It means that you are allowing them the opportunity for better care. Whether you are in Colorado Springs or another location in Colorado, we can provide the steps to making a good adoption plan.
Although placing your baby for adoption can be a great thing, you need to make sure that that is what you want and what is best for your baby. Having a licensed agent who fully understands the process and is there to support you will help you make the best decisions. Adoption is permanent, and with our help, we can allow you the opportunity to have confidence and comfort in all of the choices you make. Whether it is deciding months in advance or choosing adoption right at birth, there are resources and people available to help you.
Assistance During Your Unplanned Pregnancy
Private adoption in Colorado means that you are offered quality, personalized care for you and your baby. Walking through this sometimes challenging process with a professional, and having access to helpful services, can be helpful when planning your adoption. Adoption Choices of Colorado provides these things, like private adoption services and financial assistance. An unplanned pregnancy can be difficult to navigate through financially, and we understand that. Financial assistance can allow you time to process what you’re going through and create a quality adoption plan.
Specifically, we offer financial assistance in the following:
- Transportation
- Medical Care
- Housing
- Utilities
- Food
- Phone Bill
Expenses are stressful and can quickly add up when you have more pressing matters, like an unplanned pregnancy, on your plate. Adoption Choices of Colorado offers assistance to help you through these difficult financial times. With these services, you can focus on the important matters of creating the best adoption plan for you and your child.
Colorado Adoption Laws
Laws often seem confusing and complicated, so let’s break down Colorado adoption laws to make them simpler. Colorado adoption laws are very welcoming and inclusive to all types of potential parents who want to place their baby for adoption. There are limited restrictions and requirements involved.
First, for adoption in Colorado, the birth mother is not paid for placing their baby for adoption. As previously mentioned, though, financial assistance is available. There is no timeline for when to place your child for adoption. At any age and stage in your pregnancy, adoption is always a choice, including at the last minute and after the baby is born. Further, there are no specific requirements for placing a child for adoption in Colorado, meaning anyone and everyone is welcome to pursue this path.
You are Not Alone in Your Adoption
You are not alone in your pregnancy. Whether you just found out you’re pregnant or you’ve already given birth, Adoption Choices of Colorado provides the resources to make your decision, financial assistance throughout your pregnancy, and knowledge of the laws surrounding your adoption plan. With locations throughout Colorado, including Colorado Springs, we are just a drive away from helping you make a quality adoption plan for you and your baby.
Remember, you are not giving up anyone or anything in deciding to place your baby for adoption; You are creating an opportunity for both you and your baby.
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!