Celebrating National Adoption Month!
By Jaclyn Prasa
November is recognized as National Adoption Month. If you are considering choosing adoption for your unplanned pregnancy, it might interest you to learn about adoption’s history and how it has been shaped throughout the years. In honor of celebrating national adoption month, let’s discuss it.
First, the bare-bone definition of adoption is when a child, or adoptee, can not be adequately provided for by their birth parent(s). Thus that child is placed into an adoptive family’s legal guardianship. That adoptive family raises the child as their own.
It is estimated that 135,000 children are adopted each year. Not only does this month support the importance of adoption, but it also recognizes the large population of children that have benefited from the adoption process. At Adoption Choices of Colorado, it is our purpose to help you find a loving and nurturing home for your child.
A Brief History of Adoption
The first observed legal use of adoption can be traced as far back as the 6th century AD in the Roman Law, Codex Justinianus. The law mainly pertained to adopting sons as male heirs. As adoption has greatly evolved over millennia, adoption did not exist as it is known today before 1851.
Before 1851, adoption was stigmatized and therefore considered a secretive act if children were illegitimate. In Colonial America, orphaned, abused, or neglected children were often taken in as apprentices or indentured, a labor agreement made for specific years. Though, these children were not seen as part of the family, nor did they receive any inheritance. Later on, the labor arrangement was replaced by formal education. Adoption was also informal at the time, as orphanages were prominent. The first orphanage was founded in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1729.
Adoption, known today, was formed when a law in Massachusetts was passed. The 1851 Adoption of Children Act acknowledged legal adoption in probate court. The law recognized that adoption is based on child welfare, not on adult interest. Furthermore, the law introduced the courts and judicial power into the dynamic. As the government and local agencies began to closely observe child care, orphanages became extinct by the 1950s. This was the beginning of modern ethics and methods involved in the adoption process.
The Importance of Adoption
While 135,000 is a lovely large number of children adopted annually, there are still many children looking for homes. Every child deserves the chance to live and grow up in a supportive home. In fact, children who grow up in loving homes have more self-confidence, strength to handle adversity, physical and emotional health, and less fear. Adoption gives children a safe starting foundation to steadily grow and blossom in their lives.
4 Benefits of Private Adoption
As a birth parent, you are probably researching and trying to decide the best option for you and your baby. If the other alternatives do not resonate with you, that may be because adoption in Colorado is the right option for you. Though, if you are concerned or confused about where to begin or how to put a child up for adoption, then contact your local adoption agency in Denver to begin the process. It is simpler than you may think and tailored to your needs. Here are some benefits of private adoption in Colorado.
1. Maintaining Control in the Adoption Process
Once you call Adoption Choices of Colorado, you will be connected with an adoption counselor to form an adoption plan. From there, the choices are up to you. You choose the level of openness you seek in the adoption, you choose the adoptive family, and you choose any desired help and resources from us.
2. Confidence in Your Child’s Loving Home
By choosing adoption, you are choosing hope and life for your child. Though you will not parent your baby, you can be confident in the family that you choose to adore and cherish your child. Adoption Choices of Colorado has a list of awaiting families desperately desiring a child of their own.
3. Choosing an Opportunity for Your Child
If you seek adoption, the reason might involve that you lack significant resources for your child. Raising a child is expensive and requires all of your attention. Adoption can assist you, as a birth mother, to take the responsibility of raising and supporting your child off of your hands. In addition, adoptive families are carefully screened before Adoption Choices of Colorado approves them in Colorado. This ensures that they are financially stable and they can provide a loving environment for your baby. Thus allowing your child the opportunity to find happiness and success.
4. Connection with Your Child
Ultimately, adoption is an emotional process. It may be one of the hardest things you will do, but also, it may be one of the most generous acts you will do. You are giving up your child for adoption in order to give them a better life. If you seek to maintain connection and contact with your child, you are able to. By choosing an open adoption, you and the adoptive family will agree upon your involvement with your child. You will not have legal parental guardianship, but you will be able to watch your child grow if you so wish.
Celebrating National Adoption All Month Long
Adoption allows birth parents many options to make the best and most informed decision for themselves and their baby. Adoption Choices of Colorado knows how difficult it can be to place your baby up for adoption. We are here to help make it as easy as we can. We offer financial stability and emotional support. It is important to us to make you feel supported while you gift your chosen adoptive family the privilege of adopting your child.
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!