Making Your Adoption Plan in Colorado
Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end and your adoption journey will also consist of three major parts. You’ll prepare for the adoption, have a plan for the day you give birth to your child, and find ways to stay mentally healthy after the adoption takes place. Everyone should have a guide through these challenging times, and that’s why Adoption Choices of Colorado is here to help you structure a step-by-step plan. You’ve got this!
The Three Parts in Making Your Adoption Plan in Colorado
- Preparing for the Adoption
There’s a good chance this is your first time going through the adoption process. It can seem a little overwhelming, but don’t worry, we’ve got your back. The first thing you will want to do is contact Adoption Choices of Colorado so that you can be assigned an adoption caseworker. They will, essentially, help you organize your thoughts and wishes for your child so that you can limit your stress. Counseling is also offered at no additional cost for birth mothers and their immediate families, should you feel that you require some additional support. Even if you don’t believe yourself to be a good candidate for counseling, it has been known to help people who didn’t even know they needed help. So, it’s a good idea to keep this in the back of your mind.
As you are making your adoption plan in Colorado with us, you’ll also select an adoptive family. Fortunately, you don’t have to go out and hunt for an adoptive family yourself. We gather data on eligible adoptive families and then present information about them to you in an easily-digestible scrapbook format. You can choose from a variety of different adoption types — open, semi-open and closed — though you should consider your options carefully. Closed adoptions allow both you and your child to go your separate ways if you feel the need to move on. Semi-open adoptions allow you to go through Adoption Choices of Colorado to contact your child’s adoptive parents. Finally, open adoptions allow you to communicate with your child’s adoptive parents directly to schedule visits and have a closer relationship with them and your child.
- Giving Birth
This sort of falls into the adoption planning stage, but it also is such an important part of the adoption process that it also deserves its own stage. Giving birth can be really terrifying — there’s not really a need to sugarcoat it. However, because of that, we at Adoption Choices of Colorado want to make sure you are as comfortable as possible. That means finding a hospital in your area, having someone to drive you there and having people to come and support you.
Pain management is also an important consideration, so having some ideas about what works best for you in that category can really be helpful. You’ll likely want to make a list of things to bring with you to keep you happy and occupied, including basics like toiletries, as well as other essentials like your cellphone. If you give yourself the time to prepare, you will be on the road to success. Making your adoption plan in Colorado also involves making your birth plan as the two are so closely tied together, so you should have plenty of support to create the experience you find to be the most welcoming.
- After the Adoption
We equated the end of the adoption process to the end of a story, but there is more to it than that. First of all, strong endings are not just abrupt — they work to conclusively tie up character arcs. It is advised that you should continue counseling after the adoption process, no matter what your situation is at the time. Finding ways to deal with your feelings is important for your mental health, whether you committed to more of a closed adoption or more of an open adoption. The majority of adoption journeys are incredible successes, but human emotions are complicated and it’s okay to talk through things. You can still be sad even if something is joyful or done in the best interest of a loved one.
The second thing to remember is that all ends are beginnings. No matter what your path is going forward and no matter what changes have occurred, there will be a new and exciting world for you to explore.
Are You Ready to Make Your Adoption Plan in Colorado?
If you are considering adoption, and/or want to learn more about making your adoption plan in Colorado, don’t hesitate to reach out. Adoption Choices of Colorado will help you plan, help you organize your mind, and help you live — now and in the future. You’ve got this.
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.
Meet the Author: Nathan Dyer is a university student majoring in Communication Arts with a radio/TV/film focus. He enjoys writing professionally and dealing with hands-on problems in real-world scenarios. Among his hobbies is hiking, which always encourages him to explore new places. He looks forward to crafting written materials in the future that serve to help people from all walks of life.
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!