What Are My Adoption Post-Placement Services in Colorado
By Gabrielle Maya
You’re a birth mother in Colorado who plans to put your baby up for adoption. You are searching for adoption agencies in Colorado that will help you with your adoption. Our agency, Adoption Choices of Colorado, can be your ideal agency. We offer several adoption services, assisting in the adoption plan and adoption process. You may know our services, but you are curious about post-placement services available once the adoption is complete. To help understand what is expected during an adoption process and post-placement, please read the following to discuss the next steps. Remember, all decisions are made by you. Our job is to help you create the best adoption for you and your child.
If you or someone you know would like to become a surrogate, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption and Surrogacy Choices of Colorado.
How to Begin My Adoption Plan in Colorado
To begin your adoption process, you start with the first step, the adoption plan. Part of the adoption plan is figuring out what type of adoption you want and searching for the ideal adoptive family.
First, we start with the three types of adoption:
- Open Adoption: You decide to prefer a close personal relationship with the adoptive family and child. You want consistent communication and contact. You can schedule in-person visits, private emails and letters, videos, and phone calls.
- Closed Adoption: No form of contact is necessary for this adoption type. You think no personal information should be exchanged. Only your and the adoptive family’s profiles, provided by Adoption Choices of Colorado, are available.
- Semi-Open Adoption: A combination of closed and open adoption. You want to establish boundaries with your adoptive family and child. However, you still want to have updates on the child’s upbringing. You may want to have a personal connection through communication such as video and phone calls, emails and letters, and in-person visits. You decide which forms of contact are best for you. The adoption specialist mediates all forms of communication.
Birth Mother Questions You Might Want to Know
Next, here are some questions many birth mothers consider before choosing an adoptive family:
- Location: Do you want your adoptive family to be in the same state, county, or farther away? Would you prefer an adoptive family who is nearby?
- Upbringing: Do you want the adoptive family to have similar values and morals when raising your child? Would you prefer an adoptive family that plans to raise your child how your family raised you?
- Family Type: Is there a specific family type you’d prefer to care for your child? Same-sex couples, couples with no children, couples with children, couples familiar with adoption, single mother or father?
- Religion/Race/ Ethnicity: Is race, ethnicity, or religion relevant to your adoption decision? Would you be comfortable with someone of the same race as yourself? Would you prefer someone with the same faith as you? Or does it not matter if they have different religious beliefs, no religious beliefs, or different races or ethnicity?
Three Post-Placement Adoption Services
- Post Placement Counseling: Adoption Choices of Colorado offers continuous counseling for those who have completed their adoptions. One-on-one counseling may be at your convenience. We want you to seek help that can support you during your time of grief, anger, guilt, or whichever emotions are spiraling. We want to help you cope, have control, and acknowledge your adoption experience.
- Support Group: a post-placement support group is an option if you want to surround yourself with other birth mothers. Although you may have different stories, experiences, and opinions on your adoption and choosing it, you are all birth mothers who have chosen adoption. Having people who understand your situation can be uplifting and inspirational.
- Financial Assistance: Loans, grants, programs, and other services are still eligible for you to apply for after finalizing the adoption. In addition, we understand that you need to get back on your feet after the expenses of the adoption process. Check for your eligibility based on your financial circumstances. Financial assistance can cover rent, utilities, transportation fees, medical aid, phone bill, and other expenses.
How Adoption Choices of Colorado can Help With Post-Placement Services
Adoption Choices of Colorado is an agency you can rely on for your post-placement services. We want you to have all the resources of our adoption services. Therefore, you can depend on us to answer all of your questions about the adoption process and what is needed. We will simplify the steps and make it easy to make your final decisions. So, choose us for your Colorado adoption. If you are interested in learning more about your gestational surrogacy options, contact Adoption and Surrogacy 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!