The Adoption Process in CO From the Adoptive Parent’s Perspective
Birth moms, putting your baby up for adoption is such a brave yet difficult decision to make. Without a doubt, like all the amazing moms, you are also looking for the absolute best options for your baby. You have probably been going back and forth during your research. At some point, you might have thought “well, what does the adoption process in CO even look like for the people that will adopt my baby?” At Adoption Choices of Colorado, we strive to provide our adoptive parents the comfort that we provide our birth moms with. So, let’s get you familiar with knowing what adoptive parents expect throughout the adoption process. We try to narrow this down for you in this article.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption Choices of Colorado.
With 4 Easy Steps, You’ll be on Your Way to Your Child Adoption in Colorado
If you’re worried about what the adoption process in CO will look like for the people that will eventually adopt your baby. Or, if you are already overwhelmed by intensive research about adoption, then you have finally come to the right place. At our adoption agency, the adoption process in CO is narrowed down to four easy-to-understand steps.
- The very first step is the application that is required to be filled out by parents hoping to adopt. We encourage adoptive parents to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information on this application. This is recommended because it allows our staff to not only best accommodate them. But, it also helps with matching your preferences and requirements with the adoptive parents. After we have received the application, we can inform adoptive parents on whether they’ll need to fill out some more forms, and from there, we can then get officially started on the adoption journey!
- The second step involves a home study. Home studies are a common process for adoptive parents. It’s common to worry about what the adoptive family is really like. It is a birth mother’s worst nightmare to find out that adoptive parents are not who they seem to be after adoption. That’s why the home study is intended to get to know the adoptive parents. Another aspect of the home study is to make adoptive parents familiar with what it will be like to raise your baby once they arrive. Adoption Choices of Colorado strives to provide a home study experience in a way that is comfortable and done in a pleasant, informative, and optimistic manner for adoptive parents. The home study process is essentially intended to help the adoptive parents explore the characteristics that they bring to the table in parenting an adopted child.
- The third step involves you! This step deals with matching to birth parents and the placement of the baby. Adoption Choices of Colorado tailors the matching procedure to your needs and requirements. You discuss your needs with your caseworker during the adoption process. By the time adoptive parents arrive at this step, their adoptive parent profile will have been made already. Then, our agency presents that adoptive parent profile to various birth parents like you based on their preferences.
- The fourth step regards post-placement. Post-placement refers to the time period in which your baby is placed with the adoptive parents and up until the time the adoption is ultimately finalized. Child adoption in Colorado requires post-placement contact at two weeks, three months, and six months after placement. Adoptive parents will also have to maintain monthly contact via telephone and/or email. Basically, post-placement serves to obtain important information regarding your baby’s health and development, for example. The main goal is to make sure everything is going well. It also measures the adjustment levels of the new adoptive parents and sees how they’re doing.
As a birth mom, you are probably hoping that your baby’s adoptive parents are trained to appropriately raise your baby. This is why core training is one of the requirements for adoption in Colorado. This involves 16 hours of mandatory face-to-face training for all families looking to adopt.
Adoption Choices of Colorado requires that this core training be accomplished before the placement of your child is finalized. This training is scheduled with our office, and our agency offers these training sessions once a month. Included within these training sessions are guest speakers and even a trainer that assists with raising a newborn baby.
Looking for Adoption Options in Denver, CO?
Adoption Choices of Colorado is the best Colorado adoption agency to go through with your adoption journey. Not only are we experienced with working with a variety of birth mothers and birth parents, but our caseworkers understand the position you are currently in very well. Many of them are adoptive parents so they can best assure you what this process will look like. The depth of understanding we are able to provide, you might not be able to find elsewhere.
Birth moms should also be aware that at Adoption Choices of Colorado, we’re extremely proud to serve our LGBT couples/partners as well as single parents looking to adopt. We’re experienced with providing a diverse range of families to reach their goals regarding their adoption options in Denver, CO. We do not discriminate based on how adoptive families identify, allowing birth moms to choose from a wide range of loving families for their baby.
Adoption in Colorado with Adoption Choices of Colorado
By choosing Adoption Choices of Colorado, you are already setting your foot in the right direction as you are getting closer to safely putting your baby up for adoption! It is our hope that this article may have helped decrease your stress regarding adoption a little bit. You should start envisioning the day your child is placed with loving adoptive parents and beautifully completes their family. Our agency will work hard to make your dreams become a reality. If this resonates with you, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have. We are so excited to get you started on your adoption journey. Let’s start today!
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: Ifrah Mohammed. Pursuing a Communications-Journalism Bachelor’s degree at Siena College, she is an aspiring content writer. A hard-working daughter of immigrant parents, she was born and raised in Queens, NY, and has resided in Fort Worth, TX. Her passions include writing and traveling. Moving around has allowed her to gain valuable perspective. When she is not writing or traveling, she is baking or reading. She currently resides in
Schenectady, NY, a town 30 minutes away from Albany.
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!