What You Should Know About Colorado Adoption Process
This may be your first time being a birth mother, and you may not know anything about adoption in Colorado. You might have so many questions that you want to be answered. These questions can include what the adoption process in Colorado involves, financial and legal assistance you can choose from, even understanding that your adoption story may look very different from other birth mothers’ adoption stories.
No matter the question, we want to help you through your entire adoption. Here at Adoption Choices of Colorado, we have 24/7 support and are here to assist you. Connect with an adoption caseworker, and he or she will answer every question you have about adoption in Colorado.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 303-670-4673 (HOPE) or visit us at Adoption Choices of Colorado.
Adoption Process in Colorado Steps
There are a few steps that are a part of the adoption process where you get to choose everything. Firstly, you get to choose which type of adoption you want for yourself and your child. This could be open, semi-open, or closed adoption. Each one with different levels of communication: a little, a lot, in between, or none at all. You can decide this and negotiate how much communication with the adoptive parents. In the end, it is your final decision.
You get to select your child’s adoptive parents. We know that you may be choosing adoption because even though you love your child, you are not in the right place to raise them yourself or with the birth father. Choosing adoptive parents to fill that parental role is an important part of the adoption process. You get to choose the adoptive parents based on every aspect of them and look through our database with an adoption caseworker to select who you would like to raise your child. We will help you narrow down your selection and help find you the best adoptive parents who will give your child a happy, healthy, and loving home where he or she can thrive.
You get to create your hospital and delivery plan. Creating this will relieve a lot of stress on you. You will be able to know how your child’s birth date will go. You will be able to choose the hospital you deliver at, the plan for everything that happens, including if you meet the adoptive parents or not. You will also be able to choose how much time you want to spend with your child before giving him or her to the adoptive parents you selected. This is a big decision because this is an important day where you will meet your child. This is the day where your child will become a huge part of their adoptive parents’ lives.
Post-placement counseling is a huge part of adoption as well. It is okay to ask for help. There is no shame in it. You are going through traumatic experiences: an unexpected pregnancy and adoption. It is normal to ask for help. We have post-placement counseling for you, the birth mother, after giving birth and giving your child to the adoptive parents. This can help you through everything you are feeling post-pregnancy and post-placement.
Colorado Adoption Financial and Legal Assistance
Adoption is not easy to go through, emotionally and financially. We are here to help with financial assistance. We know that many don’t have insurance or enough money to cover something as big as adoption. You have different options for financial assistance. With medical and legal fees adding up quickly, you may not be able to pay everything out of pocket. That is okay! Everything that you can’t pay for will be covered by the adoptive parents you select. We’ve got you covered, so any worries you have, let us know, and we will try and make it as smooth as possible for you.
A few options of government financial assistance can include, but are not limited to:
- Medicaid: extra health and medical coverage. In Colorado, Medicaid is called “Health First Colorado.”
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): a food assistance program. This program provides food stamps to those who qualify.
- The Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Program: provides food assistance but additionally provides nutrition education and breastfeeding counseling for eligible applicants.
These are very important to know about, and you have a lot of time to research these and see if any are the right match for you to get help from. We are here to help you and see if you are qualified for these government financial assistance programs.
When it comes to the legalities, you may not be as knowledgeable about this, and that is okay! You will have your own legal representative throughout the whole process. He or she will help you through the legal matters of the adoption. They will walk you through the legal process and procedures of relinquishing your parental rights. Adoption laws in Colorado are important to you as a birth mother. Your legal representative will be able to explain these to you if you need any clarification.
Adoption is Unique for Every Birth Mother
Your adoption is unique. No matter what selections you make in your adoption plan, your adoption process is unique. There are so many options you can choose from during your adoption plan, and what is best for another birth mother may not be the best for you. It’s okay if you don’t choose what other birth mothers choose. You are choosing what is best for you and your child.
Do not think that you have to choose what another birth mother chose for herself and her child. It is okay to choose your own path. Your adoption story is different from many birth mothers’, but still, you are not alone in this process.
You are not alone. There are other birth mothers in the same situation. Remember that you have so much support around you. No matter the choices you make during your adoption process, you are making the best decisions for yourself and your child. An unexpected pregnancy can be very hard. We know that you might wish that you are able to raise your child, but out of love, you are choosing adoption.
Have Any More Questions about Adoption in Colorado?
Contact us! There is no time limit to get started on your adoption process, but you can contact us at any time, and we will be here to answer any questions you have for us. We are here 24/7 for you and are here to answer any adoption questions you have.
Here at Adoption Choices of Colorado, we want to help you through your adoption process. We have adoption caseworkers and professionals who are here to help you through your entire adoption process. We understand how difficult this process can be, but know that it is all for the love of 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.
Meet the Author: Molly Allington is an aspiring author born and raised in Syracuse, New York. When she’s not watching her latest Netflix obsession, you can find her nose deep in a book or in her writing. She has been writing books since she was twelve and is in the process of trying to get her finished books published. Molly has a BA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. With her writing, she is hoping to share supportive information and help as many people as possible. Once she starts her own family, she is wanting to adopt.
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!