If you are pregnant, or have recently given birth, and are wondering about your options, you may be curious as to whether adoption is still an available option to you right now, during the current pandemic. The short answer is yes. Open Arms Adoption Network is available to you, free of charge, at any time, if you would like to learn more about the option of adoption. A counselor is able to provide you all of the services and support that we typically provide, safely, during this COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we may be able to provide financial assistance for housing or food, if you are having a difficult time financially because of the virus.
We Are Still Here
Now that you know that Open Arms Adoption is able to help you consider your adoption options right now, you may be wondering how you would receive adoption counseling and get your questions answered regarding adoption as this virus is impacting us all.
First, we would offer a phone call or facetime/skype /zoom to get to know you and hear more about what is going on. In the initial call, we will learn more about your situation and why you are considering adoption for your baby. We will learn about the support that you have in your life, what the situation is like with the father of your baby, and any information you are comfortable sharing with your counselor. This phone or facetime meeting will also be an opportunity for you to ask your Adoption Counselor any questions that you have about adoption. You may have questions about the process of adoption, laws, the rights of the baby’s father, or about open adoption or even about how to keep the fact that you want to put your baby up for adoption confidential. We can help you understand more about adoption so that you can start to think about what you feel is the best option for your baby. We can also offer resources to help you parent, if parenting is something you would like to do, or refer you to one of our trusted partners should you choose to terminate the pregnancy. We will never pressure you into ANY decision.
Adoptive Family Screening during the Pandemic
You may be concerned about how we are ensuring that the family who adopts your baby is safe and ready to parent, while everyone is struggling with the current pandemic. Although there are currently Social Distancing guidelines in effect, we continue to do very close screening of all our Adoptive Families to make sure that they are ready and prepared to parent right now. During this pandemic, we continue to facetime with our hopeful adoptive families quite often and to make certain that they and those around them are healthy and are not infected with the Coronavirus or Covid-19. Adoptive families are still required to complete all background checks, including FBI and Child Abuse Clearances, criminal clearances, get letters of recommendations from their place of work as well as friends to show us that they are in fact, a safe, loving family and a good fit to adopt a child. Additionally, their Social Worker gets to know them very well throughout the process to make sure that they are a good fit for our program, and that they are passionate about adoption as the way to grow their family. Our criteria to screen hopeful adoptive families has not been loosened during this pandemic. So, you can rest assured that the families working with Open Arms Adoption Network are fully safe, loving and ready and excited to become parents today.
Choosing or Meeting Family
Another question you may be wondering, is about choosing a family virtually. You may have heard of the term “profiles” which are books that Waiting Adoptive Families create about themselves so that you can learn more about who they are, and to ultimately choose a family for your baby, should you wish to do so. Even though meeting with your counselor in person isn’t so simple right now, we are still able to offer the option of choosing a family by looking through profiles. We have many waiting adoptive families who are excited and ready to adopt, and all have their profiles available for you to look at online. And, we still have our regular hard-copy of all profiles too which we can mail to you or drop off at your home if you prefer. We can leave these profiles in a mailbox or just at your front door so you don’t have to feel concerned about our getting too close to you! If you choose a family for your baby, and you would like to meet them, we can arrange for a safe, socially distanced get-together where you can meet the family in person or we can all meet together online with facetime or zoom. While this won’t feel exactly the same as before COVID-19, we will make it feel as natural and comfortable as possible.
And yes, some women do not want to look through profiles and they just want the agency to choose the right family for your baby. This option is fine too. We would choose the longest waiting family who is a great fit for your baby.
Supporting You
The support that you receive while considering adoption will not be affected by the current pandemic. We will be with you the whole way, continuing to discuss your options, and, should you choose to move forward with giving your baby up for adoption, we will help you with your adoption plan. If you need assistance getting to prenatal appointments, setting up other services, getting food or any other basic needs, we will help you with all of it. When it is time for you to give birth, we can help support you at the hospital, offering whatever assistance you need.
How Open Arms is Different
While some adoption agencies aren’t offering the level of support that they would typically give to Birth Moms, Open Arms Adoption is continuing to put you first. We are available 24 hours day, as always, for women who want to learn more about adoption for their baby. Our counselors are available to speak with you based on your schedule, and will do whatever they can to offer you the support that you need during this difficult time.
After Your Adoption
Should you move forward with an adoption plan and put your baby up for adoption with Open Arms Adoption, or even if you choose to parent, we will continue to support you in whatever way you desire. If it’s an Open Adoption that you have chosen, we will continue to help you navigate your relationship with the Adoptive Family of your choice, and assist you in building a relationship with the family. We are here for you every step of the way. And, if a planning a confidential adoption feels better, we will happily assist you with this as well and do our best to make you feel comfortable.
Call us at 1-888-OPENARMS or email us at info@openarmsadoption.net to learn more about adoption, our waiting families and how we can help you.
And, we hope you stay safe and healthy during this pandemic. Let us know if we can be helpful.
