In order to continue to serve all of our current waiting adoptive families with the highest integrity and personalized services, and to focus on meeting the needs and expectations of our clients planning adoptions for their babies, we have implemented the following criteria:
Currently, we are only welcoming in New Hopeful Adoptive Parents who are:
• Black or African American, Hispanic or Asian (or their children are Black, African American, Hispanic or Asian) and who have hopes of adopting a baby of the same/ethnic group
Or:
• Open and Prepared to adopt a baby of any race who has been prenatally exposed to a significant amount of alcohol (alcohol consumed at moderate or high rate throughout pregnancy or significant binge episodes) and/ or extensive exposure to multiple illicit drugs
Or:
• Not Black or African American themselves, but who are hoping and prepared to parent transracially. In order to be considered and approved to adopt a Black or African American baby (when adoptive parent(s) are not Black or African American nor are their children); Open Arms requires that your current community/neighborhood be racially and ethnically diverse and a place where your child will see themselves, as a Black or African American person, reflected from the day that they join your family. In addition, Black or African American children must make-up at least 20% of the student population in your neighborhood elementary school. And family must be committed to actively seeking out adult role models and child playmates that are of the same race/ethnicity as child and to happily incorporate appropriate traditions, events and holidays into your family life, so your child feels their ethnic/racial heritage is fully acknowledged and honored in your family.
If one of the above characteristics describes your family and you are interested in learning more about Open Arms, please feel free to contact us.
Building Your Family Through Open Adoption
Open Arms Adoption Network is proud to be a program of JFCS of Greater Philadelphia, an agency that has provided child-centered adoption services since 1855.
We have offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware, and are a full-service, licensed, comprehensive adoption program serving expectant parents, prospective adoptive parents and birth parents.
We offer:
A progressive approach to building families through adoptionWe are committed to child-centered open adoption in which lifelong connections are maintained between birth and adoptive families. If you would like to learn more about open adoption, and how this approach benefits children, visit our FAQs.
We celebrate our community’s rich diversity. There is a place for you whether you are a prospective single or two parent family. Open Arms’ adoptive parents are heterosexual, LGBTQ, people of all faiths and spiritual orientations, and of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. People choose to form or complete their family through adoption for many different reasons, and we will welcome you no matter which path led you to us.
Through our fun family picnics, support groups , and our many educational workshops , Open Arms families often feel value in becoming a member of a progressive and diverse adoption community. We recognize that building or completing your family through adoption is an emotional experience and in our program, you will never feel that you are “just a number”.
From your initial contact with Open Arms, we hope you will feel as if you and your individual story are important to us. The adoption process is not “one size fits all”. Therefore, when you attend a free Information Meeting, you will meet members of the Open Arms team who will explain our process and philosophy to you, as well as answer all of your questions and address your concerns. Should you choose to work with us, you will be assigned a local adoption coordinator who will be your contact before and after you adopt. Our goal is to ensure that you get personalized support to meet your specific needs.
Open Arms has a vast and varied roster of programming well suited for all those touched by the adoption experience. We recognize that adoption is not a one-day event, but rather it is an enriching lifetime experience for all. Therefore, we are committed to offering innovative workshops. As your child grows and matures, so will his/her interest in understanding and connecting to his/her adoption story. Our educational programming is based on the needs of our adoption community, which we recognize is ever-changing.
Many of our staff members are either parents by adoption or were adopted themselves, and therefore bring a unique, personal perspective to the families we serve. We often hear from our families that the Open Arms team is one full of great energy and compassion, and for that we are proud.
Adoption is a wonderful, rewarding experience, it is not a one-day event, but rather a lifetime experience with complexities along the way. For this reason, Open Arms offers pre-adoption counseling, support and consultation while you wait, and for the years to come, after your child joins your family.
We are dedicated to meeting the needs of all of our families, both birth families and adoptive families, at every phase of their adoption experience.
