“Don’t give up on your dreams. The child who is meant to be with you will come when the time is right.”- Deanna Kahler
Haven Adoptions offers a number of helpful services to navigate the adoption process. Contact one of our case managers today to learn how we can help you.
Services are provided to all parties throughout the adoption process and beyond finalization. Haven Adoptions will support clients and adoptive child if ever counseling is needed post adoption.
*All information for Adoptive parent(s) is held confidential unless written permission is granted from the necessary party.*
Haven Adoptions works with biological parent(s) and adoptive parent(s) who currently live in the United States. Most adoptive parents match with a biological parent during pregnancy and take custody of the infant immediately upon discharge from the hospital. Haven Adoptions also has the opportunity to place children of any age after birth.
Direct support by the caseworker for the individual or family being served. The caseworker will guide the client in their decisions that will benefit the client during the entire adoption process. From the time the client begins working with Haven Adoptions through finalization of their adoption, the caseworker is there to provide full support for any and all adoption needs. While the client caseworker will provide emotional support throughout the adoption process, if further support or counseling is necessary, an appropriate counselor in their general area will be recommended. The personalized attention and sensitivity from your caseworker makes the adoption process a much smoother one.
The collaborative effort of Haven Adoptions’ staff to facilitate and support an adoption plan with the appropriate agency, attorney or adoption professional. Each adoption plan is unique and will be evaluated and executed on a case by case basis. This includes providing the necessary documents to the appropriate party for completion of the adoption. Clients will be provided with a written agreement stating the responsibility of each agency.
The collaborative effort of Haven Adoptions’ staff to coordinate legal counsel necessary in terminating biological parent’s rights and finalizing the adoption. Haven Adoptions works directly with Rick Tompkins, a family attorney in Montgomery County, PA, to terminate parental rights and finalize adoptions for those clients without their own attorney.
This will be facilitated by the agency required by Pennsylvania state law and the hospital policy. Haven Adoptions’ staff will be at the hospital after delivery and discharge when location and circumstances permit. Even if Haven Adoptions is not present with the biological parent and/or client, a staff member will explain what to expect, discuss the hospital adoption and discharge procedures with the client and inform them of any legal requirements they will need to prepare for.
Consents to an adoption are executed differently in every state. It varies from the execution of consent signing, revocation period and who must serve the relinquishments. It is a written statement witnessed and/or notarized and submitted to the court system.
Haven Adoptions will work appropriately to coordinate consents for biological mothers. Haven Adoptions will coordinate with other states’ legal counsel or agency, if applicable, and serve them in the manner in which the appropriate state requires.
When needed, Haven Adoptions will prepare and send the ICPC packet to the ICPC compact administrator in the state of Pennsylvania formally requesting the placement of child to the client in the receiving state. State requirements vary from state to state in which Haven Adoptions will communicate with the receiving state’s caseworker to ensure that the required documents for each state are included with ICPC packet. If Pennsylvania is the receiving state, Haven Adoptions coordinates directly with the
caseworker in the sending state to discuss any issues related to the state’s requirements for services and support during the adoption, post adoption services for the family and child returning to the state.
A screening process of the background and lives of adoptive parent(s) and assessment of the home. The home study is required for all domestic adoptions and must be completed prior to an adoption. This process involves obtaining the necessary clearances from the required states, reference letters from people who can attest to the adoptive parent(s) character, and medical reports to deem the adoptive parent(s) are physically capable of adopting a child, along with all other necessary documents. All this
information is combined into a written report by the caseworker and submitted to the necessary court upon finalization of the adoption. Home studies can be expedited in less than 60 days if necessary. See our home study page for more information.
We take great pride in educating prospective adoptive clients in their adoption options. Haven Adoptions will help and assist all prospective adoptive clients find the best adoption plan to fit their needs. Those clients who choose to move forward with Haven Adoptions will be provided with an in-depth adoptive parent seminar to explain the step by step process of the agency and adoption. Haven Adoptions will review financial options, grants, loans and adoption subsidies.
Advertising program offered by Haven Adoptions that serves biological mothers and adoptive parents with all the options and guidance in making their adoption plan. Haven Adoptions will complete this process through internet advertising, paper advertising, referrals, community outreach and other various avenues.
Once a biological parent has decided to move forward with the adoption process and their consents have been signed to share information with adoptive parent(s), Haven Adoptions will gather profiles that fit the preferences of the biological parents. These profiles are then presented to the biological parents for them to choose the most suitable family for their future child.
Once the adoptive family or individual has been chosen by the biological parent, the family will be provided with background and medical information on biological parent(s) and child to assist in understanding the child’s genetic makeup. If an appropriate family or individual is not available with Haven Adoptions, the agency will use the extensive adoption professional community to locate the desired family for the biological mother and child.
Going through the adoption process can be a stressful time on the adoptive parents. Haven Adoptions offers a few options for support beyond your caseworker and the Haven staff. We can connect you to a support group in your area that you can meet with personally, or an on-line support group. We also have internal support groups with both past and present adoptive clients to offer you guidance along the way from both someone who has been in your shoes and someone who is there now with you.
Haven Adoptions has a supportive licensed counselor available to help with any pregnancy related education, life skills, adoption, family options and/or community resources. Our counselor is able to help and provide support at any point before, during or after your adoption.
Completion of the required number of follow up visits after a child has been placed in the adoptive parent(s) home. This includes the medical reports from the child’s pediatrician, adjustment of family, developmental and medical progress of the child and overall well-being of the child and placement.
Haven Adoptions has trained professionals who are court appointed searchers for biological parents and adoptees. They are trained in PAIR (Pennsylvania Adoption Information Registry) and various ways to appropriately contact the biological parent or adoptee.
Everyone comes to choose adoption for different reasons, but one common thread amongst all new clients is the anxiety around entering into something so new and unknown.
When the word adoption comes to mind, many people’s initial thought is a newborn, and that is surely a common way of building a family through adoption. Though newborns are common, there are many other paths to adoption as well.
If you ask any prospective adoptive parent what the hardest part of the adoption journey is for them, many times you’ll hear the same answer: the wait. By the time a family has decided to pursue adoption, they’ve already been waiting for years to build their family.
