Family to Family Adoptions Inc, Adoptive Families, Birth Mothers

From time to time, we hear from people that we have worked with, and we like to pass that communication along to share with others who find themselves in similar situations. We recently got the following messages from Sydney, who we worked with some time ago to help her with her situation. Her first message talks about how she experienced her first contact with us. The second one is from a later period in her life, when she is looking back on how things have changed for her and her family.

I first contacted Fam2Fam in 2002- I was pregnant, alone & scared. Already a mother of a 2yr old son & struggling to make ends meet at age 21. I called the number, explained my situation & expected to hear the stranger on the other end of the phone to hang-up or at least laugh. But she sympathized, she listened & understood. Reassured me everything was going to be alright, and that she was there to listen and help me.

H E L P.. Because that’s what I needed! Nobody knew the details of my story or the situation I was in, But these ladies on the other end of the phone were willing to HELP me. And as the conversation went on, I felt the weight lifting off my shoulders & suddenly things seemed like they were going to be O.K.

… and here is the second note,

I placed a child for adoption, with a family in 2002. I was young and already a single mother of a 2yr old son. A lot of questions went through my head during the process about what will my son think when he gets old enough to wonder and ask questions. Here it is 2012, and not only does my son know about the adoption process and well aware of his biological brother –but they have a relationship. They stay in touch through Facebook, emails, phone calls and the occasional gifts on holidays/birthdays. We were blessed to have chosen a family that also kept their son they adopted aware of us, his biological family and the adoption in general. We have spent family vacations together and shared several laughs. It is truly a wonderful relationship. We get to watch as they each grow up & share their experiences. And although raised in two different parts of the country and in different settings, they both share such similarities. The way they giggle, the sports they enjoy, even the foods they eat.. They have that brotherly connection and always will.

My experience with Family 2 Family is almost a fairy-tale one, I was treated with the up most respect & care and never once felt obligated or pressured into the adoption. When asked about my 2cents worth- I say sit down & get comfy, because ive got a plenty of positive comments about Adoption & Family 2 Family!

We are so happy when we get notes like this because it shows us that the effort and care that we put into every situation we encounter really does pay off and make a difference in the lives that we touch.

If placing a child is something you are considering, read over some of the points you should think about to see if adoption is right for you. We also provide information on the birth mother process, and, as you can see from Sydney’s story, we are happy to talk with you on the phone to help you understand what we can do to help you.

you can write to us through our website or call and let’s talk

1-800-385-6301

We recently received a very rewarding note from a new couple looking for an opportunity to build their family. This is how the email message began (names and location have been changed to protect privacy):

“My name is Sharon, and I am good friends with Joe and his partner, Bill, from Atlanta. They adopted Chalon from you 18 months ago, and have not stopped raving about your agency!”

This is the kind of thing we love to see when we open our mailbox in the morning! It tells us that we have achieved a successful placement for a couple who needs help in creating the kind of family they want, and that we have found a home for a child who might otherwise have a very uncertain future.

We are proud of our position that no one should be restricted from adoption solely due to age, religion, income or sexual orientation. We are also very pleased that our clients have been so happy with our services and support that they talk to their friends about us to spread the word. There is no better recommendation than one from someone who has worked with you to accomplish their goals! Fortunately, we have received numerous testimonials from such people in the past.

If you are a Mother looking for a placement for your child, look at our description of birthmother services to see whether we might be the right fit for your situation and your child.

We just received a nice “Thank You” from one of the grantees helped by our program. We often get such testimonials from our clients and we always appreciate hearing how we have helped someone.

In this case, our client did not use our services to place her baby, but she did qualify for the education grant that we make available. This is only a small example of the various kinds of support we can offer to our birth mother clients.

From time to time, we come across references to our services on the web where people are talking about us. We recently found a post on another blog, in response to a question on that blog, that referred to our services. Here is the response, just as posted on the site:

“My husband and I have a daughter that we adopted through an adoption agency calledFamily To Family Adoptions Inc. they were wonderful to work through.

We had already completed our homestudy through an independant agent. With a homestudy they do background checks, ask you and your spouse lots of questions, make sure your house meets safety standards.

Once we called the agency we filled out an application, and they then presented out to expecting mothers. Once one of the mothers picked us, we were and waited for our daughter to be born. However, we only waited a week, because her birthmother was at the end of her pregnancy.

With the profile, it will consist of a letter you write to the birthmother, it is called the Dear Birthmother. There will also be pictures of you and your family, maybe your house, pets, etc.  This profile needs to help the birthmother know you just by reading it.

In some cases the birthmother will want to meet before the birth, sometimes birthmother will never want to meet you.

FOSTER CARE

To become foster parents you need to take a course provided by the state to receive a liscense. In many states this course is called PRIDE Classes. Parents Resources for Information, Development, and Education. There will be between 30-35 hours of class time plus homework. The state will then have a homestudy done for you the same way you would for the adoption agency.

Once everything is cleared they will send you your liscense and you will be able to start fostering. With the time your case worker is with you you will have figured out how many children you can care for and what ages you would like to work with.

Adoptions prices can be $ 17000 to $ 30000

There will almost always be an aplication fee but NEVER pay more that $ 500 for that fee.

Our adoption cost was about $ 17000 to the agency, then about $ 700 for lawyer fees to finalize the adoption.

Foster care just cost the time you invest in it. We are also starting the adoption process through foster care and that is just going to cost lawyer fees for finalization.

Our adoption agency is Family To Family Adoptions Inc and their website is fam2fam.org or phone number 281-342-4042

Good Luck!”

This is the unedited posting. We chose to re-post it because it is one of several responses to the question and is a little hard to find on the other blog.

We always place great emphasis on making our clients feel as comfortable with us and the adoption process as we possibly can. It is rewarding to us when our clients express their thanks in notes to us about their experience. We have posted a few of the notes we have received over the years on our site as “Testimonials from Adoptive Families” and “Testimonials from Birthmothers“.

I wanted to share a letter we received about a year ago from a young woman who placed her son with us in June 2005.  She is now married and has a great job and all around great life.  This is not an unusual story and many birth families find resolution and happiness after placement if they have the right support and treatment from the agency they have chosen to help them through this process.

“I know I am so lucky to have so many people in my life that are so understanding.  At first, my mom and family were super upset that I didn’t tell them about the baby and the adoption until after the fact.  I couldn’t…they would have tried to interfere and I knew I was doing the right thing.  They’ve since become very supportive.  They know I did this out of love.  I don’t feel ashamed like I did before.  Instead, I’m proud of the sacrifice I made so that my baby could have a better life.

I’ve recommended your agency…but they chose to go through with an abortion.  Seeing them through what they did, made me all the more grateful that my situation unfolded the way it did.

Sometimes  I think about the baby and I’m a little sad…but I know that’s just life.  Things don’t always turn out the way you plan them to.  But I do believe in fate and that everything happens for a reason.  I love my life now…I have a great life…I couldn’t ask for anything else.  Thank you and your agency for all that you’ve done for me and my family…all of us.  I really love you guys!!!!”  H…placed June 2005

Many of our birth mothers have thanked us for how we have helped them in the adoption process and we have posted a few of their comments on our site as “Birth Mother Testimonials“.

What does Thanksgiving make you think about?  As an adoptive mother it brings tears to my eyes to think about the gratitude in my heart that I have for a very special lady that allowed one of my biggest dreams to come true…the dream of being a mom! There were several years that we attended family Thanksgiving celebrations and would hear comments like, “when are you going to start your family” or “you guys sure are taking your time.” We had not shared with them the deep desire to grow our family and the trials we were going through at that very moment in time!  After a few years it was clear that adoption was the answer to growing our family.  We were very excited for the first time in a long time that we could become three!


When we first spoke with Family to Family the ladies there were nice and so understanding! It was amazing.  It was not long before we were matched and our Princess was born in the fall of that year.  In our situation we do not have regular communication with the lady that I hold dear to my heart, our daughters birthmother, but there is not a single day that goes by that she doesn’t cross my mind. I am so thankful to her for the opportunity to be a mom.

When Thanksgiving comes around the daily thoughts turn into regular tears, I honestly think there are not enough words of gratitude that could ever express what I have in my heart for this wonderful lady.  I know that each day we are to be thankful, and I am, but Thanksgiving time puts a whole new perspective into my heart and mind.  I am thankful for Family to Family and the A+ services they offer, and also to the lady that gave our Princess life and allowed us to become parents through that choice!

“We drove 27 hours straight through to get from our Midwest home to Texas and arrived at the hospital when our beautiful baby was 22 hours old!”

Another testimonial from one of our adoptive families tells us again that the work we do here has an impact on people’s lives. We always appreciate these kinds of stories because they remind us over and over again that our efforts are meaningful (and appreciated).

Visit our web site to learn more about the adoptive process and see how we might be of service to you in your efforts to build your family!

We at Family to Family have always prided ourselves on our attention to serving the needs of the birthmothers that we are associated with. We have a list of birthmother services that we provide to our clients and maintain a list of questions and answers of interest to birth families.

We are always gratified when our constituents recognize our efforts, and many of them mention us and our dedicated staff in their blogs describing ways that we have been supportive and helpful to them in their efforts to expand their families. One of our clients has written a personal note about his own experience as an adopted child and his sensitivity to issues that birth mothers have. His story points up how our approach serves birth families as well as adoptive families.