| Adoption Agency | Adoption Consultant | Private Attorney |
|---|---|---|
| During the expectant mother's pregnancy, the agency caseworker provides counseling support, transportation to appointments, ensures basic needs are met (food, clothing, shelter) and provides assistance applying for social services. | ||
| Adoptive parents receive training and ongoing counseling about open adoption, talking to children about adoption, maintaining a relationship with birth family through the years, and more. | Provide adoption education, support, and guidance to adoptive parents. | |
| APO Caseworker completes the Home Study before adopting parents receive final approval. | Provides referrals to Home Study providers. | |
| Caseworkers provide coaching / guidance in creating on-line Profile. | Provides coaching / guidance in creating on-line Profile. | |
| Agency reaches prospective birth parents through pregnancy counseling, marketing and on-line availability. | Coaches adoptive parents how to market themselves to find birth parents. | |
| Birth parents choose adoptive parents that the agency has already screened, trained, and investigated. Birth parents can meet several families before making decision. OR | Offers advice to adoptive parents when deciding whether to accept a match. | |
| Identified adoption: Birth parents and adoptive family meet, then bring their relationship to the agency for the benefits of counseling and legal details. | Identified adoption: Birth parents and adoptive family meet, then bring their relationship to the attorney to handle legal details. | |
| Birth parent caseworker provides counseling / support to birth parents. Adoptive parent caseworker provides counseling / support to adoptive parents. | Provides counseling / support to adoptive parents. | |
| Hospital Work: The agency communicates with hospital staff about adoption plans, advocates for birth parents, and provides in-person emotional support during hospitalization. | ||
| Agency handles legal details of the termination of parental rights. | Handles legal details of the termination of parental rights. | |
| The agency staff provides support to birth families during the grieving time following termination of parental rights. | ||
| The staff provides guidance to birth and adoptive families as they navigate their new open adoption relationship. | ||
| Provides post-adoption supervision to adoptive parents between the time of placement and finalization. | ||
| Prepares post adoptive reports for the court and consults with attorney facilitating finalization. | Prepares documents for the court and handles legal proceeding for finalization. | |
| The agency remains available indefinitely to counsel birth mother, child, and adoptive family throughout the years. |