Adoption Program is Booming
Wednesday March 07, 2007, Pensacola
The adoption program of Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida is running full-steam ahead! We attribute the growth of all facets of this program to recent community outreach and education concerning adoption.
The most frequently asked question concerning program growth is, “How many babies have been placed in families?” The Pensacola office proudly reports that since October of last year, we have created three forever families and we are currently in the process of family placement for our fourth baby. In addition, we have had the opportunity to counsel with numerous biological mothers who decided to make a parenting plan for her child, and we were fortunate to be able to assist in that planning process.
We have assisted in the search and reunion between two adult adoptees and their birth mothers. In one case, we located the birthmother of an adoptee who’d attempted to search on his own for many years. Often though, individuals may not desire to search for a relative, but they do wish to have more information about their own background. We have been able to provide non-identifying medical and social history to many adult adoptees and have been told that it seems to complete the missing pieces to their very personal life puzzle.
The success of our adoption program is likely the result of recent efforts to reach the community. As the lead agency for Choose Life funds in our area, we have collaborated with other agencies in advertisement efforts. We have recently become more visible via ads in the telephone directory and local billboards. In addition, we recently participated in Pensacola’s Largest Baby Shower through distributing literature on counseling and adoption. We are currently working to provide adoption education to other entities that work with birthparents, such as Crisis Pregnancy Centers and area hospitals. And perhaps our greatest effort lied in our attempts to put the spotlight on adoption during National Adoption Awareness month in November. We sent letters and informational brochures to local churches, parishes and social organizations and rallied with other adoption organizations in this effort to emphasize the need for creating more families through foster care and adoption.
The goal of our adoption program is multi-dimensional. First and foremost, we aim to provide alternatives to abortion for crisis pregnancy situations, while counseling and assisting biological parents in making the best plan for themselves and their child. Next, we work to provide babies with screened, permanent families. And the motivation behind both of these is our desire to change the overall face of adoption. We desire for whatever negative connotation that remains when one hears, “adoption” to be replaced with an understanding of what an amazing miracle adoption is. We will work to do this, one baby at a time!