Children's Home Society & Family Services is a national leader in open adoption education and practice. We specialize in quality open adoption services. We realize that not all birthparents desire openness and we will continue to work with you and help you create the adoption experience that is best for you.

Getting Started.  Talking with an Open Adoption/Pregnancy Counselor is the first step to finding out more about the option of adoption. Our counselors meet with women and their partners in all stages of pregnancy and are available to meet with you here at CHSFS or in your home. Our counselors are available to travel throughout Minnesota to offer support and decision-making counseling and planning. To make an appointment with one of our Pregnancy Counselors click here.  There are no fees to birthparents for any services received.

So, how can you meet the right adoptive parents for your child?

Waiting Family Book Your counselor will show you our Waiting Family Book, which profiles an average of 80 families who have undergone the process described above. Families submit to us an adoptive information outline; a letter to birthparents and pictures of themselves to be included in a 3 ring binder called the Waiting Family Book. After looking in the book you may decide to meet with one or more families to discuss openness issues, background information, reasons for making an adoption plan, etc. From this meeting, you and the adoptive parents decide whether or not to make an adoption plan with one another.

You may already have found the family you want to raise your child or you may want to select a family from our Waiting Family Book.

If you are considering placing a child for adoption and need to find a possible family, click here to view letters from prospective parents.  Keep in mind that not all of our Birthparent Letters are posted here. Many choose not to use this service and only appear in our Waiting Families Book at the agency. This book contains 70-80 possible families. To view the additional letters in our book not included on-line, click here to contact a counselor.

Match Meeting. When you select a family from the Waiting Family Book, the Pregnancy Counselor who has been working with you arranges a meeting between you and the adoptive parents to consider making an adoption plan. When a decision is made to proceed, the counselor will work with you and the adoptive parents to make this plan a reality.

Cooperative Agreement. The adoptive parents and birthparents work together on a written Cooperative Agreement in which mutually agreed upon decisions about the prenatal period, hospital stay, post placement, and financial arrangements are stated. Specific issues addressed include the contact adoptive parents and birth parents will have before the baby's birth, who will be present in the delivery room, and the schedule of visits/letters/phone calls by the birthfamily and adoptive family after the baby is in the adoptive family's home. The part of the Cooperative Agreement that addresses the schedule of visits, letters, and phone calls may become a legal document included as part of the final court decree of adoption, if both sets of parents wish to have it.

Placement.  The birth and adoptive parents plan together when the child will enter the adoptive home. In most adoptions, the child goes to the adoptive parents' home directly from the hospital. Due to a variety of situations, the adoption plan may include temporary care for the child in one of CHSFS's licensed foster homes.

Support after Placement. Our relationship and our commitment to you does not end after placement. Our pregnancy counselors remain available to help you with feelings of grief and loss that you may experience after placement. Our counselors can also assist you and the adoptive family with any post placement relationship issues that may arise. Many birthparents attend our monthly birthparent support group.  Call Cathy for more information at (651) 255-2430.