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Pregnancy Services/Private Infant Adoptions
Most of Diakon Adoption & Foster Care Services’ private infant
adoptions occur as the result of a birth mother’s decision to use
Diakon Pregnancy Services, based in Northeastern
Pennsylvania. This program allows the birth mother to choose the adoptive
family she feels is best suited for her child. All infant adoptions
are legal-risk placements, because the legal process that terminates
birth parents’ rights is lengthy. In addition, Diakon Adoption &
Foster Care provides home studies and supervision, as requested, for
those who are adopting a private infant on their own, either locally
or through agencies in other states.
International Adoptions (Maryland office only)
Diakon’s representatives are intermediaries in international adoptions. Assisting
with appropriate paperwork, including the family profile, we facilitate contact
with various agencies that have connections to orphanages in various regions.
Depending on the country, it is likely orphanage staff will select a child for
the waiting family based on the family’s stated preferences. For those countries
that require supervision of the child after he or she is in the United States,
Diakon provides supervision as well as post-adoption services.
Legal-Risk Placement (Foster-To-Adopt)
Legal-risk placements—more commonly known as foster-to-adopt adoptions—involve
children in the custody of a county’s Children and Youth Services originally
placed in a foster home with the intent of reuniting them with their birth
families. Many times a foster family seeks to adopt a foster child who has lived
in their home when the child becomes legally free for adoption. Other times, a
family will be sought who is willing to serve as a foster family with the intent
of becoming the permanent adoptive family when birth parents’ parental rights
are terminated. Although legal-risk adoptions are a step toward permanency for
a child, the family does face the risk that the child may not be able to be
legally adopted, depending on the status of the birth parents’ rights. |
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