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Dear Family:
 Thank
you for seeking information about the
services provided by ALTERNATIVES IN MOTION
to families who wish to build their family
through adoption. We have provided
adoption services to the public since
July of 1984. We have successfully
united more that 800 children with forever
families. We pride ourselves on
our innovative approach to working with
prospective adoptive parents and birth
parents.
Both
of our agency directors and the adoption
secretary have experienced the joy
of adding to their family through adoption.
We feel that we have the unique ability
to understand your fears and anticipation
as you read this information. Because
of that understanding, we have tried to
predetermine your questions.and provide
enough answers for you to make a decision
about whether our agency will become "your
agency".
Families
who are looking for an agency to help
build their family should know that AIM
orientates and completes home studies
for approximately 50 Texas families annually.
Orientations are held as needed, from
4-5 times a year. Scheduling an
orientation depends on several factors
including, but not limited to, the number
of waiting families and the number of
maternity clients seeking adoption services.
An
information packet can be forwarded to
prospective adoptive parents who request
information on this website.
A portion of the packet is a form that
must be completed and returned to AIM
describing the different sorts of situations
that you would consider (race of infant,
fetal exposure to drugs and/or alcohol,
situation of birth parent at time of pregnancy,
prematurity, etc.). We are very
committed to finding families for our
babies and accept prospective adoptive
families into our program that will provide
our birth parents with the largest selection
of adoptive families open to the largest
variety of circumstances that might surround
the birth of our babies.
We
sincerely hope that you will prayerfully
consider our part in your search into
building your family through adoption.
Respectfully,
Jan
Deets, LS, LSW
Director of Family
Services
QUESTION
AND ANSWERS
How long will we have
to wait for our child?
Trying
not to sound vague, we have to be honest
and tell you that.We don't know!
Some families are placed within weeks
of completing the home study process.
Others must wait months. The average
wait for families is that of a normal
pregnancy. In most cases, the biological
parents participate in the selection process
with appropriate staff personnel..then
the Lord steps in and makes the decision!
In special situations, families are chosen
because they have indicated that they
are open to circumstances which may surround
the heritage, conception, pregnancy, or
birth of a particular child. You
can greatly reduce your wait by thoroughly
researching a variety of possibilities
before completing an inquiry packet.
Your pediatrician or the genetics department
of a medical college is a great source
of information.
Will we qualify with
your agency?
No
one is disqualified categorically because
of race, age, length of marriage, etc.
Each inquiring family is evaluated individually.
However, the policy of the agency is to
place our children in Christian homes
where both parents believe that
their salvation is thru Jesus Christ,
the Son of God as written in John 3:16.
Each child has unique qualities; but,
every one of them need a stable
and loving home. When inviting families
into our program, we look at these things:
- Ability to provide a stable home life for a child.
- Financial ability to provide for a child.
- Ability and desire to unconditionally parent a child through adoption.
- Understanding of the need to become educated with and deal with adoption issues throughout the child's life.*
*Few families come
into the program fully prepared to face
the adoption issues head on. The
agency provides several opportunities
to enlighten our families through:
group home study, one-on-one sessions
with agency social workers, parent support
groups, available literature, and annual
seminars. We have a lifetime commitment
to our adoptive families which far exceeds
the actual placement of a child into their
homes. Post-adopt services (including
counseling, referral services, and education)
are available to adoptive parents and
children.
What is "open adoption"?
Open
adoption is often misunderstood by inquiring
families. Well meaning family and
friends have cautioned them about this
concept with stories of the birth mother
lurking outside in the bushes waiting
to grab up their child and move to Canada.
Fifty years ago, the stigma of "the unwed
mother" was so overwhelming that the mother
was whisked away to some "home" to have
her baby and place it for adoption.
The mother was told that she would soon
forget all of the unpleasantness and get
married to have children of her own.
Often the adoptive mother would wear a
pillow under her shirt or go to visit
relatives in another state until "her
baby came." Then she would miraculously
appear with the child. Or, she would
be sainted for "taking an unwanted child."
"The
best laid plans.." With all of the
secrecy.and all of the planning.few secrets
were actually secrets. And, no one
forgot! Unfortunately, most of the
children grew up feeling out of control
and incomplete when a cousin spilled the
beans. Even the children that knew
of their adoption from the beginning suffered
because their parents were given no information
about the biological background.
How
we have changed! Adoption has become
a perfectly welcome answer to the millions
of infertile couples across the nation.
And the stigma of being born "out of wedlock"
is slowly fading into oblivion.
Today,
ALTERNATIVES IN MOTION, offers an open
concept to every birth mother. An
opportunity to make the plan for her child's
future.her own! She may participate
in the selection of a permanent adoptive
family for her child through "The Dear
Birth Mother Letter" that every waiting
family provides. She may choose
to meet the selected family prior to the
birth of the child or at the actual placement
ceremony. She may even choose to
have the adoptive family present to share
that miracle of birth at the hospital.
Most of our families develop an ongoing
relationship with the birth family which
may include pictures, letters, videos,
and presents. The agency gladly
facilitates these exchanges. Depending
on the relationship the adoptive family
establishes with the birth family, face-to-face
visits may also occur. Each of these
opportunities remain the birth parent's
options. They may choose all of
the options or none! Even today,
we have adoptions where the birth parents
do not want to participate in the selection,
do not want to see the child, do not want
to know the sex of the child, and do not
want to meet the adoptive family or have
ongoing contact after placement.
Many adoptive parents feel cheated by
a closed placement; however, every effort
is made by the agency to secure photos
and information about the birth parents
to share with the child and his parents.
There
are many articles, studies, and books
published about the benefits of openness
in adoption. Many of these will
be available to you through our program.
Can we specify the
sex of the child we adopt?
ALTERNATIVES
IN MOTION no longer allows this option
to their prospective adoptive families
because the biological parents participating
in the selection process are not always
aware of the sex of the child at the time
of the selection. They are not comfortable
with choosing two families (one for a
boy and one for a girl). Therefore,
they will choose a family open to either
sex to eliminate that situation.
It
is perfectly normal to "want a boy" or
"think it's going to be a girl"; but,
specification is impossible.
How much contact will
I have with the agency? When can
I call? How much is too much?
Will I be filed away and forgotten?
Will office personnel know who I am when
I call?
As
mentioned before, our phones are answered
24 hours of every day. General questions
and clarifications can be addressed after
hours; however, you will most likely want
to speak with someone who works directly
with the adoptive families. These
staff persons are available during normal
working hours (9:00 am to 5:00 pm CST)
You are welcome to call at anytime that
you feel you need encouragement or have
a question.
Each
and every family in our program is "special"
to us. We welcome the opportunity
to interact with waiting families, as
well as hear about how their little one
is doing after the placement. We
encourage families to develop an open
line of communication with all staff persons
and other families in the program.
Families that make a point to introduce
themselves to staff persons over the phone
or when visiting the office, will feel
more comfortable seeking support during
the waiting process. We understand
that the adoption process can be
very intimidating; and, we want our families
to sense the personal atmosphere of the
agency rather than thinking of us as a
bureaucratic system.
Twice
a year, the agency has family socials.
One occurs in late Spring (the Family
Picnic) and one is held the first of December
(the Family Holiday Party). Both
are wonderful sources of support and contact
with staff/families before and after placement
of a child into your home.
Many
families find that volunteering a couple
of hours here and there (copying, soring
literature, etc.) is helpful in making
them feel more comfortable with the agency
staff.
What types of tests
do you do for drugs or AIDS and other
sexually transmitted diseases? Will
we know the results of those tests?
All
mothers receiving prenatal care are automatically
tested for the HIV virus and sexually
transmitted diseases. Any information
pertinent to the child will be shared
with the prospective adoptive parents
prior to placement. We do not give
the adoptive parents copies of the client's
medical papers. At the time of placement,
the child's medical records (from the
delivering hospital) will be given to
the adoptive family. These records
should be given to the child's pediatrician.
The child's medical records indicate results
of testing done after birth.
Because
of the infallibility (because of timing,
metabolism, etc.) of drug screening,
clients are only screened if her counselor
feels it is necessary.
We want to get started,
what do we do now?
Families
interested in applying for adoption through
AIM should respond via this website in
the CONTACT US section. We will
forward a complete information packet
which must be completed and mailed via
the U.S. Mail to our office. When
our office receives the completed packet
along with the required photos, we will
evaluate your particular situation and
determine which orientation you will be
invited to attend.
**NOTE: Because we are a Texas-based
agency, we serve Texas families first.
We are licensed by the Texas Department
of Human and Regulatory Services.
Our Facility # 196466 our licensing representative
is Eli Alfaro 713-767-2579, our physical
address: 2509 FM 1960 East Suite B, Houston,
Texas 77073, 1-800-776-6508 or 281-821-6508,
our fax 281-821- 0356
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