Program overview
OA&FS adoptee Brayden with birth mother Alleia and adoptive parents Sarah and Scobie. In 2024, Brayden (then age 17) gave OA&FS permission to use this photo on the website. Learn more about our mission and how we are protecting the privacy of adoptees.
Program overview
Our agency is a nonprofit, pro-choice organization that is not affiliated with any religion. When working with expectant parents, we always start with free all-options counseling in which we share information about abortion, parenting and adoption and support each person in the option they choose.
When the choice is parenting or abortion, we provide referrals to trusted organizations. In cases where a parent chooses to plan an adoption, we facilitate child-centered open adoptions and support all family members in building a meaningful ongoing relationship in which all parties feel honored and valued.
Our adoption preparation process for prospective adoptive parents includes in-depth learning, ongoing assessment, and continuous self-reflection – with the goal of helping families best support the ongoing needs of adopted children. We acknowledge the complexities and grief inherent in adoption and are transparent about the realities of adoption when working with pregnant people and prospective adoptive parents. We seek out and are guided by the perspectives of those with lived experience in adoption.
We provide post-placement support and counseling to birth and adoptive parents, including guidance in navigating their open adoption relationships. We connect people living in open adoptions with others in their community.
Language matters
Language matters
In talking with people about adoption, we want to find out what name or title they would like to use for themselves in their adoption constellation. For example, sometimes birth parents prefer the term birth mom, birth dad, etc. Others may wish to be called first parent or first mom, etc.
At OA&FS, we use the term expectant parent when referring to individuals exploring their pregnancy options.
In general, we will be using the term birth parent when referring to the biological parent of an adopted child. This term is only used after an adoption has taken place.
We use the term prospective adoptive parent to refer to someone who is in our waiting family pool or in the adoption exploration process. An adoptive parent is someone who is parenting an adopted child.
The adoption constellation includes birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive parents, as well as the wider constellation of people and communities included or connected when an adoption relationship is formed.
Our program testimonials
Frequently asked questions
- What is open adoption?
In an open adoption, the adopted child and their adoptive family maintain an ongoing connection to the child’s biological family – often with regular updates, visits, and a relationship that evolves over time like any relationship. This ongoing connection is recognized to be beneficial to everyone involved, especially the child. Our agency was founded in 1985 with a focus on openness, which was not very common at the time. Most adoptions today have some level of openness. Although openness in adoption is now considered a best practice compared with historically closed adoptions, it does not resolve the trauma and grief inherent in adoption.
- What preparation do prospective adoptive parents receive?
Each step of our preparation process for prospective adoptive parents includes in-depth learning, ongoing assessment, and continuous self-reflection – with the goal of preparing families to best support the ongoing needs of adopted children. This starts with our two-day Pre-Adoption Seminar. The next step is an Application & Intake meeting to assess whether we are mutually a good fit. If approved to proceed, families complete the homestudy process, which includes more required learning and a series of interviews with their OA&FS counselor. Once they have an approved homestudy report, they are able to enter our waiting families pool. From here, we provide continued opportunities for pre-adoption learning that build on prospective adoptive parents’ commitment to openness in adoption and their understanding of the complexities in adoption. Read more about these preparation steps here.
- How are you different from other agencies?
We are a nonprofit, full-service agency that provides no-cost all-options pregnancy counseling. We’re pro-choice, promote reproductive justice, and are not religiously affiliated. When the choice is adoption, we provide pre- and post-placement counseling and support for adoptee-centered open adoptions. We have an active adoption community and host events to encourage ongoing education, build relationships, and provide lifelong support. Our board of directors is led by a birth parent and comprised of adoptees, adoptive parents and birth parents who all help inform our services.
- Are your counselors biased toward adoption?
Although we have “adoption” in our agency name, our counselors are committed to providing unbiased, all-options counseling to all people who are pregnant or parenting. Our first priority when working with any pregnant person is to support them in exploring all of their options. The majority of people who access our counseling services do not ultimately choose to plan an adoption.
- Is open adoption confusing for the child?
No, it is actually less confusing for a child to have access to information about all parts of who they are and be able to build relationships with their biological and adoptive families. Knowing about their adoption and the people who are a part of it can help adoptees to process and better understand their adoption story.