Are you on your own?

Are you, or someone you care about, facing an unplanned pregnancy?

Are you a couple with challenges that make bringing another child into your lives difficult?

Christian Family Care Agency is privileged to work with many women, and their families, who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. This section explains Christian Family Care Agency’s Decision Making Counseling Program and attempts to answer many of the questions you may have. A counselor will be happy to answer any additional questions and provide further information about the program.

There is no charge for these services.

How the program works. CFCA offers decision-making counseling provided by knowledgeable, supportive, non-judgmental counselors who have your best interests at heart. These Masters-level social workers want to help you make the decision you feel is best for you and your baby - be it parenting or adoption.

If you decide to parent your baby, we will provide you with counseling and support and will help you plan for parenthood by connecting you with community resources including: parenting classes, education and career planning, childcare resources, parenting support groups, housing referrals and financial assistance.

If you decide not to parent your baby, we can help you make an adoption plan. You can select the adoptive parents for your baby and determine with them what level of contact you will have after the adoption is completed.

No matter what level of ongoing contact you choose, your child will always know that you love him or her because you carefully selected a loving family. By getting to meet and interact with you, the adoptive parents will also get to see your love for your child first hand and will tell him or her all about you, if you want them to.

CFCA will assist you with your medical expenses and, in some cases, will also help with other pregnancy-related living expenses, such as rent, maternity clothing, etc., in connection with placing your child for adoption, as allowed by the Court.

Adoption is not an easy decision. We know that you will grieve after the placement of your baby so we will continue to offer you counseling services to help you through this period and beyond, if you choose.

Sometimes you need time after the child's birth to make sure adoption is right for you and your baby. If you need time to think about your decision after the baby is born, we can place the baby in one of our transition “cradle” homes while you consider your plans and make sure you make the best decision for you and your baby. Allowing us to care for your baby does not in any way obligate you to place him or her for adoption.

To talk to someone at Christian Family Care Agency -

In Phoenix/Northern Arizona, call 602.266.TALK

In Tucson/Southern Arizona, call 520.296.TALK

or submit the Request Information Form on the Contact page.

Open Adoption

Christian Family Care Agency believes open adoption is a good choice for birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees. The degree of openness in an adoption varies greatly from family to family and some birth parents choose to receive an annual update and pictures while others desire ongoing in-person contact.

Child-centered open adoptions begin with a close and trusting relationship between birthparents and adoptive parents. This unique partnership acknowledges not only the parties' mutual respect and shared love for the child, but also their separate and distinct roles. An open adoption allows birth parents to maintain a relationship with the child so that they can see for themselves that the child is thriving in their adoptive home. The adoptive parents in turn are secure in the knowledge that the birthparents fully support the adoption. And most importantly, the relationship gives the child direct access to information and support from the birthparents, which allows for the healthy development of the child's identity and self esteem. Additionally, we have found that easy and direct access to information over time reduces a child’s fears and fantasies and deters his or her potential feelings of rejection and abandonment.

CFCA was the first agency in Arizona to involve birthparents and adoptive parents in some level of openness in adoptions. In the beginning, openness primarily involved letter and picture exchanges and a one time face-to-face meeting. Nationwide, this level of openness has become standard practice.

Please know that you will never be required to choose an open adoption.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The following are answers to some of the questions most commonly asked by women facing an unplanned pregnancy. If you don't find the answers you're looking for here, simply E-MAIL your questions or call one of our offices.

In Phoenix/Northern Arizona, call 602.266.TALK

In Tucson/Southern Arizona, call 520.296.TALK

or submit the Request Information Form on the Contact page.

All e-mail and phone calls are absolutely confidential.

What is decision-making counseling?
Anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy has a number of important decisions to make. Our trained counselors help you look at your options so you can make an informed choice about your child’s future. Our counselors will not pressure you or attempt to make decisions for you. Whatever you decide, we believe it is important that you make an informed choice and that you feel comfortable and confident with your decision.

How much does counseling cost?
There is no cost for counseling and related services for you and your family.

Will you tell my family or friends I'm pregnant?
Absolutely not. All counseling and communication with CFCA is absolutely confidential. We will not tell anyone about your situation unless you ask us to. If you want to involve your family in counseling you are welcome to do so.

What if I decide to parent my child?
If you choose to parent, CFCA will provide you with counseling and support so you will be prepared for the tremendous responsibility of parenthood.

What if I choose not to parent my child?
CFCA will provide you with counseling and support and will help you make an adoption plan for your child including:

Selection of a loving adoptive family for your child
An agreement with the adoptive family to see the child, not only when they’re born but throughout their lifetime, if you choose
Assistance with pregnancy-related needs and expenses, including maternity clothes, housing and medical care
Access to experienced legal counsel
Housing and transportation assistance
Emotional support during the adoption planning process and beyond
Grief counseling
Education and career planning
Connection to other community resources

How could I possibly give away my baby?
Adoption is not about giving away a baby. Adoption is about making a plan for a child's life. Babies need and deserve stable environments where they can receive the emotional and financial resources to equip them for a bright future. If a young woman or couple is not prepared to parent, adoption is a loving solution to an unplanned pregnancy.

How can I be sure that the adoptive parents will take good care of the child?
Parents who adopt through Christian Family Care Agency must prove that they are emotionally and financially ready to parent. They must complete a rigorous home study process and be certified by the Court in order to be approved as adoptive parents. Additionally, you will choose the parents and will have opportunities to meet them and make sure you feel they are the right people to parent your child.

What does the home study process for adoptive parents entail?
Potential adoptive parents have to do all of the following prior to becoming certified to adopt:

Be fingerprinted and have a local and national criminal records check done to ensure that they do not have a felony record
Have a Child Protective Services check done to ensure they have never been reported as having abused or neglected a child
Write an autobiography of their life detailing their motivation to adopt, their family history, their long-range plans for their children and more
Go through an extensive home study process, involving several visits with a social worker in their home to review their autobiographies
Have a physical exam to ensure that they are physically and emotionally healthy
Have a health and safety inspection of their home to ensure it is a safe environment for a child
Fill out a budget form and provide financial documents to prove that they are financially stable and able to provide for a child.
Provide five references who are contacted by the Agency
Take a personality test that helps their case worker get to know them on a deeper level
Attend adoption classes to learn about the adoption process and about being an adoptive parent
Have all of the above information compiled into a report that is submitted to the court and approved by a judge

Will the baby grow up feeling bitter and resentful towards me?
Adoptive parents tell their children, even as babies, of the tremendous love their birth parents have for them. As a result, adopted children grow up with a great deal of respect and a very special love for their birth parents. In an open adoption, your child will know you and will see and experience your love throughout their lifetime.

After a birth mother signs legal documents, can she change her mind?
Throughout the adoption planning process, and even at the time of the baby’s birth, the birth mother has the opportunity to re-evaluate her adoption decision and make another plan for her child. There is nothing a birth mother can sign during her pregnancy that will commit her to completing her adoption plan. In Arizona, any time after the baby is 72-hours (three days) old, the birth mother may sign legal adoption consents. Once these permanent papers are signed, they can not be withdrawn and the adoption is irrevocable.

Our counselors will never pressure you to sign adoption consents, but will instead encourage you to take all the time you need to be confident in your decision, or to make a different decision.

What if a birth father does not want to place the baby for adoption?
In most cases, the birth father allows the birth mother to make this decision on her own. However, unlike the birth mother’s rights, which cannot be released until 72 hours after the baby’s birth, the birth father may choose not to activate his legal rights at any time during the pregnancy. Instead, he can allow the mother to proceed with the adoption without his involvement. However, as required by law, Christian Family Care Agency takes exhaustive measures to locate the birth father and inform him of his rights and assist him by providing support and counseling.

Do experts think open adoption is a good idea?
Yes. Most adoption social workers acknowledge that some type of openness in adoption is healthy and desirable. Those best qualified as “experts” may in fact be the adoptee themselves. Among those raised in closed adoptions, the reports are mixed; many report that they are perfectly happy not knowing their birth parents, while others state that they would really like some type of contact with them. Some even report being angry that vital information is being withheld from them. Among those who do have contact, however, the results are much more uniform: overwhelmingly those children and teens raised with an open adoption cannot imagine it any other way.

Won’t the child be confused about who his real parents are with an open adoption?
No. Children are very adept at sorting out complex relationships when they are told the truth. Children are much more likely to be confused and frustrated by secrecy and mysteries.

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Birth Parent Adoption Rights

You have the right to plan and participate in all phases of the adoption process.
You have the right to select the family you would like to parent your child.
You have the right to meet and interview a prospective adoptive family. You also have the right to decide against adoption with that particular family and pursue adoption with another family.
You have the right to an open and honest relationship with the adopting family.
You have the right to request ongoing information and contact with the adopting family through direct visits, letters, picture exchanges or phone calls.
You have the right to request a confidential adoption in which there is no ongoing contact and only non-identifying information is shared.
You have the right to receive ongoing counseling and support throughout the adoption process and following the birth of the baby.
You have the right to request financial assistance with adoption- and pregnancy-related expenses.
You have the right to see, hold and spend time with the baby at birth.
You have the right to have additional time to make your decision beyond the 72 hours required by Arizona law.
You have the right to request transitional care for your child in order to solidify your decision, without interference from the adoptive parents.
You have the right to change your mind about adoption at any time prior to signing adoption consents.
You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

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Recommended Reading...

The Open Adoption Experience: A Complete Guide for Adoptive and Birth Families - From Making the Decision Through the Child's Growing Years, Lois Ruskai Melina and Sharon Kaplan Roszia - From the decision making process through the challenges as the adopted child grows, this book touches on almost every aspect of an open adoption.

Children of Open Adoption and their Families, Kathleen Silber, Patricia Martinez Donner - Includes good quotes from children who have been raised in an open adoption.

A Birthparents Book of Memories, Brenda Romanchik - A journal to be completed by a birth mother to give to a birth child.

Being a Birthparent: Finding our Place, Brenda Romanchik - A useful guide to help birthparents understand how to have an important and appropriate place in their child's life.

Your Rights and Responsibilities: A Guide for Expectant Parents Considering Adoption, Brenda Romanchik.

Lifegivers: Framing the Birthparent Experience in Open Adoption, James L. Gritter.

Sacred Connaction: Stories of Adoption, Mary Ann Koenig, Niki Bing (Photographer) - A beautiful book of moving adoption stories.

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CFCA Resource Library

The CFCA Resource Library is available for community use. The library, created through a grant received from Ronald McDonald House Charities, includes books focused on adoption, foster care and parenting. It specifically provides resources for families who are parenting children with special needs, particularly those children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Additionally, the library includes a broad selection of illustrated stories about adoption for both preschool- and school-aged children.

The library, which includes more than 1,000 books and videos, is located in the Phoenix office at 3603 North 7th Avenue and is open during the Agency's regular business hours.

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