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Give Up Baby Hello and thank you for letting us help you. If you are on this page of our website it's most likely because you were searching for the words "give up my baby for adoption" or "place my baby for adoption" or something about adoption. I know that right now you may feel confident in your decision to place your baby for adoption or you may be feeling alone, scared, embarrassed or are hurting emotionally. You might also feel you do not have a lot of options or that you don't like the choices that are available to you. We Can Help I want you to know that there is help available. I (Dr. Vince Berger) and my staff (at Adoption Services) want to help you regardless of whether you place your child with us for adoption or not. If you need help finding financial, medical, emotional and other kinds of assistance to keep your baby, we are here to help. Just call us and we will assist you in finding the help you need. On the other hand, if you want or need to place your child for adoption we can assist you too. Either way I want you to know that our highest priority will be to treat you as we would a member of our own family, listen to your questions, provide the answers you need and help you. We are also here to help you for as long as it takes… We never stop caring! What You Need To Know Right now there is something you need to know that affects your life and that of your child. There are three types of people who are going to offer to help you. Those who do it because they care about the safety, well-being and happiness of both you and your baby, and then there are those who do it simply so they can make a profit off you and your child, and finally there are adopting families who just want your baby regardless of how it impacts you. The people who don't care about you and your child will sometimes offer you things that the law does not allow or will offer you things that sound too good to be true. They may even suggest that you travel to another state (this is all to often for their benefit and not yours) in order to receive these things, often failing to remind you what it means to be alone in a strange place and not near your friends or family when you may need their support the most. What I want you to know is that we will provide you with all the financial, medical and other forms of assistance that the law in Chester, Pennsylvania allows. We will also do something that most others in the adoption field don't. We will assist you in finding every federal, state and local government program to help you. We do this because we truly care about you and your baby. Things to Avoid We highly recommend you avoid certain situations because we hear so many sad stories about them. These include using an adoption facilitator or doing what is called a private adoption or doing things in a way in which your child is at risk of being placed in foster care without your permission (it happens frequently). We highly recommend only using a licensed non-profit adoption agency (such as ours, Adoption Services) because this type of adoption agency typically puts the safety and happiness of your child ahead of financial considerations. Don't Let This Happen To You We hear horror stories several times each and every month from a birth mother who made the decision to give her baby to an adopting family using a facilitator or dealing with the adopting family directly. Then, although the birth mother was assured things would work out and although she may have even been promised benefits, the family backs out, does not provide the promised benefits, or through lack of experience, negligence, a change of mind, not doing a proper background check, improper paperwork, or some other reason, the placement did not proceed as planned or the “promised benefits” did not materialize and the birth mother was stuck and left in a horrible situation. Unfortunately, by the time the birth mother contacted us it was too late and there was no way left to help, breaking the mother´s heart, ours too, stranding the birth mother (sometimes in a state where she doesn't know a single person) or leaving the child in a foster home with no way to get the child back out. Our Services I have been helping women just like you for over forty years. My staff and I do it because we care. We have an unblemished record for all those years and have been doing things to help birth mothers and pregnant women, like you, that less caring individuals and adoption agencies don't. We will help you find financial, medical and other forms of assistance whether you place a child with us or not. We want you and your baby to be safe. If you end up deciding to place your child with us, whether it is in Chester, Pennsylvania or in another state, we will be available for guidance, emotional support and advice from the moment you contact us and through your pregnancy, delivery, placement of your child, and for as long after that as our help is needed. Your Medical Bills and Legal Bills Are Paid Your medical bills and your child's and baby's bills may be covered if you have private insurance or medical assistance. However, if you do not have either of these, or if you have had to pay for some things on your own, we will make sure that if you proceed with an adoption all medical related bills are covered and that you are reimbursed for any pregnancy, birth and post-natal medical fees you have paid. We will make sure that not only all of your medical bills are paid but that any and all adoption related legal expenses are also paid for. Your Lost Wages Are Paid Every state’s law handles this issue differently. Since the ending of your parental rights will take place in Chester, Pennsylvania, or may take place in a different state, we will assist you in getting paid for lost wages during and after your pregnancy consistent with the laws of the states involved. Your Living Expenses Are Paid In most states you can receive some living expenses. We will assist you in getting reimbursed for as much of your living expenses, including housing, food and maternity care as allowed by law. Your Travel Expenses Are Paid Every state has limits on adoption related travel expenses that you can receive. However, consistent with state laws, we will make sure that you are paid for all travel expenses related to the adoption. Your Counseling Expenses Are Paid Being a Doctor of Psychology with over 40 years of experience, typically I provide any adoption related counseling you may need and for as long as you need it. In those cases where you need adoption counseling by other professionals, we will make sure the counseling bills get paid consistent with state laws of Pennsylvania or other state where your rights are ended. We Help Protect Your Child We receive literally several hundred adopting families calling us every year but, after very carefully screening to make sure we are working with only the best families, we end up working with a limited number. We take every possible precaution and very carefully and fully investigate each and every family seeking to adopt. We interview them many times. We check their personal stability and the stability and quality of their marriage. We check their attitudes about adoption, about birth parents, and higher education. We find out when and how they will tell the child about the biological parents. We check out attitudes about child rearing and discipline. We verify their income and check their tax records. We check state police records, child abuse authorities, and with the FBI. We even have the adopting family go through comprehensive medical check-ups. We get multiple personal references. We tour their home and neighborhood to be sure they will be able to provide the love, financial support, physical security and comfort your baby deserves. We make sure of all of this before we ever agree to work with the family towards an adoptive placement. It is this very careful screening and attention to detail that helps give our adoption agency (Adoption Services) an unblemished record. We Verify Your Child is Safe and Healthy We continue to provide supervision for months after placement. We talk to the adopting family every few days, go to their home and also check with their pediatrician and any child care provider they may use. Over the past several years we have worked with over 9,000 birth parents and their newborns and young children and we have never, ever, had a child abused, abandoned, or neglected. 24 Hour Hotline We are available to assist you on evenings, weekends, and holidays…24 hours a day. You can send an email which will be answered that day or by the next business day or you can call our toll-free phone 24 hours a day, so you are free to contact us at anytime My staff and I looked forward to hearing from you and in helping you and your child. Chester
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