Ways We Can Help You

We understand that this can be a very stressful time for you and that you may have many questions and concerns.  Our goal is to help you, pregnant women, birth mothers, children and families lead healthier, happier lives.  Our first priority is to listen to you, answer your questions, and help you with your needs and concerns. Please click this link to contact us or you can call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1(800) 943-0400.

This site is designed to help you, a pregnant woman or birth mother, in many different ways.  It includes everything from information on medical and financial assistance programs to health and nutrition information for pregnant women and also includes information on parenting and what to do if you are considering placing your child for adoption. Please click on any blue link in this center section of each page or any of the pink links in the left hand side of each page, to learn more about each linked topic. 

Pregnancy Information
Click this link if you are looking for information about pregnancy.

Pregnancy Help
Click this link if you are planning to raise your child yourself and you need financial, medical or other types of help.

Government
Click this link if you are trying to find a government programs.

Parenting
Click this link if you are looking for information on raising your child.

Adoption
Please continue reading down this page.

We are here to help you regardless of whether you plan on placing your child for adoption or raising your child yourself.  We do this because we care about children and their parents (you).  The information below is designed to help educate you on how to make sure your child ends up in a safe and loving home.  Part of this means informing you of the risks involved with those who are only interested in making a profit, the rest is showing you how we (Adoption Services) and other non-profit adoption agencies can help to protect you and your child.

Each and every month my staff and I hear from many birth mothers who have had problems working directly with an adopting family, with a private adoption attorney or with an adoption facilitator.  They call with problems that could have been avoided.  However, because they did not fully understand or anticipate risks and problems ahead of time, all too often by the time they have found this site and have called me it is too late to undo or overcome the problems. Please keep reading and feel free to contact us to help you avoid risks and problems. 

One of the problems birth mothers call us about is related to foster care.  It is not unusual that if the birth mother has arranged for a family on her own to have the family back out of a planned placement just before or after the baby is born because they found another baby or because something, in their opinion, is not quite right with the baby or the adoption plan.  As a result, the child is placed into the state foster care system, something the birth mother wanted to avoid.  We do not use foster care!  Studies show it is better to place your child from the hospital or your home directly into the home of the adopting family. We use only direct placement so that bonding with the family can take place as soon as possible.

Other situations we are called about include cases where the adopting family has lied to the birth mother about their background and intentions. The family may have had a profile professionally done and misrepresented themselves.  Other situations involve money being paid to the birth mother and when she wants to keep her child the family threatens the birth mother in an attempt to scare her into proceeding with the placement. Still other times we hear of families who come to the hospital and harass the birth mother to try to force her to place the baby. Then we hear of cases where the birth mother has changed her mind after the placement of the child and the adopting family refuses to return the child.  Cases where the family promises an open adoption, pictures, updates, and meetings only to go back on their word once the birth mother's rights have been ended.  Situations where a birth mother has been told not to worry about the birth father, only to have him enter the picture later and mess up the adoption plan. All of these problems could have been avoided if a birth mother had talked to us in the early stages.

The list of horror stories like those above goes on and on, and over the past 40 years my staff and I have personally heard so many stories that break the heart of everyone involved.  And most of these heartbreaking situations could have been avoided if only the proper steps had been taken.  We can help you avoid all of the above, and many other, risks and problems.

As a PhD Psychologist and Founder and Director of Adoption Services, my staff and I have helped over 9,000 pregnant women, birth mothers, birth fathers, children, and adopting families over the past 40 years. As my staff and I have helped many other pregnant women and birth mothers, we are available to help you with every aspect of the adoption process, no matter where you live, no matter your age, whether you are married or single, regardless of who the birth father is, and no matter whether you are pregnant or the child has already been born.

My staff and I will help you focus your priorities and determine exactly which elements are most important to you.  We will be available to you for guidance, emotional support and advice.  We can help you through your pregnancy, delivery, and the placement of your child. Even after an adoption placement and adoption, it is important for counseling and support to be available to you for as long into the future as you may need or want it. I have over 40 years of counseling and therapy experience and can help you with issues as they arise.

We will take the stress out of the adoption process for you. We will help to reduce and eliminate fears, worry, stress, and obstacles. We will help you get through what can otherwise be an overwhelming, complicated, and heart--breaking situation.  We help, for as long as it takes, from beginning to end. We cut no corners, take no shortcuts, make sure you take no unnecessary risks, and provide you with all the information and personal assistance you need and desire. Nothing is ever hidden, forgotten or left out.

We will clarify with you the real meaning of an open and closed adoption and help you in your decision regarding what you really want.  We will help you decide about receiving and sending pictures and updates, meeting the family before and after birth, placement and adoption.  We will go over the best way to select a family and the best way to make sure they are truly as they appear.  We do not decide what is best for you, but we make sure you have all the correct information so that you can make decisions for yourself.

We will help you learn what to look for in a family profile and Home Study, and how to insure that your child is placed with a safe and loving home. With our agency, Adoption Services, you can be as involved as you want in selecting and/or meeting the adopting family. You can allow our agency to select the best family for your child from our list of already carefully screened and approved families or you can select the qualities which are important to you and you can select the family yourself. If you want, you can meet and talk with them before and/or after the placement. In all cases we can help match you with just the right family for you and your baby.  That's one of the many places that my Doctorate in Psychology and 40 years of experience comes into play and can be valuable to you in evaluating the family.

If you would like, you can get pictures and updates on the baby for as long as you wish. Again, with our agency, these decisions are up to you and we can help you with your decision making process.

We take every possible precaution and very carefully and fully investigate any family seeking to adopt. We interview each family many times. We check their personal stability and the stability and quality of their marriage. We check their attitudes about adoption and about birth parents. 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 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 financial support and physical security and comfort your baby deserves. And any of the information we have about the adopting family can be shared with you, if you want to know about it.

We continue to provide supervision for months after placement. We talk to the adopting family every few days, go to their home, have them come to our office many times, and 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 or neglected.

Your medical bills and your child's 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 are reimbursed for any medical fees you have paid.

We will help make sure that not only all of your medical bills are covered but that any legal expenses that are incurred by you are also paid for.

Since every state adoption law is different, we will carefully asses your situation to help determine what other legally allowable expenses such as loss of wages, travel, and counseling you can be reimbursed for. Depending on the laws of your state, housing, food, maternity care, and living expenses may also be covered.

Whether or not you proceed with an adoption placement, you never have to pay for any of the services provided by our agency.

Since every state adoption law is different, we will make sure you understand your rights in your state of residence, the rights of the birth father, the rights of your family and his family, and the laws and rights of neighboring states in case you want to go by the adoption law of another state.

We are available when you need us. Our office is not only open during normal business hours but we are also available to assist you on evenings, weekends, and holidays - 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Our toll-free phone # (800-943-0400) rings into my (Dr Berger's) home at night and on weekends and holidays, so you can feel free to call anytime. You may get the answering machine if I have stepped out or have gone to bed. But, if it is urgent, you can page me or my staff regardless of the time of day or night.

We can help you no matter what state you live in or even if you are living in a foreign country. And we have specialized services for military personnel and expatriates living anywhere in the world. We travel to you anywhere and everywhere as needed.

We can help you whether you are one week or 9 months into your pregnancy, whether you have had or not had prenatal care, and even if your baby has already been born. We place newborns and children of all racial and ethnic backgrounds up to approximately 4 years of age.

Our comprehensive counseling and guidance are provided by licensed, qualified professionals. And our support is available for as long as you need it. This will help you deal with any of the doubts, fears and concerns you may have, just as it has helped many of the 9,000 birth parents we have already assisted.  We not only help you throughout the pregnancy and delivery but we are there for the ending of your parental rights and for 18 years after that to help you whenever adoption related issues arise.

We offer a full range of services before, during, and after the birth of your child, including the payment of legal, medical, and other bills. And there is no charge to you, at any time, for any of our services.  And long after your baby is placed, we are here for you, too. We continue to help you for as long as you need. We continue to check on the adopting family and your baby long after the child is placed. We make sure you get pictures and updates if you want them. We are available for as long as it takes to help you.

We provide extensive follow-up services and our overall satisfaction rating by birth parents is excellent. Many of our birth parents have provided us with testimonials, all of which are available by mail or you can view many of them on this website. Our agency's outstanding record can also be verified by calling the State Licensing Authority at (717) 772-7702. Additionally, many birth parents who have already placed through our agency are available (upon request) to talk with you.

We will help you understand the child adoption process. We will answer all of your questions. There is never any pressure when you call us, there is absolutely no obligation on your part  and all calls are confidential.

Adoption Services is a fully licensed non-profit adoption agency that helps birth mothers living in any state in the U.S. The Agency can also help a U.S. birth mother living in a foreign country.  Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or if you want our guidance or help.  We can make sure your child is placed with the perfect family, your rights are protected, and that you receive all the financial assistance and medical help as well as other types of help that the law allows. There is never any fee to you as a birth parent whether you work with our agency or decide to look elsewhere.

We are here to assist you 24 hours a day. If you need us, just pick up the phone and call our toll free number at 1-800-943-0400 or click on the link contact us. 

This section of our website is designed to help you with information about placing a child for adoption and all of the adoption choices that are available to you.  Other sections of the website are designed to help you with pregnancy issues, with pregnancy concerns, with other pregnancy help, provide financial assistance and medical help, and help  if you are planning to raise your child yourself.  In addition to this website, we have created a variety of websites that may be of help to you including:

 BirthMotherResources.com
 PregnancyAndChildren.com
 BirthMotherAssistance.com
 ChildAdoptionLaws.com
 

The children seen on this website are just a few of the many that birth mothers and birth fathers have placed with the help of our Agency. Most were placed as newborns or young children; however, these pictures are of recent updates routinely sent to us by the adopting families. The quotes are from our birth mothers, birth fathers, and adopting families.  We hope you enjoy them!