As with many times throughout the year, specific awareness campaigns are designated to a certain month, week or day. We have Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October; May is National Pet Month; and April 24-30 is National Infertility Week.

This month is National Adoption Month, with National Adoption Day Nov. 19.

According to nationaladoptionday.org, “National Adoption Day is a collective, national effort to raise awareness of more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting for permanent and loving families” and is sponsored by a group effort of Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, The Alliance for Children’s Rights and Children’s Action Network.

Since National Adoption Day’s start 16 years ago, 58,500 children have been adopted, and “in 2015, approximately 4,000 youth in foster care were adopted by their forever families over the 16th annual National Adoption Day celebration.”

The website adoptpakids.org states, “Right now, there are approximately 15,000 children in temporary foster care in Pennsylvania.”

Childrensrights.org estimates, “In 2014, over 650,000 children spent time in U.S. foster care.”

Adoptions From The Heart is an adoption agency licensed in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, and one of its offices is in Allentown.

I connected with Chelsey Phillips, MSW, district supervisor, Allentown office, and asked a few questions about the agency.

In an email Nov. 13, Phillips said Adoptions From The Heart does approximately 140 to 160 placements a year.

In Pennsylvania, “On average, we complete 65 to 75 placements each year,” she wrote.

To celebrate National Adoption Month this year, Phillips said the agency hosts a Paper Heart Project “all month long where individuals are able to purchase purple paper hearts for $1 each,” Phillips wrote.

Proceeds of the event go to the expectant/birth parent fund that assists with paying for maternity clothes, food, transportation passes, housing bills and more.

“We also host various fundraisers throughout the year. For example, our Allentown office is having a fundraiser at Ten Thousand Villages at the Lehigh Valley Mall 5-9 p.m. Dec. 8 where 15 percent of the proceeds go toward our expectant/birth parent fund,” Phillips wrote in the correspondence.

When asked if there has been an increase in adoptions within the past 10 years, Phillips said her agency has seen an increase in domestic adoptions as a result of international adoptions decreasing.

“We specialize in open adoption,” Phillips wrote, “where there is some contact between birth parents, adoptive parents and the child throughout the child’s life. Men and women who make adoption plans for their child have done so out of love and place their child for various reasons,” she emphasized.

National Adoption Month has a special meaning to my husband and me. We are working with a newborn adoption agency, A Baby Step Adoption, based out of Reading.

We joined the match program in June and are waiting to be matched with a birth mother. We receive emails from the agency, anywhere from one to five a week, about birth mothers from all over the country looking to adopt out their baby after birth.

Our decision to adopt came from a two-year infertility struggle. Over the years, I have asked myself over and over what’s wrong with me, what’s wrong with my ovaries, why do I have cysts, why can’t I get pregnant, what’s wrong with my body and why hasn’t this happened yet?

I think more couples face infertility than most people realize, so I’m glad there is National Infertility Week to promote awareness, too.

So how much does a domestic adoption actually cost? A lot - but it also depends on the agency and if you’re adopting a newborn or child. We have seen newborn adoption situations range from $20,000 all the way up to $55,000.

That span of cost is based on, at least, agency fees, birth mother expenses, legal fees, finalizing the adoption costs and how far along the birth mother is.

And then don’t forget about travel expenses, including gas mileage, flight costs, a car rental and/or hotel expenses, and the cost of the home study, home visit and match program, which are the very initial costs when starting this process to adopt.

Thankfully, there are grants individuals and couples can apply for, such as helpusadopt.org, JSC Foundation, Love Without Boundaries and National Adoption Foundation.

Adopting a newborn or child takes a lot of research, time, work and money - I can’t deny it. But my husband and I know it will be all worth it when we look into our child’s eyes and hold that tiny hand for the first time.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Catasauqua Press

Northampton Press

Whitehall-Coplay Press