Adoption

Pinebrook provides Special Needs, Domestic and International Adoption Services.

We are affiliated with the Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN) to provide specialized services to children who are in need of an adoptive family, as well as to families who are interested in adopting special-needs children.

Home Studies
Pinebrook Family Services is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW); we have been conducting quality home studies and family assessments for 14 years. Our knowledgeable staff will support you and your family throughout the home study process to ensure that this experience is both rewarding and educational.

Every family who chooses to adopt a child must complete a Home Study, an assessment of the physical and emotional environment in which the adopted child will be living. It is meant to be used as an educational tool to help prepare families for the addition of a child to their family. Once the Home Study is completed, the family will have a legal document that is used to represent the family to organizations responsible for placing children for adoption and to the courts.

We are able to complete Home Studies for Pennsylvania residents in a timely, comfortable manner. We also work closely with out-of-state placement agencies to expedite a home study for a prospective adoptivefamily which resides in Pennsylvania. The process assures and documents that each family wishing to adopt is able to provide a safe, stable, and nurturing environment for children.

We will help you through the process. The Home Study itself is a written report of the findings of the social worker who has met with applicant parent or parents.

Things to consider

• Am I interested in adopting a child to meet my own needs, or can I put my needs aside and truly meet the needs of a child?
  
• Is infertility a factor in my decision to adopt, and have I considered the impact that unresolved issues of loss and grief may have on an adoptive placement?
  
• Can I parent a child who has behavior or medical problems, or do I want a child who has no problems?
  
• Am I alone in this decision, or have I discussed my desire to adopt with my spouse, partner, family, and supportive friends?
  
• Do I want to adopt so I will have a playmate for my own child, or have I discussed adopting with my own children in a realistic and honest way?
  

If you are interested in learning more about adoption, please call Pinebrook Family Services at 610-432-3919 or (800) 382-0404, or email Mindy Watson, Program Supervisor at .

Domestic and International Adoptions

Domestic Adoptions

Waiting times for infant adoptions can be as long as two years or more. Many agencies now involve birth parents in choosing adoptive parents, and have discontinued traditional “waiting lists” (first come, first placed) because so few infants are available through agencies. In the United States, agency criteria for prospective adoptive parents are often more restrictive for infant adoptions than for adoptions of older children. Expenses for domestic infant adoption can range from $5,000 to more than $40,000. An amount between $10,000 and $15,000 is common.

While Pinebrook Family Services does not place infants in adoptive homes, the agency works in conjunction with attorneys or placement agencies to facilitate a placement with a family living locally.

Since Pinebrook was founded the agency has been providing quality Home Studies and family assessments that are completed in a timely, but not rushed, manner. Our knowledgeable staff will support you and your family throughout the Home Study process to ensure that this experience is both rewarding and educational.

FEES

Application Fee
$150 Due at time of application, the $150 fee is applied to the second half of Home Study fee upon completion.

Home Study
$1,200 50% due at start of study, 50% due at completion of study

Home Study Update
$300

Extended Travel
Due at time of application
$75 (If a family lives 80 miles away but less than 80 miles from Pinebrook’s Allentown main office)
$90 (If a family lives 80 miles away but less than 100 miles from Pinebrook’s Allentown main office)
$105 (If a family lives 100 miles away but less than 120 miles from Pinebrook’s Allentown main office)

Post-placement Services
Due at completion of Home Study
$300 per visit

Additional Costs
Child Abuse History Clearances
State Criminal History Clearances
Costs associated with obtaining physical examinations

If you are interested in learning more about domestic adoptions, please call Pinebrook Family Services at (610) 432-3919 or (800) 382-0404 or email Mindy Watson, Program Supervisor at .

International Adoption

The placement process for international adoption varies depending on the agency you choose and the child’s country of origin. As a child becomes available for adoption, he or she is matched with prospective parents who can meet the child’s needs. Families often have the opportunity to review a child’s information prior to accepting a placement. Often, families need to travel to the child’s country of origin to pick up their child. Some countries require more than one trip. Pinebrook Services works in conjunction with placement agencies to facilitate international adoptive placement.

Home Studies

Post-permanency
Many countries require that post-placement supervision occur once a family returns to the United States after adopting a child from overseas. Post-placement reports serve to assure the placing country that children who are adopted by American families have adjusted to their placement, and that the adoptive parents are meeting the child’s needs.

Post-placement supervision consists of a social worker coming to your home for a determined number of visits to assess the child’s adjustments as a member of your family. Each country typically has its own laws and regulations regarding the number of post-placement visits that must take place. For example, China requires two post-placement visits, one within the first six months of placement and one within the six months after the first report. Russian law mandates three visits, one during the first month of placement, one at six months, and one at one year after adoption. Together, we are required to respond to foreign officials’ concerns about the post-placement supervision through written reports, which the agency submits on the family’s behalf.

Non-discrimination Policy
Pinebrook Family Services provides services to children and their families without regard to age, sex, gender identity, creed, race, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or any other classification protected by law. This non-discrimination policy applies to all agency programs.

If you are interested in learning more about specific country information and international adoptions, please call Pinebrook Family Services at (610) 432-3919 or (800) 382-0404 or email Mindy Watson, Program Supervisor at .

Special Needs Adoption

In Pennsylvania, a child is considered “special needs” if he/she meets one or more of the following five criteria:

• Age 5 years or older
  
• A member of a sibling group
  
• A member of a minority group
  
• Has a physical, intellectual, or emotional disability
  
• Has a predisposition to develop a physical, intellectual, or emotional disability due to genetic or environmental factors
  

Children who need permanent adoptive homes may have been victims of abuse, may have behavior difficulties due to early childhood trauma, and may have lived in several different homes. Some have been voluntarily placed in foster care by birth parents who are having parenting difficulties. Others have been placed in foster care by the court system after it has been determined that they are not safe in their birth parents’ care.

The good news is that our children can heal. They deserve to belong to a family which can provide safety, security, love and a commitment to parenting them.

The Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN) is a collaborative effort among public and private child welfare agencies throughout Pennsylvania to expedite the adoptions of special needs children. Pinebrook is an affiliate of SWAN; we provide direct adoption services to children and families under the auspices of the SWAN program. Our services include:

• Training prospective adoptive parents
  
• Completing Family Profiles (home studies)
  
• Completing Child Profiles
  
• Recruiting adoptive homes for waiting children
  
• Matching and placing children with approved adoptive families
  
• Supervision of adoptive placements, include case work services and completion of documents for finalization
  
• Assistance with securing post-adoption follow-ups and services, if needed
  

Family Profile
The Family Profile is a formal document developed between the family and the agency, describing the family’s (or the individual’s) history, home life, and strengths. It is a tool that helps both the prospective adoptive family and the agency to determine what type of child would do well in the family unit. It is not meant to make the family anxious; rather, it helps everyone involved in the process to assess the family’s readiness to adopt as well as what type of child would be most appropriate based on the family’s strengths.

On average, the Home Study process takes about three to four months to complete; however, it is contingent on the motivation of the prospective adoptive family. The following information is included in the home study:

• Personal and family background, including upbringing, siblings, key events, and what was learned from them
  
• Significant people in the lives of the applicants
  
• Marriage and family relationships
  
• Motivation to adopt
  
• Expectations for the child
  
• Feelings about infertility (if this is an issue)
  
• Parenting and integration of the child into the family
  
• Family environment
  
• Physical and health history of the applicants
  
• Education, employment and finances, including insurance coverage and child care plans if needed
  
• References and criminal background clearances
  
• Summary and social worker’s recommendation
  

If you are interested in learning more about special needs adoptions, please call Pinebrook Family Services at (610) 432-3919 or (800) 382-0404 or email Mindy Watson, Program Supervisor at .