As the quarantine
continues, I am getting better at video interviews with clients and colleagues.
New work has slowed down dramatically and while many are holding off on starting,
I am still getting calls from singles and couples for information about the
adoption process.
And
those with approved homestudies are forging ahead. They are placing ads,
texting, talking and video chatting with birth parents, and, yes, even traveling
to bring home their babies. In the past month, I have had families go to
California, Florida, Colorado, Upstate New York, New Jersey and the Carolinas.
It
is important to review and reconsider your hospital plan with all the Covid-19
rules now in place. Will you still be
able to be in the delivery room? Be provided access to the nursery or your own
room while the baby is hospitalized? Will you even be allowed in the hospital?
This is critical information for you and the birth parents to investigate. You
need to also confirm any living or hotel arrangements in the state of the
baby's birth.
Will
you be expected to quarantine when you return to your home? How will you handle
the "no visit" issue with grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc.?
Also, ask your agency or attorney if there are any changes in the process in
your home state or the state where your child will be born.
While
there is much to add to your check list, you do not have to cancel your adoption
plans.
Wishing
you the safest adoption journey possible.
Kathy Ann Brodsky, LCSW is a New York and New Jersey licensed social worker, adoptive mom and advocate for ethical adoption practice. Through her private practice and agency affiliations, she has prepared thousands of adoption homestudies, counseled expectant, birth, pre/post adoptive parents and adopted persons, as well as trained professionals to work with adoptive families. She was Director of the Ametz Adoption Program of JCCA and a member of the Advisory Board for POV’s Adoption Series and the Adoption Advisory Board of Path2Parenthood, She is currently a Adoption Professional Advisory Council of HelpUSAdopt , a member of the Advisory Board of the Family Equality Council and active in the Adoptive Parents Committee in New York. Her blogs and written contributions can be seen throughout the Internet, including her BLOG and as Head Writer for ADOPTION.NET She was named an “Angel in Adoption” by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption in 2001. You can reach her directly.
