| 1. At Service Initiation |
Birth Parent Actions
- Initial call to the Agency
- Attend initial appointments
- Complete inquiry/intake forms
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Agency Actions
- Answer questions
- Schedule first appointment
- Assess immediate needs
- Determine involvement of birth father
- Determine involvement of extended family
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| 2. Ongoing Counseling |
Birth Parent Actions
- Keep appointments
- Secure medical care
- Sign release to doctor
- Apply for Medicaid
- Develop support system
- Identify the birth father
- Involve birth father in counseling as appropriate
- Involve extended family in counseling as appropriate
- Examining short and long term goals
- Explore supports and resources necessary in parenting
- Decision making related to pregnancy
- Explore housing needs
- Explore educational, vocational, and other needs
- Explore feelings regarding pregnancy
- Explore relationship between birth parents
- Begin to educate self on labor and delivery, lamaze, etc.
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Agency Actions
- Develop service plan
- Assist client in securing medical care
- Obtain release to doctor
- Assist in securing Medicaid application
- Assist and support client in telling significant others about
the pregnancy
- Objectively explore available options on an ongoing basis
- Involve birth father as appropriate
- Involve extended family as appropriate
- Provide information on parenting
- Refer to available resources in community
- Assist with alternative living arrangements if needed
- Education on labor and delivery
- Education on hospital procedures
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| 3. If Parenting |
Birth Parent Actions
- Realistically explore resources needed for parenting
- Explore budgeting and financial needs
- Secure appropriate living arrangements
- Explore rights and responsibilities of the birth father
- Begin securing material needs
- Explore child support and other resources
- Explore impact of parenting on other areas of life
- Explore hospital procedures
- Explore child care options
|
Agency Actions
- Assist birth parents in locating needed services, resources, and materials
- Assist with financial planning
- Educate on infant care
- Educate on parenting skills
- Teach stress management
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| 4. If Relinquishing |
Birth Parent Actions
- Fully explore parenting options
- Learn about open adoption
- Provide information to identify and notify birth father
- Anticipate feelings regarding the child
- Identify desired characteristics of adoptive family
- Identify needs regarding openness
- Review family profiles and make decision on adoptive family
- Participate in pre-birth meetings
- Complete medical history
- Complete social history
- Be honest about feelings before and after delivery
- Develop hospital and delivery plan
- Notify worker of labor or birth
- Reconsider decision to relinquish
- Authorize foster-adopt placement
- Release/relinquish parental rights
- Participate in placement ceremony
- Maintain ongoing open relationship
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Agency Actions
- Educate on open adoption
- Facilitate grieving process
- Review homestudy process and admission requirements of adoptive couples
- Represent adoptive families through profile reviews
- Schedule and facilitate pre-birth meetings
- Facilitate and negotiate hospital and delivery plan
- Overview relinquishment and placement process with birth and adoptive family
- Complete all birth father notification procedures
- Support and counsel during hospital stay
- Secure infant medical information from hospital
- Schedule and make all arrangements for relinquishment and placement
- Sent claim to paternity check to the state
- Check claim to paternity after five days
- Prepare birth mother affidavit regarding identity of birth father
- Prepare legal risk statement if needed
- Facilitate relinquishment and placement
- Provide copies of all documents signed
- Obtain completed medical history and infant profile from birth parents
- Complete agency affidavit
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| 5. Follow-Up |
Birth Parent Actions
- Continue counseling
- Maintain direct relationship with adoptive family
- Stay in touch with the Agency
- Offer support for other birth parents
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Agency Actions
- Be available for follow-up counseling
- Write relinquishment and placement summaries
- Facilitate post-placement meetings as needed
- Provide mediation services as requested
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