Call our main office (907-302-6332) or submit an inquiry on our website to schedule your intake. Intakes can take place over the phone, online video conferencing, or in person at our Anchorage office. During this meeting, our compassionate and nonjudgmental staff will treat you and your circumstances with dignity and respect. We will provide you basic information about adoption during this appointment.

Questions we will ask during the intake include:

• What is your name and date of birth?

• Where do you live and who do you live with?

• Who do you consider your support system?

• How do you feel about your pregnancy?

• When is your due date?

• What led you to contacting us?

We will schedule a follow up appointment to answer more questions you may have about adoption and provide detailed information regarding the process. During this meeting, we will also provide information regarding parenting and community resources if you are still contemplating the idea of parenting your child.

Questions we may ask during this appointment include:

• Are you connected with public assistance such as WIC, Medicaid, and Child Care Assistance?

• Would you like assistance to enter substance abuse treatment?

• Have you talked with family members about adoption?

• Have you spoken with your Tribe about adoption?

Alaska Adoption Services practices open adoptions. Open adoptions are considered best practice and we believe openness is healthy for all members of the adoption triad. Openness looks different for every family and can change over time.

Openness can include but is not limited to:

• Utilize the agency to mediate contact.

• Receive annual updates and photos via text, email, or mail.

• Receive monthly updates and photos.

• Have in-person contact on special occasions.

There is no right or wrong way to approach openness in adoption. Our expectant parents are provided with choices on what kind of contact they wish to have with their child in the future. Our prospective adoptive parents are educated and open to contact with their child’s birth family.

Alaska Adoption Services prepares and educates prospective adoptive parents for adoption. We work with 15 active families at a time to provide you with options. Our adoptive parents vary in demographic, location, hobbies, values, religion, and family size. These families have been thoroughly vetted by our staff to ensure they are safe, healthy, and financially sound to parent your child. Expectant parents will always choose the prospective adoptive family for their child.

Once you have chosen an adoptive family from our waiting pool, you may choose to meet them over the phone, video conferencing, or in person. In this process, you will have the opportunity to ask the family questions and for them to ask you questions in return. This appointment is casual and used as a time to get to know one another.

Some questions you might like to ask the adoptive family include:

• Why do you hope to adopt a child?

• What kind of contact are you open to in the future?

• What are you values, hobbies, interests?

Some questions you might be asked by the adoptive family include:

• Why did you choose us to adopt your child?

• What kind of contact would you like to have?

• What are your values, hobbies, interests?

• Are there any health concerns in the family to be aware of?

Alaska Adoption Services will help you design a hospital plan that you feel most comfortable with. Once the hospital plan is written and signed by you, our staff will provide the hospital with a copy. This plan will also be communicated to the adoptive family at this time.

The hospital plan will include things like:

• Who will your support be while in the hospital?

• Would you like to provide care for the baby while in the hospital, or would you like the adoptive family to?

• Would you like to hold, feed, or spend time with the baby during the hospital stay?

• Would you like to name the baby, or would you like the adoptive family to name the baby?

Once the baby is born, you will choose when to place him or her with the adoptive family. Our staff will support you during this emotional time. Roughly 24 hours after baby is born, we will start the placement paperwork and give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. Once you feel comfortable signing the placement paperwork, a notary will be provided to sign off on the legal paperwork.

Relinquishment of Parental Rights is a legal document whereas birth parents voluntarily surrender their rights and responsibilities to their biological child. In the State of Alaska, birth parents are allowed 10 days to revoke their relinquishment of parental rights once signed. If the child has Alaska Native or American Indian heritage, this legal document must be signed in the court of law in front of a judge. Alaska Adoption Services holds custody of the child for a minimum of six months prior to the adoption being finalized. During this six-month period, our staff does home visits with the adoptive family to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child.

Our services are lifelong for you, the adoptive family, and the child. We are here to support you as you grieve your adoption journey. Our Birth Parent Advocates will periodically check in with you to see how you are doing. We can help connect you to mental health services, substance abuse treatment, peer support groups, birth parent retreats, and we can help mediate between you and the adoptive family should there be a need.