Initial Intake
The initial intake is the first phone call a birth mother makes to learn about adoption. Most birth mothers are extremely nervous about the initial call so it is important to find a professional with proper training. Having a qualified counselor perform the initial intake is extremely important. Many programs have the adoptive family or have an unqualified person handle the initial calls, which results in fewer adoptions.
Another important factor to consider with the intake is accessibility and availability. For example, there are 168 hours in a week and the typical agency is only open 40 of those hours. Since most birth mothers call late afternoon or evening, the hours an agency handles initial intakes is important. After normal business hours, most agencies offer answering machines or message services. It is EXTREMELY RARE for a birth mother to leave a message on her initial call. Instead she will simply hang up and dial another professional. In the first few phone calls, most birth mothers rarely leave message because they are simply looking into adoption and they don't want others involved.
Having an adoption professional handle the initial intake helps the adoptive family limit their emotional disappointments. Since 10 birth mothers inquire for every one that places, it is best for families if their adoption professionals help screen for more committed birth mothers. With a good professional, 70% of the birth mothers can be screened before the family is contacted. This helps reduce emotional disappointments.
Facilitator - Most facilitators are not licensed counselors, which make their initial intake results of lower quality than other professionals. However a facilitator or unqualified professional is usually better than the adoptive family. In the initial call, birth mothers rarely want to talk to an adoptive family. This is because birth mothers usually want general non-committal adoption information and talking to an adoptive family is often a commitment they aren't yet ready for. Unlike other professionals, facilitators typically handle the initial intake. The problem is facilitators often put adoptive families in contact with inquiring birth mothers either during their initial call or shortly thereafter. During the initial call, the facilitator will often offer to call waiting adoptive families and allow the birth mother to interview several families. This is troublesome to many adoptive families because over a two-year period 100 birth mothers may interview your family. Since only 1 in 10 initial calls results in an adoption this means investing a lot of time and emotional energy into 100 phone calls that may never result in an adoption. The other problem is each birth mother often interviews several families. When a birth mother selects another family this is emotionally disappointing. Facilitators usually handle intakes from 9-5 pm M-F. Facilitators rarely bill additional expenses for initial intakes.
Attorney - Most attorneys require the adoptive family to set up an 800 number in their home and the family handles the initial calls. This is often very unappealing to adoptive families because of the emotional involvement, confidentiality, and counseling inexperience of the adoptive family. Like facilitator's families will experience many emotionally disappointing phone calls because they are talking directly with each birth mother. A less common alternative is for the attorney's office to handle the intake, which typically results in equally poor responses. This is because the attorney rarely is available or in the office to personally handle the call; instead, they have administrative staff or paralegals talk to birth mothers. This is like hiring an auto mechanic to perform open heart surgery on your family member. A paralegal is no more qualified to handle a crying birth mother than a mechanic is qualified to perform surgery. It is also important to understand most birth mothers find it intimidating to speak to an attorney's office, which results in fewer calls or birth mothers hanging up once they realized they are talking to an attorney's office. Attorneys bill hourly for initial intakes.
Small agency - Small agencies typically operate like attorneys and have the adoptive family set up 800 numbers. In rare cases however, small agencies handle the initial calls. With small agencies, there are only one or two staff members on their entire staff. They usually work less than 9-5 Monday thru Friday because their workload only requires them to work part time. Those who work 9-5 are often away from their office or in counseling session and thus there is no one available or qualified to handle the initial intake. The above facts will affect your wait. In many cases, small agencies are only available to handle initial calls for approximately 20-30 hours a week. If a small agency handles the initial call, they often contact the family shortly upon interviewing the birth mother. This policy leads to many more disappointments much like attorneys or facilitators. Small agencies bill hourly for initial intakes.
Medium/Large agencies - Some offer 24 hour counseling support, however this should be researched thoroughly. In many cases, 24 hour counseling support means a counselor is available for emergencies but only to birth mothers who have joined the agency. This rarely means a counselor is available to speak with new inquiring birth mothers 24 hours a day. Before joining a medium/large agency be sure to clarify this point. When medium/large agencies offer initial intake coverage 24 hours a day seven days a week, this can be a distinct advantage. Also, most of these agencies have qualified counselors performing the intake and extensive training programs designed to properly and effectively counsel new birth mothers. The end result is more birth mothers are able to reach these agencies and more birth mothers feel comfortable talking with their qualified experienced counselors. Most of these agencies do not contact the adoptive family until the birth mother has joined the agency and demonstrates a commitment to adoption. This helps save a large number of emotional disappointments for their adoptive families. Medium/large agencies usually encompass the initial intake charges in their initial overhead so there is no financial risk to the adoptive family.
| | LARGE AGENCY | ATTORNEYS | SMALL AGENCY | MEDIUM AGENCY | FACILITATOR |
|---|
| Family must place an 800 number in their home and handle the initial intake. | NO | YES | YES | VARIES | NO |
| Professional provides 24 hour 7 day a week intake coverage | YES | NO | NO | RARELY | NO |
Previous Page - Advertising « Page 3 of 7 » Next Page - Counseling
[Back to Top]
