Gay & Lesbian Adoptive Parents
Information | Facts | Resources | Stories
Information for Gay and Lesbian Adoptive Parents
Open Adoption & Family Services warmly welcomes gay and lesbian adoptive parents into its adoption program. OA&FS’ programs and services are equally accessible to all clients -- whether gay, lesbian, straight or single.
Gay and lesbian adoptive parents from all over the United States come to OA&FS to form healthy families through open adoption. At present, the agency’s pool of prospective adoptive parents includes gay and lesbian couples from Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, Maryland, Washington D.C., Georgia and Colorado. The program’s popularity is due in part to Seattle author and personality Dan Savage, who chronicled his experience adopting through OA&FS in his honest, hilarious book The Kid (see Suggested Reading for details).
During the past few years, Open Adoption & Family Services has placed about six to eight children per year with gay or lesbian adoptive families. Since OA&FS does not use a waiting list, placements per year are dictated entirely by birthmother choice. OA&FS educates birthparents about gay and lesbian parenting whenever possible; the agency also includes all gay and lesbian family profiles in “Dear Birthparent” packets unless specifically instructed not to by a birthparent.
Gay and lesbian couples have comprised 35 to 40% of Open Adoption & Family Services’ pool of waiting families for the past few years. We expect this statistic to hold steady for the foreseeable future. At the same time, we expect and hope for the number of birthmothers’ choosing gay and lesbian couples to steadily increase, as society in general becomes more educated about and tolerant of gay and lesbian parenting issues.
The average wait for gay and lesbian couples in fiscal year 2003-2004 was 12 months, compared to an all-client average of 9 months. The previous year, gay and lesbian couples waited an average 13 months, compared to an all-client average of 10.5 months.
In fiscal year 2003-2004, Open Adoption & Family Services formed a committee to explore its services to gay and lesbian clients. The committee interviewed many adoptive parents and birthmothers. The following resources were created in direct response to suggestions made. Please enjoy, and check back regularly for new additions!
Gay and Lesbian Client Stories
Resources for Gay & Lesbian Adoptive Parents
Facts About Children Raised by Gay & Lesbian Parents (also included in the Birthparent section)
The premier northwest adoption agency completing the most domestic, infant adoptions in Oregon and Washington.
5200 SW Macadam Avenue,
Suite 250
Portland, Oregon 97239
315 West 10th Ave.
Eugene, OR 97401
200 West Mercer Street,
Suite E-508
Seattle, WA 98119
| Oregon: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Portland, OR: | Phone: (503) 226-4870 | Fax: (503) 226-4891 |
| Eugene, OR: | Phone: (541) 343-4825 | Fax: (541) 431-1241 |
| Medford, OR: | Phone: (541) 608-6134 | Fax: (541) 282-8564 |
| Bend, OR: | Phone: (541) 388-2535 | |
| Salem, OR: | Phone: (503) 540-5832 | |
| Washington: | ||
| Seattle, WA: | Phone: (206) 782-0442 | Fax: (206) 782-0578 |
| Vancouver, WA: | Phone: (360) 254-7236 | |
| Olympia, WA: | Phone: (360) 352-3063 | |
