Beginnings Family Services
Adopting Through Beginnings
Understanding Open Adoption: Head & Heart
At Beginnings, our child-centered approach is built on a foundation of openness. We believe that birth parents are a significant, lifelong part of an adopted child’s identity, and we honour these important connections at every stage of the journey.
To truly understand open adoption, it helps to look at it through two lenses: Contact and Open-Heartedness.
Openness as “Contact”
Most people equate open adoption with contact or communication. This is the practical side of openness, which involves ongoing contact between the birth family and the adoptive family.
- What it looks like: It can take many forms, including photo exchanges, letters, emails, phone calls, or in-person visits.
- How it works: The nature of contact is explored together with the understanding that frequency and nature will differ from one adoption to another.
- Why it matters: As children grow, maintaining connections provides them with healthy, direct access to their origins, history, and background.
Openness as “Open-Heartedness”
Coined by adoption expert and parent Lori Holden, open heartedness is a deeper way of looking at adoption. It focuses on your internal feelings, attitudes, and respect for your child’s story – rather than just physical contact.
- What it means: Physical contact is not always within your control. Sometimes a birth parent is unable or chooses not to maintain contact. Even with less contact, it is still important to parent with a spirit of open heartedness by speaking about birth parents with love and respect, keeping adoption an open topic of conversation in your home, and honouring your child’s roots.
Wherever you are in this process, Beginnings is here to guide, educate, and support you.
Resources for Continued Learning
- The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole – Lori Holden
- The Spirit of Open Adoption – James Gritter
- Adoption Council of Ontario: Explore their dedicated Openness Resources and build your skills through the Online Learning Hub.
Beginnings Adoption
Step By Step
Beginnings offers the following adoption-related services. The step-by-step process is as follows:
Adoption Preparations
Attend a PRIDE pre-service training program. As of January 1, 2008, PRIDE training is mandatory for all individuals/couples adopting in Ontario.
Have your Home Study completed by a private Adoption Practitioner.
A Home Study is an in-depth assessment of your family and may take several months to complete. Visit Adoption practitioners | ontario.ca to find an adoption practitioner in your area.
Continue to read and research all there is to know about adoption.
We encourage you to specifically learn as much about open adoption as you can, particularly regarding the degree of openness that you are comfortable with.
Begin work on your profile, describing your family through words and pictures in a booklet that will be shown to birth parents.
Registration and Approval
Register with Beginnings – you can do this once you have completed your Homestudy with a Private Adoption Practitioner in Ontario.
Once you have completed your homestudy and registered with Beginnings, you will be invited to Orientation where adoptive applicants will learn more about Beginnings policies and process’. Orientation will be followed up with scheduling a private Consultation as the final step in moving to our Active List of prospective adoptive individuals/couples.
Once on the Active List, your profile will be considered for presentation to birth parents based on your range of acceptance and the “best fit.” Beginnings has around 80 individuals/couples who are ready to adopt on our Active List at any given time.
Once a birth parent has selected a couple on the basis of their profile, Beginnings’ counsellors facilitate a face-to-face meeting between the birth parents and the adoptive couple so they can get acquainted before each party makes a final decision about proceeding. Your Private Practitioner is encouraged to attend.
If both parties agree to proceed, they usually meet on several occasions before the birth to work out a mutually agreed upon plan for contact after the birth of the baby.
Acceptance and Legal
Beginnings prepares and submits a Proposal to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services regarding the proposed placement. A Proposal is a comprehensive package of all the required documents. It must be reviewed by the Ministry staff and approval given before a child is placed in an adoptive family.
When the baby is born, if Ministry approval has been granted, the baby can go home with the adoptive parents directly from the hospital. Otherwise, the baby is cared for in one of Beginnings approved foster homes.
Birth parents are provided with independent legal advice before they sign a “Parent’s Consent to Adoption” in the presence of a lawyer. This cannot be signed before the eighth day after the birth.
Once Consents are signed, birth parents have 21 days during which they may reverse their adoption plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What support is available for expectant and new parents?
Beginnings provides compassionate, comprehensive support for expectant and new parents as you explore all of your options whether you choose to parent or create an adoption plan. Our services include:
- Information & Counselling: Unbiased pregnancy options counselling, parenting support, and open adoption education, alongside ongoing emotional support.
- Family Selection: Guidance through reviewing adoptive family profiles, matching, and facilitating meetings with prospective adoptive parents.
- Hospital Planning & Support: Step-by-step preparation and support during your hospital stay.
- Legal Guidance: Compassionate counsellor support while accessing mandatory, independent legal advice for consent signing.
- Openness Arrangements: Facilitation and coordination of openness agreements between birth and adoptive families.
- Ongoing Support: Flexible, follow-up support available when needed.
What laws and regulations govern infant adoption in Ontario?
In Ontario, adoption is strictly governed by provincial legislation and overseen by the government to ensure the highest ethical standards. The two primary pillars are:
- The Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA): This sets the legal requirements for child protection, birth parent consents, and the finalization of adoption orders in court.
- The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS): This is the provincial ministry responsible for overseeing all adoption systems.
Does Beginnings work out of province?
No. Beginnings is licensed to facilitate adoptions in Ontario.
What is a Home Study and why is this required?
A Home Study is an important tool to assess the readiness and suitability of the adoptive applicant to adopt. There is an education component as well to help applicants understand adoption from the child’s perspective. The Home Study is completed by an approved private Adoption Practitioner.
Visit www.children.gov.on.ca for more information.
To locate a Private Adoption Practitioner in your area visit Adoption practitioners | ontario.ca
What are the costs for adoption applicants?
The cost of a private infant adoption can vary depending on the specific requirements of each case.
- The average cost of an adoption through Beginnings is approximately $25,000.
- Please note that total costs may exceed this estimate depending on the complexity of the case, specific legal requirements, or unique circumstances.
- We provide all applicants with a detailed fee schedule and a clear breakdown of expected costs during the initial orientation and consultation phase.
How many infant adoptions does BFS facilitate on average per year?
On average BFS facilitates an average of 25-30 adoptive placements each year.
How many adoptive applicants are on the BFS Infant Adoption List at any given time?
There are an estimated 75-100 adoptive applicant couples/singles on the BFS Infant Adoption List at any given time.