OUR FINDING FOREVER STORY

Although unforeseen at the time, life experiences have also equipped Amanda to be an adoption social worker. Amanda's life experience equipped her with a personal understanding of the emotional impact the adoption process can have on all participants. 

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Growing up Amanda experienced the impact of separation from half-siblings when they went into foster care. She soon found joy again when she was able to reunify with them thanks to her  single father who became a licensed foster parent so he could get placement of his ex-wife’s children (Amanda's biological half-siblings).

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At the time of her siblings’ initial placement into foster care, ex-spouses were not considered relative or kinship caregivers. After a difficult battle for placement of Amanda’s half-siblings, her father reached out to state legislatures advocating to expand the legal definition of a relative caregiver and the law was eventually changed.

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Amanda’s childhood offered her the rare ability to truly empathize with adopted children and understand the inevitable mixed feelings that surround adoption.

When Amanda was only a teenager, she testified and provided an opinion for the court during the trial to terminate the parent child relationship between her biological mother and half-siblings. From personal experience she understands that even in cases when the child has a negative or non-existent relationship with the birth parent; they are likely to have interpersonal struggles resulting from the adoption.

Amanda knows adopted children may struggle in areas such as identity recognition, fear of rejection, feelings of inadequacy, and they may experience prolonged feelings of grief and loss. This is true even if the child advocated for the adoption arrangement.

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Despite the grief and loss associated with the termination process; Amanda and her siblings “found forever” through her father’s adoption of her siblings. 

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Later on in life, Amanda experienced the fear associated with an unplanned pregnancy and briefly contemplated placing her daughter up for adoption. Going through the emotional journey of contemplating adoption provided Amanda with some insight related to what birth mothers face when making the selfless decision to relinquish their parental rights and consent to adoption.

After a lot of prayer and careful consideration Amanda decided to embark on the adventure of being a single parent and started graduate school when her daughter was just 6-weeks old.

Although Amanda did not relinquish her rights to her daughter at birth, after nine years of her daughter’s life, Amanda did end up consenting to her daughter being adopted...by her step-father, Amanda's husband. 

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Leading up to the adoption day Amanda experienced the stress of the relinquishment and home study process, but it was all worth it in the end when the adoption day finally came. 

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With adoption so interwoven into Amanda's personal story, Amanda knew she had to act when she heard of the need for a private home study agency in her community. Out of a desire to make adoption more attainable for families and children like hers, Amanda started Finding Forever Home Studies LLC.