Birth Parent Services

Are you pregnant and unsure what to do? Are you not sure that you are ready to be a parent? Are you feeling scared, confused and overwhelmed by the decisions that you face?

If so, come and talk with a supportive, knowledgeable, caring caseworker at the Good Samaritan Agency who can help you explore your options. Our staff wants to help you in making the best decision for you and your baby.  We understand that this is a scary, emotional and confusing time for you and your partner. We want you to have the opportunity to openly discuss and explore your options in a confidential setting. You are under no obligation to make any commitments to a plan of adoption as nothing legally can happen in an adoption until after the baby is born. This is the time to learn about the process and ask questions. If you change your mind at any time about your adoption plan, our caseworkers will support you and help you to build a support system and find the necessary services to help you parent your child.

Common Questions

  • The best place to start would be to contact the agency and schedule time to meet with a caseworker. This will give you the opportunity to talk with someone who can answer your questions about the process and support you as you begin to make your plan. It is best to start this process during your pregnancy, but we can still work with you to make a plan of adoption after your baby has been born.

  • Yes, you can be as involved as you would like to be in the selection process. After talking with your caseworker about what you are looking for in an adoptive family, your caseworker will select profiles for you to view. Profiles are prepared by the adoptive families and give you personal information to help select the adoptive parents for your baby. If you prefer not to view profiles, the agency will select a family from our waiting families. All adoptive families approved to adopt a child go through an extensive homestudy process, which includes personal interviews, background checks and a visit to their home.

  • Yes, the adoption process is a legal process handled by the Probate Court system and you will be required to go to court to complete the Surrender and Release. Your caseworker will talk with you and prepare you for this day. After your baby is born and you are ready to move forward, your caseworker will go over the required paperwork with you and submit the necessary paperwork to the court requesting a court date. This typically happens about one month after the baby is born. Your caseworker will attend court with you as a support. You will meet with the Judge and court clerk alone. After you sign the Surrender and Release before the Judge, you have three days to revoke your decision. After that time frame elapses, the adoption cannot be revoked. Birth father rights must also be addressed by the court.

  • Yes, birth father’s have rights too that must be addressed during the adoption process. Birth fathers do not have to appear in court as they can complete a Waiver of Notice form (that must be notarized) that can be sent to the court with the Birth mother’s paperwork. If you are not involved with the Birth father or he is unaware of the pregnancy and plan of adoption, your caseworker can contact him to begin this process. If the birthfather is not known or cannot be located, the court will require a publication to occur allowing him time to come forward and assert his parental right. If he does not come forward after a waiting period has elapsed, the adoption can proceed.

  • Yes, we encourage you to spend time with your baby at the hospital, although it is always your choice. Your caseworker will talk with you prior to delivery to make a plan of how you would like things handled at the hospital. Your caseworker can contact the hospital ahead of time to make it known to hospital staff about your plan of adoption and your wishes before/during/after delivery.

  • Yes, we will talk with you about what type of contact you would like to have with your child after placement. Openness in adoption can means lots of different things, like receiving photos and periodic updates about your child through the agency, having some contact directly (like through email or text messaging) with the adoptive family to a completely open adoption where names and identifying information are shared openly. Adoptive families are open to varying degrees of openness with birth families, so we would try to match you with a family that would be open to your requests.

  • We want you to be comfortable with your decision as it is a lifelong decision. If you decide that adoption is not the best choice for you, your caseworker will support you in any way that she can. Your caseworker can continue working with you to provide education, support or referral services even after you decide to parent.

    The only time that you would not be able to change your mind about an adoption plan would be if you have already gone to court, signed the Surrender and Release and the three day waiting period had elapsed. At that point, the adoption is irrevocable.

  • Depending on the circumstances, the baby will either go home with the adoptive parents or go to a temporary foster home selected by Good Samaritan Agency. If the baby goes home with the adoptive parents, this is called a legal risk placement, as you would not yet have gone to court to surrender your parental rights. The adoptive parents would be advised of the risks in such a placement.

  • There are no costs to you. All birth parent services, including supportive counseling, are provided to you at no cost.

Have questions? Call us at 207.942.7211

Adoption

Good Samaritan Agency is the oldest agency in Maine licensed to place children. The agency, established in 1902, is private, non-profit and non-sectarian.  Since 1909, we’ve been matching the needs of children and families through adoption.

At Good Samaritan Agency, we provide a full service in-state domestic adoption program. We also work with Maine families who are seeking to adopt through out-of-state adoption agencies. We are able to complete their homestudy and provide post-placement supervision. Good Samaritan Agency can also complete private homestudies for families working privately towards an adoption within the State of Maine (these are sometimes referred to as identified adoptions).

Adoption Services

  • Good Samaritan Agency works with Maine families seeking to adopt a newborn within the State of Maine. In this situation, our agency is working directly with birth parents in Maine who are planning an adoption for their baby and our agency places the baby with an adoptive family who has been approved by Good Samaritan Agency. The majority of placements in this program are Caucasian infants.

  • Good Samaritan Agency also works with adoptive families seeking a child from an out of state licensed adoption agency. In these situations, Good Samaritan Agency completes the homestudy and post-placement supervision services, while the services to the birth parents and the legal placement of the child are handled by the out of state adoption agency or out of state attorneys. Good Samaritan Agency works closely with the placing agency to meet all requirements for an interstate placement (including ICPC regulations). The majority of placements in this program are infants of minority races, but Caucasian infants are available as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The minimum requirements for becoming an adoptive parent through Good Samaritan Agency are:

    • You must reside in the State of Maine

    • You must be at least 21 years of age

    • You must have been in your current living status for at least two years (married, single, cohabitant, divorced or widowed)

    • There cannot be more than 45 years age difference between the adoptive parent and the child they are seeking to adopt (In the case of a married couple, this applies to the younger spouse)

  • This is one of the most frequently asked questions, but it does not have an easy answer. The cost of adoption varies widely depending on the type of adoption you are planning.

    Some expenses, such birthparent expenses or foster care expenses, are difficult to predict, as each and every adoption is unique in its circumstances. In-state adoptions through our agency tend to be less expensive because our agency is the only agency involved in the process. Out of State placements require adoptive families to pay fees to the in-state agency doing the homestudy and post-placement services and the out of state agency responsible for the actual placement of a child in the home. Please contact an adoption caseworker at the agency to further discuss adoption related fees.

  • Good Samaritan Agency begins the process with individual adoption informational sessions. This gives your family a chance to sit down with an adoption caseworker and discuss the process and ask questions. Adoption informationals are scheduled on an individual basis. Once a family has decided to work with Good Samaritan Agency, they must then submit a formal adoption application packet. As part of the application packet, adoptive applicants are required to write autobiographies, complete medical examinations, provide references, financial documentation, and releases for the agency to conduct background checks on all adults living in the household. Once your application packet has been processed and all background checks have cleared, you will be assigned to an adoption caseworker. The caseworker will begin the homestudy with your family. The homestudy is an in-depth evaluation of your life experiences, problem solving abilities and motivation for adoption. The homestudy uses information gathered in the application as well as a series of interviews, both individually and jointly, and a home visit. All homestudies are reviewed in a peer review session by all casework staff before approval is granted. Once the homestudy is approved, you are now an approved adoptive family, waiting for a placement. After a child is placed in your home for the purpose of adoption, your caseworker will continue to monitor your adjustment by meeting with your family as required and completing the post-placement supervision reports. This supervision period is defined by law and is typically 6 months in length. After the required supervision period, families can legalize the adoption through the Probate Court system. Good Samaritan Agency will assist your family with the legalization process.

  • Again, this is a difficult question to answer, as there are many factors that impact the wait times for placement. If you are seeking an in-state adoption, we are estimating wait times could be extensive. We are not seeing many in-state agency adoptions at this time. If you are seeking an out of state placement, your placing agency may be able to give you a better estimate of wait times, but are typically much shorter than the in-state waits. Another factor that affects wait times is that often times it is the birthparents who are making the selection of an adoptive family for their child. If the birthparents do not wish to be involved in the selection process, Good Samaritan Agency will place with the family that has been waiting the longest.

Have questions? Call us at 207.942.7211

Post Legal Adoption Services

The Good Samaritan Agency in Bangor, Maine understands that adoption is a life long process and for many people whose life has been affected by adoption, this means you have many unanswered questions.  Our agency assists people who were adopted through our agency with learning more about their adoption and/or assisting in the search process.  We also will assist birth parents with the search process to possibly locate their birth child.  ALL search cases are handled in a confidential manner and only proceed if all parties are open to sharing information or having contact.  If you are interested in these services, you may call the agency, 942-7211 or 1-800-249-1811 and ask to speak with our adoption caseworker, Jill Holyoke, LSW.

People interested in receiving information about their adoption or considering a search, must complete a PLAS packet, which must include copies of photo identification to verify your identity as well as release forms.  A fee schedule outlining search-related fees will be included.  Once the appropriate forms have been received, the agency can send you non-identifying information that is in the record. The agency can try to locate the person for up-dated information and/or reunion, but remember that everything will remain confidential and non-identifying unless all parties agree.  Not all search cases are successful in locating the individual in question.

In January 2009, Maine law changed to allow adoptees access to their original birth certificate. 
You can learn more about this option by contacting the Maine Office of Vital Statistics in Augusta, Maine or accessing their website.

Searching can be a very emotional process and sometimes it is very helpful to have someone to talk with. If you need support or have questions, please do not hesitate to call us.

We look forward to working with you. Please call 207.942.7211 if you have any questions.

Searching

Thinking About A Search?

Many have described this process as an “emotional roller coaster ride”, a journey to find the “pieces of a puzzle”, a way to heal a “wounded heart”. Others began the process to learn medical, social and genetic information and may not experience strong emotions. Whatever your reasons for trying to make contact, there are important things to do before you begin:

Talk

Talk with someone who is familiar with the issues of search and reunion. Adoption influences people throughout their lifetime. Issues around loss, rejection, identity, mastery/control, guilt/shame and intimacy impact how people think about themselves, their families and their places in society (Silverstein and Kaplan, 1982). When a person begins a search, these emotions may intensify.

Learn

Learn everything you can about adoption, search and reunion to understand the other person’s perspectives and feelings while accepting your own thoughts and feelings. Short articles, poems, books, videos and tapes on a variety of topics are available. Copies of short articles and poems are free. Books, tapes and videos can be borrowed for a period of two weeks with a $30 refundable deposit through the agency.

Remember

Remember whatever occurs is a matter of choice for everyone. We are all different and people’s responses will depend on what they are ready to do.

Plan

Plan how you will handle whatever you find. The time to plan is now while you are calm and you can think clearly. Consider the following in making your decisions:

  • Are your family members supportive?

    • Do you have support systems other than family? Who are they?

    • If you do not have the support of family and friends, how will you handle the intensity of a search?

    • Do you need help telling family members, including children?

  • Are you personally prepared to begin a search?

    • How much time and money can you dedicate per week/month for search?

    • The search often becomes an obsession. How will you handle this tendency?

  • Are you prepared for a negative response from authority figures who you approach for information?

    • Are you prepared to argue, cite regulation or law, appeal decisions?

    • Have you started a search diary? Have you listed all your questions, adding the answers as you learn them? Will you note even conflicting information?

  • When you have identified the person you seek, are you ready for the possibility of:

    • No contact?

    • One or two contacts and then nothing further?

    • Contact with the person you are seeking, but no contact with other family members. For example, you cannot meet siblings.

    • The person is ready for you to be part of his/her life, and is ready for a relationship.

    • How will you feel and what will you do in each of the above circumstances?

    • Are you prepared to meet the needs of the found person? If not, why not?

    • How will you make contact?

    • Will this relationship be the same or different than other relationships you have? Why?

    • Can you sit down and talk about it with the found person? Why or why not? Is the problem with you, him/her, or both of you?