Meet Beth & Kathleen - Adoption Counselors at The Cradle

Kathleen: My name’s Kathleen McShane. Basically my role is to answer the phone and talk to women who are calling about possibly making a plan of adoption and to provide them with some support and some information about The Cradle and how adoption would work.

Beth: We will have a counselor meet with them somewhere close to them, in their area, in their community, and have an initial session where they will be presented with a lot of information about adoption, about how it all works, about the legal process, about what it might feel like emotionally.

Kathleen: She would continue to meet with the counselor throughout her journey. We do hear from women for the first time once they’ve delivered the baby in the hospital, and we do hear from women who are already parenting at home and are feeling like maybe they want to explore an adoption plan.

Kathleen: We really just let [expectant mothers] know that we’re here to listen, to offer support, not to judge them. We know that this is a tough time, that this is a big decision. We want them to know that we have counselors that are available to talk to them about all of their options. Whatever option they choose is okay with us. There’s no pressure. We want to let them know that there’s someone on the other end of the phone or the end of the computer to meet them where they’re at.

Beth: Reassuring them comes form providing them with the best information and the most accurate information so that they feel that they can make the best most informed decision possible for themselves and their child.

Beth: They might just want stuff mailed to them, or ask a lot of questions about our services, and they might call back later and schedule an appointment and that’s okay. We understand that it’s a really difficult decision to make, even to start thinking about the process or making an adoption plan can be really hard. We are here for them, that’s why we have the 800 number 24 hours a day, we have the chat from the website and we have the texting phone, for whenever they feel ready to make that next step.