Adoption Awareness

All children benefit from the opportunity to grow up in a loving family, but not all birth families feel they are able to meet the needs of a child born with Down syndrome.

The National Down Syndrome Adoption Network provides information to birth families who may be seeking alternatives to parenting as they prepare for the arrival of their child. Making an adoption plan for a child with Down syndrome is a loving choice and can be the right choice for some families.

Adoptive families contact the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network when they have a strong desire to adopt a child with Down syndrome. Many of these families have experienced living with and loving a child or an adult with Down syndrome. They may themselves be birth parents or adoptive parents of a child with Down syndrome, they may have worked professionally with a client or student with Down syndrome, or they may have spent time with an individual with Down syndrome in their church or community. Adoptive families are located all across the United States and Canada. They all must be approved for adoption by a licensed agency in their state of residence.

The NDSAN can provide the following resources to birth families who may be considering releasing a baby for adoption:

Robin Steele is the National Adoption Awareness Program Coordinator. Robin and her husband adopted their first child with Down syndrome over thirty years ago. Their experience in meeting and adopting their daughter Martha greatly influenced their family’s journey that now includes four children with Down syndrome.

To contact the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network, please call 513.213.9615 or email at NDSAN Contact Us. 

The DSAGC has a wonderful video called  Adopting or Releasing a Child with Down Syndrome 

The Washington Post did a wonderful article: A Leap of Love - Adoptions of Children with Down Syndrome Are on the Increase