With experienced and professional adoption staff readily available to answer your questions, Buckner also helps connect adoptive families with other resources and families in order to learn from one another and grow together. Here are some of the services and resources we can provide:
One on One Support
Each approved Buckner adoptive family will be assigned a clinical case manager/counselor who will provide individualized support and guidance to the family through the entire adoption process, before and after placement. Working as a team, this staff person will closely follow the prospective adoptive family’s case and be in frequent contact with the family.
Counseling Services
Counseling offered to families includes infertility counseling and family, sibling and individual counseling as needed throughout the entire adoption process. Buckner has licensed professional counselors on staff to work with families if counseling is needed. Any adoptive family is encouraged to readily utilize Buckner’s counseling services during post-adoption services and anytime during the years to follow as needed.
Mentor Family
Once you are approved in your home study, all Buckner families are matched with a Mentor Family who has previously adopted through Buckner. This family will provide on-going support as you move through the adoption process.
Family Connections
All families are encouraged to attend monthly support meetings called Family Connections, to seek support and education by other adoptive families and facilitation by a Buckner staff member. For families who do not live within the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Buckner asks you to locate and begin attending an adoptive support group in you area. Buckner can assist families in locating a support group in other communities.
Adoptive Family Auxiliary
This group was formed by Buckner adoptive families who share the same desire to continue to support orphans overseas and regularly meet for fellowship and project planning. This is another wonderful way to find support through other adoptive families, encourage your adopted child to befriend other children from their birth country and find ways to help orphans who are still living in institutions overseas. Many of the Auxiliary families volunteer to Mentor new families going through the adoption process.
On-going Education and Preparation
As families wait to adopt, Buckner encourages families to receive on-going education in preparation of adding a child to the home. By state law, families are required to have ongoing education every three months while they wait to adopt. Buckner families have many opportunities to receive education and preparation through the two day seminars, Family Connections, reading and other on-going training opportunities.
Dossier Preparation
Buckner staff and the adoptive family work closely together in preparation of the dossier that is forwarded overseas when complete. Buckner compiles all the documents, reviews them for accuracy and is responsible for sending them overseas where they are translated and then formally submitted.
Referral of Child and Presentation of Information
A formal meeting is held with the family when the foreign country identifies a child for the family. During this meeting the adoptive family is presented with all the written information about child available for adoption, including medical and social history, pictures and video. The information is given to the family in English and in the native language, in the event a family wants another translation. The family is encouraged to review all the information with their doctor and, if necessary, with an expert in the medical needs of children adopted internationally. Families are given at least two weeks to make a decision regarding matching with a child and this time can be extended if there are delays in consulting a doctor’s opinion. Families have the right to decline a match and be presented with another child if they have any uncertainties. Note: this process may vary depending on the country's or region's adoption registration.
Travel Preparation
Families have a one-on-one meeting with Buckner staff to prepare for their travel overseas to finalize the adoption. Buckner makes all the travel arrangements through the staff in Texas and the staff overseas. Buckner staff or overseas partner agency staff will escort the family through the complete adoption process and trip.
For more of our resources, click here.
