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Can Your Family be a Resource for a Special Baby?
Please complete our Client Pre-Application and
forward your Home Study to ASAP.
Fax number 212.360.0282
Or mail to:
ASAP
Spence-Chapin
410 East 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128
The Adoption Resource Library contains recomended books and articles by adoption professionals, birth parents, adoptive parents
and adopted children, who share their unique insights.
The Broken Cord
Michael Dorris
An adoptive father chronicles his experiences in parenting his son affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.
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It is a special kind of adoptive parent who embraces the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child.
Spence-Chapin seeks families who are interested in raising a special needs child, and who have the desire and talent to help that child flourish.
Since 1995, ASAP, Spence-Chapin’s domestic special needs program has placed more than 300 infants in loving homes. These children come from diverse backgrounds and have a variety of issues ranging from risk of developmental delays to serious medical conditions. Spence-Chapin also places international waiting children.
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Our FamiliesIn Their Own Words
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Meet Our Staff
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We were a family in crisis… when we approached Spence-Chapin, My 45-year-old schizophrenic sister was pregnant. The problems seemed overwhelming, the questions daunting. We were paralyzed with fear regarding the health risks that this pregnancy posed to my sister. In addition to her mental illness, she was hypertensive, diabetic, and a heavy smoker. Equally troubling were the significant genetic and medical risks faced by her unborn child. There was only one thing we could see with clarity. There was no way for her to take care of this baby. But could such a child get adopted? What about the medical risks? The genetic risks? Could any family muster up the love necessary to see past these obstacles and towards adoption? Enter Spence-Chapin. Immediately, our concerns were assuaged. Their commitment to the highest professional standards was evident in every interaction and communication throughout the adoption process. The social workers brought a level of knowledge and integrity to the process that was reassuring and calming. They walked us through the adoption process, explaining everything thoroughly and carefully. Getting a mentally ill birth mother through this experience… was no easy task. Leslie, the social worker from Spence-Chapin, worked diligently and sensitively to cultivate a relationship of trust and respect with my sister. She visited her each week and spent the time necessary to ensure that her decisions would be respected and her fears and emotions given the support they deserved. Fast forward to the best part! My sister survived the pregnancy and delivered a healthy little girl. Thanks to Spence-Chapin, we found a wonderful family who loves her and is fully open to keeping in touch with us. It is truly like a fairy tale ending. I will always be thankful for Spence-Chapin.
We were a family in crisis… when we approached Spence-Chapin, My 45-year-old schizophrenic sister was pregnant. The problems seemed overwhelming, the questions daunting. We were paralyzed with fear regarding the health risks that this pregnancy posed to my sister. In addition to her mental illness, she was hypertensive, diabetic, and a heavy smoker. Equally troubling were the significant genetic and medical risks faced by her unborn child. There was only one thing we could see with clarity. There was no way for her to take care of this baby. But could such a child get adopted? What about the medical risks? The genetic risks? Could any family muster up the love necessary to see past these obstacles and towards adoption? Enter Spence-Chapin. Immediately, our concerns were assuaged. Their commitment to the highest professional standards was evident in every interaction and communication throughout the adoption process. The social workers brought a level of knowledge and integrity to the process that was reassuring and calming. They walked us through the adoption process, explaining everything thoroughly and carefully. Getting a mentally ill birth mother through this experience… was no easy task. Leslie, the social worker from Spence-Chapin, worked diligently and sensitively to cultivate a relationship of trust and respect with my sister. She visited her each week and spent the time necessary to ensure that her decisions would be respected and her fears and emotions given the support they deserved. Fast forward to the best part! My sister survived the pregnancy and delivered a healthy little girl. Thanks to Spence-Chapin, we found a wonderful family who loves her and is fully open to keeping in touch with us. It is truly like a fairy tale ending. I will always be thankful for Spence-Chapin.
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Merryl Klein
Adoption Specialist
“Spence-Chapin is one of the few agencies in the country placing significant numbers of domestic infants with special needs. Families who come to our program wish to parent infants because the early months can often be critical to a child’s development. They are people who are child-oriented, who feel they can use their creative energy to nurture and help a child with a disability become all that he or she can be, and to ensure that their child knows they are loved unconditionally.”
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It is a special kind of adoptive parent who embraces the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child.