Unplanned Pregnancy
Crisis Helpline
Available 24/7 for crisis pregnancy or sexual assault survivors that are pregnant or parenting children under 36 months old
Free Baby Items
We provide free baby items such as diapers and baby wipes to legal Texas residents who are pregnant or have a child under 3. Call to learn more.
Webinar
Our webinars educate parents on a variety if pregnancy and parenting topics. Call to schedule a one-on-one 90-minute session at a time that works for you.
children's connections
Positive Choices Unplanned Pregnancy Support
Are you experiencing a crisis due to your pregnancy?
You may have:
- No partner or family support
- Several other children you’re parenting
- Had CPS remove another child from your care
- Substance abuse issues
- Been a victim of sexual assault
- A pregnancy with a baby who has special needs
- Not been ready to parent your baby
We’re here to help if your baby is coming at just the WRONG time in your life! An unplanned pregnancy may seem scary and leave you feeling like you don’t have many options. If you feel unprepared to parent at this time, there is an option that may be right for you: adoption.
Even if you haven’t made a decision about your pregnancy and baby-to-be, we’re available to talk through your adoption options. We’ll give you the facts and decision-making tools, so you can make a fully informed decision.
Regardless of whether you decide to make an adoption plan for your child or you decide to parent him or her, we provide you the following services at any time during your pregnancy:
- Adoption information
- Pregnancy education
- Support
- Resources
- Referrals to services
- Adoption counseling
You receive services designed to assist you in making the right parenting or adoption plan for you!
If you are considering placing your child for adoption:
- We can provide you with information about the adoption process and answer all of your questions.
- If you want to develop an adoption plan, we will assist you through this process.
- We can provide you with decision-making tools to assist you as you make a very difficult and important decision for you and your baby.
Making an adoption plan with Children’s Connections puts you in control of your baby’s future, as well as your own. You may select the family who will adopt your child and continue to have contact with the family for a lifetime, if you wish. You can still make all decisions about your pregnancy and be in charge of making plans for yourself after your pregnancy is over.
We are here to listen and provide support as you make decisions about what is best for you and your child. We will discuss your concerns in a friendly, non-judgmental, and confidential matter.
When you make an adoption plan with Children’s Connections, we offer:
- Information on your options to parent or place your baby for adoption
- Decision-making tools to assist you in making an important decision for you and your child
- Support throughout every step in your adoption process, as you give the gift of being a parent to someone else
- Financial assistance for living expenses if you make an adoption plan, including paying for rent, food, maternity clothing, personal care needs and transportation to medical appointments, school and work, if needed
- Counseling
- Emotional support
- Medical referrals
- And much more!
As an expectant mother, you may feel ashamed or like you are abandoning your baby. In reality, placing your child for adoption is a brave act that shows how much you love your child. We understand that your situation is unique and we want you to feel comfortable. Your pregnancy care team will work with you through every step of the pregnancy and adoption process.
Openness in Adoption
We encourage openness in adoption since openness leads to more successful outcomes for all parties in the adoption process. However, we understand that some situations and some parents may choose varying levels of openness.
If you are not seeking open adoption, we will provide you with training and educational resources so you’ll be able to learn the future benefits of openness for your baby.
We work with parents who prefer all levels of openness, but only work with closed adoptions when:
- Both the birth parents and the adoptive parents are in agreement on the level of openness
- Both families agree that either party may request a change in openness at any time before the child becomes age 18
- Adoptive parents agree to allow completely open communication between both parties in the future if requested by their child’s first mother or father.
While Texas open adoption plans are a moral agreement, rather than a legally enforceable one, this commitment by adoptive parents helps you be able to change your mind about communicating with them later.
Frequently Asked Questions About Openness
Openness in adoption is an agreement between the adoptive and birth families and is on a continuum from closed to open. Openness in adoption is not co-parenting or confusing for the child. Adoptive parents aren’t baby-sitting. Instead, open adoption allows some level of contact between the birth and adoptive families throughout the child’s life. This helps the child not to feel abandoned or rejected.
The benefits include:
- The adoptive family will have on-going access to the child’s health history, as it changes over the years,
- The birth parent(s) can see her child growing, developing and being healthy and happy in their adoptive home, which helps with processing feelings of grief,
- The child can gain a relationship with the child’s birth parents and be able to hear from them why they made an adoption plan, reducing the child’s feelings of loss.
Open adoption is beneficial to all parts of the adoption triad, the adoptive family, birth parents and child.
Most birth parents want some level of openness, but the amount of desired contact varies. We help birth and adoptive families negotiate and come to an agreement about the level of openness in the adoption. This level of openness is based on trust and appreciation of both the birth and adoptive parent roles.
We are happy to discuss openness planning and to help you understand why this is so much better for your child and yourself, as your child is growing up.
Financial Support
When you make an adoption plan, we’ll assess your financial needs. Based upon your needs, you may receive assistance with the following:
- Housing
- Necessary utilities, such as electric, water &/or telephone bills
- Food for the birth mother & minor children living in the home
- Transportation expenses necessary to support the pregnancy
- Medical costs (other than those paid by Medicaid & insurance)
- Legal costs
- Counseling services
- Child care while a birth mother is in the hospital for delivery
- Clothing
- Household supplies
- Personal hygiene or grooming items
In accordance with Texas law, Children’s Connections, Inc. (CCI) in no way persuades a you to make a decision to relinquish your parental rights to your child by offering any incentives. It is illegal for a birth parent to obtain financial benefits from prospective adoptive parents for the payment of hospital or medical expenses or any other financial benefits with the intent to receive the benefits and not complete the adoption. This action is punishable to the full extent of the law. In Texas, it is illegal for adoptive parents to give birth parents’ money, pay for anything or provide the birth mom with resources of any value.