We are pleased to welcome you to our Special Needs Program (also known as ASAP). Spence-Chapin has had a formal program placing babies with special needs since 1995. We have placed over 300 infants with a wide range of challenges from those "at risk" developmentally because of prematurity or other factors to those who will need total care their entire lives.

Our goal is to make a "match" between a child and a family. In making this match, we consider the birth parents requests, the needs of the child and the desires, talents and resources of the adoptive family.

When birth parents are deciding whether they want to make an adoption plan for their child, they receive counseling from a social worker to help them explore the available options. Over the course of the counseling process, some families decide that they are able to meet the challenges that their children will face and therefore choose to parent. Other families decide to make an adoption plan. We then begin to look for an adoptive family.

Adoptive parents for our special needs program come to us from around the country. We are looking for families who can address the unique needs of the child, which could mean securing early intervention services, seeking out the best medical specialist, or finding the most appropriate educational setting. We are looking for families that have the desire and talent to help a child flourish — whatever the challenges they may face.

Families profiles are given to the birth parents and they make the decision as to who will become the permanent parents for their child. Adoptive families who do not live in the immediate area usually meet the birth family on the day of placement. We encourage openness in the relationship and many of our families have ongoing contact after the placement.

If you are a birth parent and would like to speak to a social worker in the birth parent department to begin the process of understanding and exploring adoption, don't hesitate to contact us. We can be reached at 1-800-321-5683.

If you are interested in adopting a child with special needs, I ask that you read the "Frequently Asked Questions" section of our website to understand how to start the process. You can then complete our client pre-application form to let us know of your interest in learning more about our program.

Best wishes,

Merryl Klein & Gretchen Viederman
Special Needs Adoption Program

A generous grant from CVS Caremark Charitable Trust helps offset the costs of placing medically fragile babies through Spence-Chapin’s A Special Adoption Program (ASAP).