Why should I choose Abide Adoption & Family Services?

Because we believe adoption is about people before it is ever about paperwork.

Whether you are an expectant parent considering adoption or a hopeful adoptive family, you are trusting someone with one of the most personal journeys of your life. We do not take that lightly.

Our goal has never been to become the biggest adoption agency in Alberta.

Our goal has always been to build an agency where people feel known, cared for, and supported long after the legal process is finished.

That philosophy shapes almost every decision we make.

Why do you intentionally keep your agency small?

Because relationships do not scale very well.

This is probably one of the biggest differences between Abide and many other agencies.

Although we serve people across the entire province of Alberta, we intentionally work with only around 30 adoptive families at a time in our domestic adoption program.

Could we accept more families? Yes.

Would our waiting list get bigger? Absolutely.

But we have learned that bigger is not always better.

As an agency grows, it becomes easier for families to turn into names on a spreadsheet or numbers on a waiting list. That has never been the kind of agency we wanted to build.

When you call our office, we want to know who you are. We want to remember your story without asking you to start at the beginning every time. We want to know where you are in your journey, celebrate your milestones, and walk beside you through the difficult seasons too.

That is only possible when our social workers have the time to build real relationships.

For us, staying smaller is not a limitation. It is a deliberate choice.

Why does that matter if I am an expectant parent?

Because choosing a family for your child is deeply personal.

One of the questions we hear most often is:

We love that question because we actually can.

When we sit down with an expectant parent, we are not reading names from a list or learning about families for the first time by flipping through their profile books.

We already know them.

We have celebrated with our families, supported them through disappointment, and walked alongside them while they wait.

That means when you ask about a family, we can tell you about the real people behind the profile book. We know their values, personalities, family lives, and the kind of home they hope to provide.

You will always make the decision about which family is right for your child. That choice belongs to you.

But we believe it helps when the people guiding you truly know the families they are talking about.

Why do birth parents and adoptive families have separate social workers?

Because everyone deserves someone who is fully in their corner.

We have designed our agency so birth parents have social workers dedicated to supporting birth parents, while adoptive families have different social workers dedicated to supporting adoptive families.

We believe that separation is important.

Birth parents deserve someone whose focus is helping them explore their options, answer questions honestly, and make decisions without pressure.

Adoptive families deserve someone whose focus is preparing them for adoption, completing their home study, providing education, and supporting them throughout the process.

Our team works closely together, but each person has someone whose primary responsibility is to support them.

We have found that this creates clearer communication, stronger relationships, and greater trust throughout the adoption journey.

Do you really offer lifelong support to birth parents?

Yes. Our support does not end after six months.

In Alberta, licensed adoption agencies are required to offer at least six months of counselling and support to birth families after placement.

That support matters. But we have also learned that grief, healing, and life do not follow a six-month calendar.

Sometimes the hardest days come years later.

Sometimes a new season of life brings old emotions back to the surface.

Over the years, we have received calls that begin with, “I wasn't sure if I could still call.”

Our answer is always the same: Of course you can.

If you need support years later, we are still here. Our commitment to birth families does not expire when the minimum period of support ends.

Is your team personally connected to adoption?

Yes. Adoption has shaped our lives outside the office too.

Our core team is not only professionally connected to adoption. We are also personally touched by it.

Members of our team are adoptive parents, and our families have also been connected to adoption through the birth-family side. We understand that adoption holds love, hope, grief, uncertainty, responsibility, and connection—sometimes all at once.

That personal experience does not mean we assume we know exactly how someone else feels.

If anything, it has taught us to make fewer assumptions, ask better questions, and listen longer.

Every adoption story is different. Every birth parent has a different experience. Every adoptive family has a different journey.

People do not need someone who assumes they already know the answers. They need someone willing to hear their story.

If I am pregnant, will you pressure me to choose adoption?

No. Our job is to support your decision, not make it for you.

One of the first things we tell people is:

Our role is not to convince you to make a particular decision. It is to help you understand your choices so you can decide what is right for you and your child.

Some people choose adoption. Some choose to parent. Some need more time before making a decision.

Whatever you decide, you deserve to be treated with dignity, honesty, respect, and compassion.

What kinds of adoption services do you provide?

Abide Adoption & Family Services provides adoption services to individuals and families throughout Alberta, including:

• Domestic adoption
• Open adoption
• International adoption
• Step-parent adoption
• Adoption home studies
• Birth parent counselling and support
• Post-adoption support

Whether you are hoping to grow your family or exploring your options during an unexpected pregnancy, we would be honoured to walk alongside you.

What do people remember most about working with Abide?

Honestly? It is usually not the paperwork.

People remember conversations.

They remember feeling heard. They remember someone answering the phone when they did not know who else to call. They remember that their social worker knew their story.

They remember not feeling like another number.

Those things are not accidental. They are the result of choosing to stay personal, choosing to stay relational, and choosing to remain intentionally small.

Why is your agency called Abide?

Not just during the paperwork.

Not just until placement.

Not just for six months afterward.

We want to remain a trusted source of support throughout the adoption journey and beyond.

Adoption does not end when a court order is signed. For many people, it becomes part of their story for the rest of their lives.

We believe an adoption agency should be willing to remain part of that story too.