LDS Family Services
LDS Family Services provides counseling for people experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, as well as adoption services. The organization is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and provides counseling consistent with its doctrine, but it will not turn away people of other faiths looking for counsel or adoption services. These services have been offered since the early 1920’s and there are now 59 offices in the United States and Canada. There are also two offices in Australia, and offices in England, New Zealand, and Japan.
LDS Family Services provide parents of unplanned pregnancies with many options. Parents can choose to have an open adoption, where there is correspondence with the adoption family before birth and continued contact with the family and child after birth. The parent and family determine the amount of contact.
Even if birth parents are still unsure about adoption they can come in and discuss other options with the counselors at LDS Family Services. They are available to provide you with information and other resources that will help you make a decision. Counseling is given on an individual basis. Group meetings with other people in similar situations are also offered. A family can also request to have counseling sessions together. LDS Family Services will also help birth mothers find assistance for medical care and even housing during pregnancy if it is needed.
The parents are also able to choose the adoptive family. LDS Family Services provides profiles on its website and in its offices. This way the parents may choose a couple that will most likely provide the type of life they want for their child. All of the services provided by Family Services are free to birth parents, and kept confidential. Services are offered for free to anyone involved in the situation such as birth fathers and grandparents.
There is also a free crisis telephone service that is available 24 hours a day every day at 1-800-537-2229. The web site is available to anyone at www.itsaboutlove.org.
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