Story Spotlight: Meet the Burden-Pate-Bickel Family

We believe in the power of youth voices and honor the vulnerability and courage it takes to share one’s personal story.

For National Adoption Month, we’re highlighting the story of the Burden-Pate-Bickel Family. Bill and Frances adopted four siblings (and the family dog!) and are staunch advocates for their children, encouraging them to explore their personal paths as they build their futures alongside their parents. Bill and Frances have taken to heart the notion of supporting the past, present, and future of their children.

Along the way, the Burden-Pate-Bickel family tapped into key resources through Paths for Families. Read their full story here and learn more about Paths’ For Families Resources below.

Resources for National Adoption Month

The word “family” takes on many forms. No matter where you are in your adoption journey as a child, birth parent, or family hoping to adopt, you deserve to feel empowered and supported through each step.

For National Adoption Month, we’re shining a light on our rescues that focus on your needs at every stage of the adoption process.

Adoption Support:

According to the Children’s Bureau, there are 114,000 children and youth waiting to be adopted who are at risk of aging out of foster care. After working with more than 15,000 families for more than 33 years, we know this reality to be true.

Starting the adoption process can feel overwhelming. We’re here to answer your complex questions, big or small. In our resource guide, we help you explore the following options, and break down legal questions and costs for:

• Domestic Infant Adoption
• Foster Care Adoption
• LGBTQ+ Adoption
• Single Parent Adoption
• Infant Adoption
• International Adoption
• Home Study Applications

To get started, watch our informational webinar on adoption, or sign up for an upcoming live session.

We also invite you to look at our Heart Gallery, which is a meaningful section on our website devoted to children in the foster care system in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. You can inquire about a child, refer someone, or donate to support the gallery.

Post-Adoption Support:

Adoption is a huge life transition, and the emotional work is never done.

To navigate challenging moments and learn how to take better care of your mental health, our caring professionals are here to help. With our trauma-informed, trauma-responsive, and resilient approach, we have seen positive, long-term behavioral health outcomes.

Here’s a quick overview of the populations we support:

• Expectant and Birth Parents
• Adult Adoptees
• Children & Teens
• Families

And here’s what we offer:

Counseling Services

We provide counseling for families formed through adoption and guardianship as well as families involved in child welfare, or those caring for kin. We also welcome birth parents, blended families, and those who achieved pregnancy through reproductive technologies.

A few of the areas we specialize in include emotional regulation, managing grief, postpartum depression, and more.

In partnership with the Social Services Administration, we also offer free post-adoption counseling for qualified families in Maryland. Learn more here.

Support Groups

Getting advice from peers who understand your situation can go a long way. We offer therapist-moderated adoption support groups for children, adolescents, and families on a variety of issues. Join a support group today.

Parent Coaching and Post-Adoption Counseling

To help you work through parenting challenges, we teach you how to:

• Set effective limits with your child
• Practice teamwork with your partner
• Best manage parenting as a single parent
• Understand your child’s behavior (and the message he or she is sending)
• Effectively manage stress

Looking our complete list of resources? Explore our counseling services.

Explore More Adoption Resources

Now that you’ve gotten a good overview of the services we offer, we’re here whenever you want to start the conversation. For more resources or to meet our community, we invite you to head to our homepage.