Newsletters

Life at the agency is no less busy these days, and it seems that there is an ongoing whirlwind of activity. As I write, I’m flying to Dallas for the day for a counseling session with a prospective birth mother, Leah Martinez is spending the day in San Angelo for a client’s induction, and the third member of the counseling staff, Nikki Lopez, is “holding down the fort” back at the office alongside our crew of invaluable support staff. Whew! Thank goodness for cell phones, which keep us all connected!

During my telephone conversations with each of you as you call to “check in” every month or so, some of the most frequently asked questions are: “What’s the activity like at A.S.A.?”, “Has my profile been shown?”, “How many clients are you working with right now?”. The answers to those three questions at any given time are: “Everyday is filled with new intakes, new challenges, and ongoing activity”, “Yes, your profile is active”, and “the number changes daily”.

As a staff, we always strive to make ourselves available to you, the prospective adoptive parent (Parent-in-Waiting), and respond to your needs and concerns in an efficient and empathetic manner. We often commiserate about how wonderful it would be if only each of you could spend a day in our office, to begin to understand the day-to-day workings of this process. I’m always a bit taken aback when a Parent-in-Waiting calls to check in and begins to introduce themselves using not just their name but also a description of their family or situation – the reason for my surprise is because you just can’t imagine how each of you are known by name and circumstance by each staff member.

For example, if a prospective birth mother is in the process of choosing an adoptive family for her baby and requests the opportunity to review profiles of couples who are not yet parents, are of the Catholic faith, have been married at least five years, and live in the U.S., any member of the counseling staff could tick off the names of families that fit that descriptor within minutes. In addition, there is knowledge of the length of time a family has been waiting in the program, what their preferences are regarding ethnicity and health status, as well as any unique characteristics or conditions such as if they have experienced the loss of a prospective adoptive placement at or near the time of the baby’s birth, and their level of openness regarding the degree of contact and correspondence with the birth family through the years.

You see, each and every one of you are a treasured member of the A.S.A. family. Whether this is your first adoption or your third, we are fully committed to assisting and supporting you as you build your family through adoption.

The field of social service, specifically adoption, is a challenging one whose rewards are more often intangible than material. As you know, babies are not born and crises are not resolved only between the hours of 8AM and 5PM. The A.S.A. staff is on a continuous on-call rotation that allows us to provide counseling and emergency response services on a 24-hour, 7 day a week basis. We are aware that, should a woman begin exploring adoptive placement for her unborn child, she may open the telephone book to find a minimum of twenty agencies listed. We believe that, though we are not the largest agency and may not have the “flashiest” image, we can be counted upon to go above and beyond the call of duty in an effort to meet the needs of birth parents in emotional conflict, experiencing some of the darkest, most difficult days of their lives. We strive to provide warm, compassionate, and responsive care to those considering adoptive placement as well as to those whose deepest desire is to adopt a baby.

Please rest assured that, though you may at times feel somewhat disconnected from A.S.A. because of geographic distance or because you may be unable to immediately reach a staff member when you call, our “family” remains committed to your family. Thank you for allowing us to be part of this miracle of love and sacrifice, and for sharing this season of your lives with us.

Meet Our Staff

Last year, in an effort to enable each of you to get to know the members of the A.S.A. family, each newsletter “introduced” a member of the staff by including a paragraph or two written by that person explaining not only their professional role at the agency, but also sharing a bit about that staff member’s family and personal life. This year, you’ll have the opportunity to “meet” everyone in a somewhat different format. I think you’ll enjoy it, as we’ve had fun putting it all together and learning a bit about each other along the way!

This month, meet the Interstate Compact Coordinator of A.S.A., Kim Paxson.

Full Name: Kimberly Lane Paxson
Born when and where: December 9th in Dallas, Texas
Family: Mike, and 12 year old son, Ty
Play any instruments: no
Favorite type of music: Country
Favorite musical artist: George Strait
Favorite author: I enjoy reading magazines more.
Favorite T.V. show: J.A.G.
Favorite spectator sport: basketball (“Go Spurs!”), and watching my son rodeo
Favorite exercise: walking
Favorite current movie: “As Good As It Gets”
Favorite current movie star: Jennifer Aniston
Favorite old movie: “Steel Magnolias”
Favorite old movie stars: John Wayne, Walter Matthau
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite attributes in a friend: laughing, listening, honesty
Favorite color: red
Favorite cartoon character: Snoopy
Favorite place to visit: any beach
Favorite way to show appreciation of others: telling them
Favorite way to receive appreciation: flowers, cards
Fun things I have tried: snow mobiling, water skiing
How I spend my days off: running errands
What I wanted to grow up to be: airline stewardess
Most annoying habit: worrying
One thing I can’t stand: lying
Funny or serious: funny
Introvert or extrovert: definitely extrovert
How to make me laugh: being silly
When did you first join the A.S.A. staff?: March 1988
What excites me most about my role at the agency: Hearing the excitement in the voices of the adoptive parents when I call them to say they can go home! (after Interstate Compact approval)
My vision for the work I’m doing at A.S.A.: to make applicants a family sooner!

In closing, I welcome your questions, comments, and concerns, as you await the opportunity to build your family through adoption. Please do not hesitate to contact me anytime by telephone or e-mail (dgaribay2000@yahoo.com).
Sincerely,
Denise Garibay, M.A.
Director of Social Services