Best Wishes Erica, and Welcome Catherine! Erica Conte, our Adoption Assistant, is planning to be on maternity leave June 2nd-August 2nd with her second child! Of course the exact day or hour cannot be determined, but we want to plan as best we can for her absence as she welcomes her new bundle of joy. As some of you may know, Erica assists Heather Iacono with post adoption reports, as well as carrying out administrative tasks throughout the office. But we are excited to announce that we have hired Catherine Robbins to cover during Erica's leave as well as help out upon her return. We really appreciate your flexibility during this transition.

Catherine is delighted to be joining the Madison team! Catherine has spent most of her professional life as a Theatre Stage Manager, at first in her home country of Ireland and then in the US where she met her husband and liked him so much she decided to stay. She has travelled all over North America with the touring production of Riverdance and in recent years stage managed many events and shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. In 2016 Catherine had the honor of becoming a mother through adoption, with MAA! Hope joined the family at three years old, from China. In 2018 her family went through the adoption process again with MAA to bring home another beautiful daughter, four year old Sara. The Robbins Family, along with their three dogs and one cat moved from New Jersey to Delaware in late 2020 and could not be happier with their new home. Catherine is thrilled to play a small part in assisting families during the adoption process, as her own life has been tremendously blessed by adopting her daughters.

Just a reminder, our phone lines are now only open 9am-12pm on Fridays At Madison, we are proud of the fact that the phones are always answered by a live person during our regular office hours. Although our staff are still working regular office hours, our phone lines are now only open 9am-12pm on Fridays. We will continue to be reachable by phone our regular hours, 9am-5pm, Monday through Thursday, as well as Friday mornings. Please feel free to contact your case worker if this change effects your ability to efficiently contact us. We will also remain available through email. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Check out more about the Adoptive Family Membership Program! As a longstanding agency member of National Council For Adoption, we are pleased to share their new Family Membership program with you! Join NCFA and get expert-based educational resources, and comprehensive financial coaching to help you navigate the adoption process and prepare for adoptive parenting with confidence and clarity. Learn more here.

To ALL the Dad's! "Father’s Day is a special time for us to honor all the men in our lives who helped to make us who we are today – those who raised us and those who gave us life. There is no single definition of a father; no single word that buckets all fathers together. Every father (and father-to-be) has a story. Whether you are a father by birth or by adoption, or even just setting out on your adoption journey to become a dad, you deserve some recognition and love on this special occasion. Great dads of all walks of life – no matter their role – should be celebrated on Father’s Day. Whether you are an adoptive father, a prospective adoptive father, or a birth father who made an adoption plan – you are a hero! You play an important role in a child’s life and help shape who they will become as an adult. Be proud of your position in this incredible journey." Read more of this beautiful blog by Nancy Rousenhaus at Adoptions with Love.

Training Registration Did you know that it is now easier to register for our training? You can go on MAA's website and select between our training options, choose your dates, fill out our registration form and you will then receive the PayPal link (if you are a non-MAA family). You are now all set! Add the date to your calendar because we will be sending you the Zoom link a couple of days before the training. If you have any questions or trouble following the registration steps, please contact Lisa Riley.

Daniel & Jennifer arrived home with their son, Nicolas, from Colombia in May!

If you are not in a position to adopt right now, but still feel compelled to help, please know that you can always make a donation directly to Madison Adoption Associates. Your generous gift will be directed where it is needed most, whether that be to provide food and medical services to vulnerable children both domestically and internationally, to support MAA’s growing therapeutic support services for adoptive and foster families, to help ease the financial burden for adoptive families, and/or many other areas where MAA serves deserving children. So please – consider making a tax-deductible donation today, so that children around the world may have a chance for a brighter tomorrow.