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Complete Financial Services LU —) tion of direct-placement adop- tions where the birth parents can select the adoptive family. Ms. Eisenberg said their agency, although non-profit by state law, hasn't been affected by the law. "What affected adoption dra- matically is that more birth mothers are opting to raise their children alone because society accepts it," Ms. Eisenberg said. Fear of AIDS, she said, has also reduced the number of un- planned or unwanted pregnan- cies because people are practicing safer sex. While their business has been unaffected by competition from lawyers, Ms. Eisenberg is still resentful. Her main criticism is attorneys are unable to provide counseling to the birth parents and adoptive parents and many don't suggest it. Monica Linkner, a Berkley at- torney who specializes in adop- tion law, is well aware of the opposition from some adoption agencies. When she was urging Lansing lawmakers to adopt the new adoption laws, the agencies were the biggest opponents of the legislation. Securities offered through Vestax Securities Corporation, Member, NASD & S1PC 1931 Georgetown, Hudson, OH 44236 (216)650-1660 ... Ms. Linkner, also an adoptive parent, disagrees with Ms. Eisenberg's complaints. She rec- ognizes the need for counseling and provides her clients with re- ferrals. She also maintains that older parents, who may be turned away by an agency, could have an easier time adopting through an attorney. Rich Bearup, the children's ombudsman for the state of Michigan, said he has not re- ceived a single complaint relat- ing to an attorney's involvement in adoption. "That may be a function of people not knowing about us yet," he said of his de- partment, which was created by the revised adoption laws. While attorneys no longer have to go through training to facilitate adoptions, as they did when the law first passed, Ms. Linkner believes an under- standing of adoption is ab- solutely necessary. "The law is complex and the stakes - are enormous," she said. The adoptions she's done have taken between a year and 18 months. The time-span, she said, depends on how active the prospective parents are in their search for a birth mother. Some parents will place advertise- ments in newspapers to speed up the process of finding a child. Esther Krystal has been do- ing adoptions at Jewish Family Service since 1989, a small pro- portion of the JFS' 60 years of assisting adoptions. Before Michigan adoption laws changed, JFS arranged several adoptions per year. Pri- or to that, Ms. Krystal guesses, JFS assisted in as many as a dozen adoptions per year. In 1995, the agency didn't facilitate any adoptions. This year, its numbers are back up to a small handful. Ms. Krystal has no ex- planation for the difference. What JFS has seen since the new law took effect is an in- crease in the number of homes- tudies it conducts for adoptive families. Lawyers generate the bulk of requests the agency gets for homestudies because agen- cies tend to be licensed to do the study or have a cadre of re- sources for a homestudy. A homestudy is a series of meetings, including an in-home visit with a licensed social work- er. Its purpose is to determine whether the adoptive couple is fit for parenthood. JFS is hoping to enhance its adoption program by beginning an active outreach project to at- tract birth mothers. Because the concept is in the early planning stages, Ms. Krystal could not elaborate. "It is part financial," she said. "But, at the same time, we want to be able to help create Jewish families. No one else is out there with the goal to create Jewish families but JFS." The cost to adopt through JFS has not exceeded $7,000, ac- cording to Ms. Krystal. Child and Family Services allows the birth mother or birth parents to choose the adoptive family via videotapes that are required of prospective adoptive parents. The tapes serve as commercials for the prospective parents who try to "sell" them- selves to the birth mother or birth parents. Jeff and Alene said Benjamin's birth mother told them she was particularly impressed by the number of books the video showed in their home. Congress, recognizing the high costs associated with adop- tion, recently passed legislation which will allow adoptive par- ents within a certain income lev- el a $5,000 per child tax credic. for expenses. Those adopting special needs children will get a $6,000 credit. Alene and Jeff did not quali- fy for the tax credit because Ben- jamin's adoption occurred before Dec. 31, the date the measure officially takes effect. The credit doesn't mean much to them. While it would havyt, lessened their financial burden, the couple are just happy to have completed their family. ❑