Keith Stewart spent most of his social work career working for the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR).

But in the fall of 2011, a job opportunity became available that he couldn’t let go. He left DHR and became the only Alabama staff member of Bethany Christian Services, a global nonprofit organization that aids birth mothers and families in the adoption process.

Bethany Christian Services is the largest adoption agency in the United States, but until 2011, was not open in Alabama. Now, Stewart, whose office is located in Spanish Fort Presbyterian Church on Highway 31, works with birth mothers and families from Baldwin County all the way to Birmingham.

“This is a very different pace than working for the state,” Stewart said. “There’s a lot to do here.”

Bethany Christian Services works with families to facilitate domestic and international adoptions. It also provides pregnancy counseling for birth mothers who may be unsure about whether they want to parent or place their child in an adoptive home.

Stewart said he is trying to get the word out about pregnancy counseling and the new way adoptions are done. He said many women still think of adoption as giving their child away and never seeing him or her again.

“Adoption is still kind of in transition from the old days when it was a big secret where children were placed, and children would find out at the age of 20 they were adopted,” Stewart said. “Open adoption is the new standard, and it’s what a lot of the birth parents are expecting. They expect to get pictures of their children and possibly to have a visit throughout the year, and that’s what we counsel domestic families about.

“We encourage them to be very open, because we believe it is the best thing for the child to have contact with their mother, whether they’re being raised by their mother or not.”

Birth mothers are not pressured to parent or adopt, Stewart said. He simply explains to them each option and answers their questions.

“They may come in and be very undecided, so we kind of walk down both paths with them,” Stewart said. “If you decide to place, these are some of the issues you’re going to deal with. If you decide to parent, these are the things you need to be prepared for and you need to consider.”

The birth mother is the one who drives the entire process, so Stewart said he makes sure the adoptive families know there is no guarantee they will receive a child in any particular amount of time.

“They may get to the hospital and they may have picked a family, matched, everybody likes each other, but when they get the baby, they decide they can’t place,” he said. “So we prepare the domestic families for that also.”

Stewart said he also counsels adoptive families about their expectations after they bring their baby home.

“People have a lot of expectations when they’re going to adopt from the baby and from the process that may not be met,” he said. “With people who have been dealing with infertility, some folks think that if they’re able to adopt, they’re not going to still feel the grief of experiencing infertility, and we tell them that adoption doesn’t do away with the grief that you’re feeling about being able to have your own children.

Many families choose to adopt internationally to give an orphaned child a chance to have a better life, and these families can also have challenges once their child is home.

“The folks who feel like they’re doing adoption as a ministry, they sometimes are let down after the adoption, and there’s a potential for depression there because all the excitement and everything leading up to the adoption doesn’t follow through,” he said. “It’s like the day after Christmas.”

But for the most part, Stewart said his job is about meeting needs and bringing joy into families through adoption. He said it is refreshing compared to working with DHR.

“Here, you can really get involved with the families and really serve them and give them what they need,” he said. “It’s the happy ending part. People come here, and it’s not like the state where people are forced into a situation. They want to be here. Everybody loves a baby. Babies are cute, and it’s an easy situation to make people happy.”

Adoption is expensive, even when going through a nonprofit organization like Bethany Christian Services.

Most domestic adoptions are $22,000, and international adoptions can be far more expensive because of country fees, passports, airfare and a host of other costs associated with travel and processing.

“Some folks see that number and get sticker shock, because you’re thinking, this is a nonprofit organization,” Stewart said. “But really, that does just barely cover our costs of the adoption from the legal process and our salaries and to do the home study.”

However, the money doesn’t have to be paid all at one time, and families end up paying most of the cost after the placement is completed.

And the relationship Stewart forms with the adoptive family and the birth mother doesn’t end when a baby is placed. He performs home visits for years afterward to ensure everything is going smoothly.

For more information about pregnancy counseling or adoption, visit www.bethany.org, or contact Keith Stewart at 251-621-5440.