Overview of the Agency

Many people today are lost and confused when it comes to adoption planning. Now there is an agency to offer them guidance! Adoption STAR is a non-profit (501-c3) New York State Authorized, Florida and Ohio Licensed, COA HAGUE Acredited Adoption Agency, and is a compassionate and unique organization providing adoption services to those residing nationwide. Please browse through our website and explore the many services we offer. Feel free to give us a call at (866)691-3300 or email info@adoptionstar.com.

• Our History
• Our Core Values
• Our Vision
• Our Founder
• Our Staff
• Our Services
• Our Philosophy
• Our Goals
• Our Future

Our History
Adoption STAR, Inc., was authorized as a non-profit New York Sate authorized adoption agency in March of 2000.  In 2009, Adoption STAR became licensed in Florida and also achieved substantial COA Hague Accreditation.  In 2010 the agency became licensed in Ohio.

Adoption STAR began operating in 2000 with donated space and in 2001 moved into a small office on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst, NY.  That office grew to 2,000 square feet in July of 2002.  After renting for a number of years, the staff and board of Adoption STAR dreamed of owning their own building – one that would include not only staff offices, but also an infant nursery and a training facility on-site.  This dream became a reality and on March 31, 2005, Adoption STAR occupied a 3000 square foot building in Williamsville, NY.  In October 2012, Adoption STAR sold it’s main office and purchased a larger property – more than double the size – and uses the additional space to better accommodate its growing staff, client counseling and educational needs and expansion of post-adoption support services.

From the onset, Adoption STAR wished to utilize the words within their name: Support, Training, Advocacy and Resources (STAR) to provide wide-ranging services to all members of the adoption community.  Today the agency has several departments run by a compassionate and professional staff. The agency also sponsors four support groups:  SOFIA (Supporting Our Families Interested in Adoption) which is an adoptive family support and social group, Blue Rose Birth Parent Support Group which is a support group for birth parents, the Birth Grand Parent Support Group that provides counseling to those parents whose children made an adoption plan for their child; and ACE (Adoptee Circle of Experience) an adult adoptee support group.

The STAR commitment is to offer individualized and personalized support, training, advocacy and resources for all those in need.  The agency believes that adoption does not end with the placement of a child but rather it begins.  Adoption is a life long journey. 

Adoption STAR places children of all races, backgrounds, disabilities and circumstances and has a passion for helping women whose children are at-risk for entering out of home placement.

Adoption STAR has touched thousands of lives and the agency’s commitment to finding children permanent adoptive families is unsurpassed.

Not only does Adoption STAR believe that every child deserves a forever family, the agency operates under the belief that “there IS a family for every child.”  Thus eliminating the need to temporarily place children within the foster care system and eliminating the need for the “system” to financially support children.

Our Core Values

Our core values provide the foundation on which our mission is built, they shape the way we will pursue our vision, and underpin the way Adoption STAR will interact with our clients and the adoption community.

Counseling & Support – Adoption STAR supports, trains, provides advocacy and resources to birth and adoptive parents through the process of creating healthy new families through adoption. Adoption STAR’s professional staff provides support and counseling for birth parents and adoptive parents throughout the adoption process, and provides ongoing post-placement support and consultation.

Equality – Adoption STAR focuses on transforming lives through adoption by serving the best interests of children.  Adoption STAR is one of the only adoption agencies in the country that has never had any exclusionary policies for adoptive parents, including age, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, ethnic background, color, or race.

Education & Advocacy – We believe that we can influence understanding, preparedness and knowledge by acting as advocates for children in need of permanency planning.

Our Vision

Adoption STAR believes every expectant parent and adoptive family deserves to have access to adoption services. Unfortunately, quality information and counseling on adoption is still not widely available in the United States for ALL individuals. Our vision builds upon The Agency’s strengths of offering ongoing support services to ALL birth and adoptive families.  We will, as an Agency of dedicated staff, ensure that all clients receive a consistent and high standard of care and service. We will continue to expand and advance our support programs for all throughout every stage of their adoption journey. The Agency will develop its marketing, public relations and branding to ensure that both the public and expectant and adoptive families receive education and information about adoption. The Agency will continue to act as advocates for equality and fair treatment for all parties involved in adoption.

Our Mission Statement

Each year, Adoption STAR revisits its mission statement to be sure it remains accurate.

Adoption STAR (Support, Training, Advocacy & Resources) is a compassionate and unique agency.  The Agency takes a strong stand on adoption education and believes no one can make a decision to adopt or place a child for adoption without fully educating themselves on adoption and its many options.  Adoption STAR is an agency committed to the best interests of children and will offer all birth families regardless of race, health, circumstances, or disability, the option of adoption for their child. Adoption STAR is an agency dedicated to maintaining connections between adoptive families and birth families and offers education and support with an adoption plan.

Our Founder

Michele Fried is the Founder and CEO of Adoption STAR.  Though the “title” most special to her is “mom” ~ it was a long time ago, but the experiences of becoming an adoptive mother led her to first enter the adoption field. Michele’s background as an educator complimented this path.  Her foremost responsibilities with Adoption STAR are the implementation of strategic plans and agency growth/expansion, financial management, board partnerships and supervision of the staff.  Michele has her hands full with these responsibilities as well as initiating marketing and public relation campaigns and executing and implementing policies developed by the Board of Directors. Responsible for several locations and programs of the agency, she is frequently traveling.  Michele is most often described as passionate, caring, candid and sincere. Click here to learn more about Michele.

Our Staff

Adoption STAR staff includes full time and part time employees. These individuals consistently deliver a high level of integrity, confidentiality and personalized attention.  Adoption STAR is often praised for the level of commitment of its staff. You will often find staff members coming into work in the evenings and on weekends to meet the needs of clients and to conduct child placements.  The agency is proud of its incredibly dedicated employees. Not only are many of them personally touched by adoption, their qualifications are impressive, including degrees in Social Work, Psychology, Education and other related fields. Their combined expertise, training and passion are the secret to the success of Adoption STAR.  Click here to learn more about our staff. 

Our Services

Adoption STAR offers comprehensive services to adoptive parents, birth parents, adoptees, and the community at large. These services include domestic infant and international placement programs, adoption home studies, post placement supervision, counseling, pre-and-post parenthood education, trainings and in-services for medical professionals, educators and others in the community, adoption support groups, social groups, online support groups and other social media sites, newsletters, a resource library, and more! 

Our Philosophy

The Adoption STAR philosophy is to provide highly individualized services to Support, Train, Advocate, and offer Resources to adoptive parents, birth parents and community professionals as they explore the adoption option. We offer the experience of adoption, a full training curriculum, advocacy assistance, and comprehensive resources on adoption. Most importantly, we have the ability to offer personalized attention to all clients. The adoption process can often be confusing and frustrating. We offer our support, knowledge, assistance, and most importantly, our attention, to make this process easier.

Our Goals

Adoption STAR will continue to

- Provide exemplary services to all members of the adoption triad.
- Provide adoption planning for all children in need of adoption especially babies born with special needs.
- Increase the placements of at-risk infants into permanent adoptive homes.
- Increase educational opportunities for health care practitioners, educators and other community professionals.
- Increase humanitarian support to international orphanages.

Our Future

Adoption STAR has always looked to the future. As time goes on you will see Adoption STAR provide more and more post adoption services to those in need.

The agency obtained additional assumed names including Infertility STAR, Parenting STAR, and Family STAR.  Utilizing the acronym STAR, the agency hopes offers additional SUPPORT, TRAINING, ADVOCACY, and RESOURCES to the community-at-large.

Infertility STAR – In our community there is an extraordinary high number of couples diagnosed with fertility challenges, this often brings about intense feelings of grief and loss.  Before one can determine if they wish to remain childfree or to consider adoption, one most identify ways to cope with the pain and loss of infertility.  Infertility STAR currently offers informational workshops, a support series of classes, and individual and small group counseling sessions.

Parenting STAR – Whether one becomes a parent by birth or adoption, parenting is filled with great challenges and immense rewards.  The agency hopes to offer additional parenting educational classes through small and large group sessions on issues important to parents today.  The main focus will be pre and post parenthood education and support to those parents raising children with special needs.

The name “Family STAR” truly captures what the agency work is all about…. counseling and education to support all families.