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Mother and Baby on Floor

Attachment &

Biobehavioral 

Catch-Up

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up [ABC] is an evidenced-based parenting intervention that strengthens caregivers' relationships with their infants and toddlers while helping children learn to regulate behaviors and emotions. 

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ABC supports caregivers in identifying and responding to their babies' signals and helps to protect children from stress, early challenges, and adversity. 

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AGAPE has the only ABC Program in the entire state of Alabama.

Results of ABC

Children receiving ABC show higher levels of executive functioning than their peers.

With ABC, children develop better

self-regulation skills.

Children who receive ABC have more normalized stress hormone patterns.

ABC helps children understand they are important, competent, and can rely on their caregivers.

Mother and Child

Our Program

AGAPE offers the ABC Program to caregivers of a child or children between the ages of 6 months and 48 months. 

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Ten 1 hour weekly sessions are held in your home with structured topics to assist you and your children. 

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Your ABC Parent Coach will focus on what you, the parent, are already doing right and offer positive feedback during each session. 

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The program ends with a celebration and a special video gift of you and your children.

 Apply now for a Scholarship

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

We are so grateful for the ABC Program. We adopted our son at birth and around 3 years we began seeing aggressive and explosive behaviors as a result from his trauma in utero. ABC taught us a non-traditional way of guiding our son through challenging behaviors in a safe and loving way while building up his self-esteem. We have seen dramatic results in how our son responds to his big emotions, like anger, and how we respond to him.

ABC

ABC

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  • What is a home study?
    A home study is a 10 to 12 page social summary of your family, written by a licensed social worker. In order to create your home study a social worker will meet with your family, once in your home and once at AGAPE's office. Each home study visit lasts approximately an hour and a half. A social worker will discuss your family, marriage, parenting style, discipline methods, and complete a walk-through of your home. All necessary paperwork, such as medical examinations and clearances, must be completed before home study visits are scheduled. Once completed, the home study is a legal document that allows your family to adopt. Home studies must be updated yearly.
  • How long is the wait to adopt a child?
    The wait time for adoption can vary depending on your preferences. For example, families only willing to consider children of certain genders or races will likely encounter longer wait times. Other factors, such as openness in your adoption plan and the health of the child, also affect wait time. AGAPE's current wait time is 2 to 5 years.
  • How much will my adoption cost?
    AGAPE's fees are based on state and federal adoption tax credits available to families. AGAPE's home study fees are approximately $2,000. AGAPE's placement fee is approximately $14,000. Fees paid to AGAPE do not cover attorney fees. Attorney's fees are approximately $2,000 to $5,000 and will be paid directly to your family's attorney. AGAPE social workers will go over a fee schedule in detail with you during your initial consultation.
  • Will we meet the birth parents?
    A child benefits most from an adoption situation in which two families unite in partnership. This child-focused approach involves an incredible amount of flexibility, vulnerabilty, and compassion from all involved. AGAPE asks that all adoptive families be willing to meet their child's birth family. However, ultimately the decision to meet will be determined by the comfort level of the birth family.
  • What is open adoption and what are the benefits?
    Open adoption refers to a wide range of communication between adoptive and biological families. Research has shown that children, adoptive families, and biological families all benefit from open adoption. Families who adopt should be prepared to share pictures, letters, and encourage visits throughout a child's life. Open adoption promotes a child's overall well-being by providing awareness of their history. This promotes bonding and attachment with their adoptive parents who are actively working to honor their child's story. Knowledge is power and open adoption improves the child's sense of identity.
  • Can the birth parents change their mind?
    In the state of Alabama, biological parents who are making an adoption plan have a total of 14 days in which they can change their minds and decide to parent. During the initial 5 days, biological parents sign a document and contact AGAPE in order to choose parenting. There is an additional 9 days in which a parent can appear before a judge to plead their case for why they want to alter the adoption plan.
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