This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Less than a year after LDS Family Services discontinued its adoption services, it is joining up with Adoption.com to give some LDS families profiles on the popular online adoption network.
Adoption.com/lds was launched Monday to link prospective LDS parents to birth parents. All families identifying as LDS will appear on the site. However, LDS Family Services will pay the $99 start-up fee and $199 monthly fee for couples who meet certain requirements. Eligible couples must have had their marriages sealed in an LDS temple and possess current temple recommends, a bishop's endorsement and a current adoption home study.
"Bishops and social workers can refer women who are pregnant and adopting to find an LDS family," said Adoption.com CEO Nathan Gwilliam.
LDS Family Services formerly offered church-subsidized adoption services to eligible couples but ceased that program last year because, the social service arm of the church said, fewer birth parents were placing children for adoption.
To coincide with the new online service, Adoption.com is hosting a workshop for prospective parents Saturday at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building at Salt Lake City's Temple Square. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., prospective parents — whether or not they are members of the LDS Church — may avail themselves of video stations to create profile videos for Adoption.com and can consult with birth parents who have gone through adoptions to craft profiles.