For innumerable reasons, before the court will place a child in your home for adoption, you must open your life up for scrutiny. Home studies, physicals, psychological evaluations, background checks, including finger printing and tax returns become parts of your life served up for approval by others. By the time we got our son eight years ago, our agency, the Gladney Center for Adoption, knew more about us than our family did.

It all felt incredibly intrusive until the day when our son’s birth father signed the papers. The attorney with him reported he picked up the pen, paused for a moment and asked, “They’re good people, right?”

She was able to tell him they had thoroughly vetted us—because they had—and she could in all confidence say, “Yes, this baby will be in a good home.” When I heard that story, I didn’t mind the hassle so much anymore.

Our birth mom felt the judgment too. She came from a small town. Being a spectacle and the object of gossip was more than she could handle. So she moved into the dorms at Gladney.

Gladney is unique in the adoption community. While the adoptive parents pay for the cost of the adoption, there are incredible services offered to birth parents through an endowment. This fund pays for housing, clothing, food, health care, educational services, legal advisers and counseling pre- and post-placement. The agency provides a confidential way for us to exchange letters and photos with our birth mom as our son grows. Gladney also keeps a registry for adoptive children and birth parents who want to be found.

The Gladney Center for Adoption made it possible for our birth mom to finish school and find a good job. We are extraordinarily grateful to those before us who gave generously to the endowment to make that possible. That’s why we’re part of the host committee for the November 6 event, Raise a Glass for Gladney, to help give back some of what was given to us.

There are more than 400 “Gladney” families in Arkansas. You likely know someone whose life has been touched by adoption. So consider this your personal invitation: we would be thrilled if you joined us for a fun evening to celebrate the unique ways families come together.

For tickets or more information, visit GladneyArkansas.com.

Kerri Jackson Case lives in Little Rock with her husband Charlie, their son Jackson and a dog named Sarge. Jackson joined the Case family in 1996, when he was seven days old.

Read more about pathways to adoption here: Fighting for a Family: Infertility & Adoption