El Dorado Hills Nonprofit, Keegan’s Promise
Oct 04, 2017 01:39PM ● By Style
At 31, Tanisha Leer was eager to start a family. For nine years, she struggled to conceive—including four attempts at in vitro fertilization with her husband Stefan—but no baby came. Despite extensive testing, specialists couldn’t pinpoint a problem and diagnosed the couple with “unexplained infertility,” a catchall term that applies to as many as one-fourth of infertile couples.
It was then that the Leers turned to adoption. “I couldn’t imagine going through life without being a mother,” Leer says. Though the process was intense, and at times close to heartbreaking, Tanisha and Stefan are now the parents of sparkling three-year-old Keegan. “He really is a miracle child,” Tanisha says. “He was the child I was supposed to have.”
The couple had ruled out overseas and foster care adoptions because they wanted a newborn, and it took faith, tenacity and financial stability—all of which the Leers are fortunate to possess—before newborn Keegan was placed in Tanisha’s arms. Almost immediately, she knew she wanted to help other couples hoping to adopt.
In January, the El Dorado Hills nonprofit, Keegan’s Promise, opened its doors with a mission to assist couples with the costs of adoption, which can run between $30,000-$50,000. “The average household can never afford to adopt,” Tanisha says. “Some couples mortgage their homes or take out loans.” In May, the foundation held its kick-off fund-raiser and is now working with its first client. So far, to the Leer’s knowledge, Keegan’s Promise is the only agency offering financial help—money that goes directly to the service providers—that doesn’t have to be paid back.
The organization handles only domestic adoptions of newborns and requires couples pay part of the costs in order to help as many people as possible. Prospective parents begin with an online application and are evaluated by the foundation’s board. Drawing on her own experiences, Tanisha also counsels couples to help smooth the adoption process. Some of her suggestions include:
• Do a home study first. Adoption agencies must determine that your house is acceptable for a baby, and completing the study in advance will remove a possible roadblock later on. The studies are conducted by the county and valid for two years.
• Try to work with a private adoption attorney. “If you go to an agency,” Leer says, “you’re one of hundreds of applicants. With our private lawyer, we were one of 11.”
• Be aware, but not discouraged, that adoption is a gamble. Before the Leers got Keegan, they were promised a baby girl whose mother changed her mind. The money they’d spent was gone and the nursery they’d set up had to be redecorated, but they never considered giving up.
• Don’t let yourself think it won’t work out. “There will always be that one baby that’s there for you,” Leer promises. “It may take a roller coaster of ups and downs, but the baby that’s meant for you will find you. I believe that.”