Burkhardt Family Adoption Relief Fund

The Burkhardts are like most families with 2 active boys, busy and loving. Papa Sean is a busy small business owner of a local dent removal company and Mama Carolyn, a former elementary school teacher, works part time managing a small business of her own while also caring for their young boys. Covid-19 shutdowns and economic slowdowns have affected Sean's business but they have been still able to make ends meet. The virus has posed a few challenges, but like other challenges they have faced in the past they are getting through this together. 

Not long ago, they received a call that changed everything. A family member was pregnant and wanted to put the baby up for adoption but was hopeful someone in the family may help. She would be having a baby girl, due in late August, just one state away. Sean and Carolyn talked about, thought about, but it wasn't a hard decision. They knew they wanted to welcome this baby into their family and their hearts. They hired a lawyer and with that, they thought they had started the process to legally adopt their new baby girl.

They started preparing their home, saving money for the adoption process, and preparing their boys for a new sister. They were already in love with this little bundle of joy who wasn't coming for a few more months! Finally, they announced the news to everyone in June. Shortly thereafter, they found out the baby wasn't coming in August but late July! Thankfully, Carolyn's a planner and most everything was in place including a name. But when Carolyn called the lawyer, everything started falling apart.

The lawyer had not researched the laws in the other state properly and the Burkhardts did NOT qualify for an in family adoption according to the state of the birth mother and the birth mother couldn't just come to California to have the baby. The Burkhardts would have to start the process from scratch, with a different lawyer and likely add an adoption agency, all while jumping through multiple more hoops (including home inspections, background checks, and more all of which can take months). To add insult to injury, the original adoption fees had skyrocketed to more than double what Sean and Carolyn had saved. This with only 14 days until the baby's due date. 

By no fault of their own, the Burkhardts, the birth mother who wants the Burkhardts to raise her child, and this nearly born baby are caught in red tape that could result in a foster care placement instead of a prepared loving family. The Burkhardts need these funds to offset the additional costs of adoption and hopefully help speed up the process that shouldn't have been affected in the first place. Please help this family bring this baby home and possibly avoid having this baby in a foster care placement.

BRING BABY GIRL BURKHARDT HOME!