News & Impact

For decades, JFCS’ Adoption Connection has been a national leader in domestic open adoption. With the upcoming launch of our new surrogacy program, JFCS will be a unique family building center, providing education, expertise, and compassionate support for two popular paths to parenthood. Below, read the heartwarming first-hand experiences of new families Adoption Connection has helped grow. Mischa and Lillie “We’re so grateful to Adoption Connection for being there for us! Their encouragement to keep showing up led us to life with Felix, which we wouldn’t trade for anything.” We knew we wanted to adopt, and got started in the… Read More

by Michelle Nobriga, JD, MBA, Director of JFCS’ Adoption Connection For many aspiring same-sex parents, the path to building a family through open adoption was once littered with discriminatory, out-of-state legal barriers. Couples were often forced to make the heartbreaking decision of which partner would adopt as a single parent first, with the other initially labeled as their “roommate” on paperwork. The emotional turmoil was agonizing but accepted as the only option at the time. However, for some lucky couples in San Francisco, hope emerged when the city briefly issued same-sex marriage licenses in 2004. This move would eventually be… Read More

Candace Sue and Rob Hofmeister knew their second adoption might come with some challenges. The couple adopted their daughter, Violet, nine years ago and were prepared for the occasional hiccups that can come with the adoption process. What the couple didn’t anticipate was that their adoption would involve a 1,700-mile road trip during a global pandemic. All the preparations had been made, and the family’s home study completed, when the shelter-in-place requirement went into effect. It was then, in late March, that the Bay Area family received a call from JFCS’ Adoption Connection that put them in touch with a… Read More

While the road to equality for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) has been a long one, for over 30 years JFCS has been breaking ground by supporting families of all kinds to grow their families by adoption. JFCS continues to work and advocate for LGBTQ+ adoptive families’ legal rights—both in the United States and in Israel. JFCS’ Adoption Connection Receives Prestigious Award from Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Back in the 80s, while the public and elected officials were busy debating the merits of adoptions by queer families, JFCS’ Executive Director Dr. Anita Friedman began… Read More

J Weekly By Rob Gloster Bay Area rabbis, political and community leaders are among 200 Jewish individuals and organizations across North America condemning the Israeli government’s “callousness and ignorance” in making it harder for same-sex couples to adopt children. The public letter released on July 25 was organized by A Wider Bridge, the San Francisco-based organization that supports the LGBT community in Israel. Signatories included Hillel International, leaders of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Union of Reform Judaism, prominent Jewish LGBT leaders and over 60 U.S. rabbis. Fifty-four local Jewish leaders signed the letter, including state Sen. Scott… Read More

JFCS’ adoption program, Adoption Connection, has been placing babies into adoptive families’ homes successfully for over three decades and the program has recently widened its service eligibility—opening its doors to families who want to adopt and reside anywhere in the United States. Previously Adoption Connection required that adoptive families live within one of 19 Northern California Counties. Using the latest marketing strategies to locate birthmothers who want to make an adoption plan and by providing exceptional counseling to expectant mothers, Adoption Connection has established a reputation as a premiere adoption agency. And since adoptive parents do not need a… Read More