Melanie and Greg Quackenbush met while in college, and after being married 5 years and struggling to conceive naturally, decided to pursue adoption. As Catholics and members of St. Charles Borromeo parish, they liked the guidance the Church offers on children and family life, so they contacted CSS Adoption because it aligned well with their values. They appreciated social workers being realistic about waiting time and potential issues as a mixed race couple in terms of preferences of a birth mother.

As it turned out, they adopted two baby boys in 4 years, both also being mixed race. Melanie recalls gratefully how “our social worker Ebony encouraged and supported us through the whole process, and other adoptive couples we met were so helpful. We knew that we had advocates for us who knew and cared about us. We were embraced as part of a larger Catholic family that helped us as we grew into a family with our own children.”