The Cradle

Since opening in 1923, The Cradle has facilitated over 16,000 domestic and international adoptions and has been at the forefront of open adoption, African American infant adoption, and LGBTQ+ placements. Our team of social workers, counselors, and education and outreach staff offer ethical, inclusive, and lifelong support to tens of thousands of people touched by adoption, including birth parents, adopted persons, and adoptive parents. Services include options counseling for women facing unplanned pregnancies, placement services, pre- and post-adoption education, an adoption-competent clinical therapy program, post-adoption services to provide information about and/or connect individuals with birth relatives, as well as training for prospective adoptive parents and professionals through Adoption Learning Partners (ALP). The Cradle is the only adoption agency in the country with an on-site nursery, a safe, neutral place for infants to stay while their parents take the time they need to decide if adoption will be the plan for this child.