Brings clarity
To the options, the questions, and the next steps, in plain language and at your pace.
Adoption Consulting
You don’t have to navigate adoption alone.
Adoption Harborlight is personal guidance for hopeful families. Clear next steps, honest answers, and someone steady beside you from the first question to the day you finalize.
Free 15-minute call · No obligation · Serving families nationwide
Guiding you with clarity,every step of the way.
You do not have to know everything at once.You only need a supported next step.
The Harborlight approach
Meet your guide
Hi, I’m Colleen.
I started Adoption Harborlight because I remember exactly how it felt to want a child more than anything and have no idea where to begin. I dreamed about adoption since high school, struggled with infertility, and finally came back to the plan I had carried all along. The process was confusing and lonely, and I kept wishing someone would walk it with me. I learned it the hard way so you do not have to.
Background
- Adoptive mother
- Licensed Professional Counselor (Michigan)
- Trauma and child development training
What an adoption consultant does
Four things I do, every single time
Adoption is a process built out of dozens of decisions. My job is to make sure you understand each one before you make it.
Creates a plan
Shaped around your family, your circumstances, and the adoption pathway you choose.
Connects the pieces
Education, resources, preparation, and referrals to trusted licensed professionals.
Stays beside you
Through decisions, waiting, changes, and the milestones that matter most.
Worth saying plainlyA consultant does not replace a licensed agency, attorney, court, medical provider, or financial professional, and cannot guarantee a placement or a timeline. Knowing where my role ends is part of how I protect yours.
The heart of the role
“A consultant helps you feel informed, organized, supported, and less alone.”
My commitments to you
Ethics before speed
Expectant parents deserve counseling, independent legal advice, time, and freedom from pressure. A faster process is not a better one.
Adoptees are the point
I keep learning from adoptees and birth and first parents, not only from professionals. A child’s story belongs to them.
Honest numbers
I would rather tell you an uncomfortable truth about cost or timing early than let you discover it after you’ve signed.
Clear limits
I will tell you plainly when a question belongs to your attorney, agency, doctor, or accountant, and help you ask them well.
What working together looks like
A clear rhythm for moving forward
We keep the process personal, manageable, and connected to the professionals responsible for your adoption pathway.
- 01
Listen & personalize
We begin with your hopes, priorities, questions, and current season. Not a template.
- 02
Prepare with intention
We turn what you’ve learned into clear, realistic next steps you can actually take this month.
- 03
Navigate the process
We organize the information, the resources, the paperwork, and the hard conversations.
- 04
Stay connected
We check in, adjust the plan, and make room for questions as the journey changes.
“Adoption can hold love, joy, grief, uncertainty, and change... all at the same time.”
From the Adoption Starter Guide
Your path at a glance
Five phases, one steady course
Adoption rarely moves in a perfect straight line. These phases are intentionally broad, and we adjust them to fit your family and your pathway.
Prepare
Complete the foundational work for your chosen path.
Become ready
Wrap up approvals, materials, and practical preparation.
Wait & connect
Stay grounded while opportunities and relationships unfold.
Welcome & transition
Focus on the immediate needs of placement and adjustment.
Finalize & grow
Complete remaining steps and build support for the years ahead.
A free Harborlight resource
The Adoption Starter Guide
A calm, clear place to begin.
Six short sections covering the main adoption pathways, how to interview professionals, what the home study really involves, how to build a realistic budget, the human side of adoption, and a first-30-days checklist.
- Start with the path, not the paperwork
- Choose the right professionals
- Begin your home study
- Build the real budget
- Prepare for the human side
- Your first 30 days
Let’s find your next right step.
A free introductory call is a conversation, not a commitment. Bring your questions, even the ones you’re not sure how to ask yet.