ALLOUEZ, Wis. — Tara DeGrave has been working for the past 16 years to help people choose the right parenting plan for them.

That includes adoption.

What You Need To Know

  • Catholic Charities Of The Diocese Of Green Bay offers pregnancy support and adoption services

  • Staff anticipate more people will seek those services

  • The organization is working to make sure the community is aware of the help it provides​

 

In the wake of last week’s Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, De Grave said she expects the services of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay will be sought by more people.

“In particular those services to help men and women experiencing unexpected pregnancies with exploring their options of parenting and adoption and learning more information about what each plan would look like,” she said.

Help ranges from how to set up day care to adoption planning.

“That planning process would be the parents identifying and selecting an adoptive couple for their child, interviewing that couple and then creating an open adoption plan with that couple to have ongoing contact throughout the child’s life,” DeGrave said.

DeGrave said Catholic Charities has been preparing in recent weeks for the court’s decision and the anticipated increase in people seeking information and services.

“We are doing a lot of outreach in our community, just making sure people that we are here,” DeGrave said. “We’re here to offer assistance at any point in the journey: Whether they just found out they were pregnant or they’re about to deliver next week, or they have delivered their child... We’re here to support whatever plan they want for their child.”

The expected uptick is just that at this point— expected. DeGrave and staff haven’t seen an immediate impact from the ruling.

“It’s only been a few days,” she said. “We’re just preparing for it and making sure our community partners and the community at large know these services are here.”

DeGrave said connecting families is what brings her and other members of the staff back to work daily.

“It is a very humbling experience to walk along side and accompany people open a journey of creating a plan for their child, whether that’s parenting or adoption and supporting them in that decision,” she said.