A Step Ahead Adoption guides you every step of the way in the process of adding to your family. Our consultants have all walked a mile in your shoes as adoptive parents themselves. We know how to make sense of it all by answering all your questions, and providing support in numerous ways. We believe adoptions should be a pleasant experience and the beginning of many great memories as you begin your journey. A Step Ahead Adoption was created from experience to facilitate the education of adoptive parents.

Our clients are regular people who have decided to share their lives with a child via adoption. That decision is easy, it comes from the heart. The hard part is navigating through information and connecting the endless sea of dots. Some have started the process on their own and hit a wall. Others have just made the decision and want to learn terminology, and where to begin.

We offer a free information packet to help start your journey on the right foot. Once you decide to sign up for our services we give you video guidance, phone/email support, we are adding classes, workshops to our site, and so much more.

I am so happy to share our story with you. I was just telling my husband that I wish everyone considering adoption knew how different it is now compared to the old stereotypes I had in my mind.

My first piece of advice is…don’t try to do it w/o Step Ahead. It is overwhelming enough. Having them keep us organized, guiding us through it, kept my sanity intact. Teri Heidemann is a super hero to my husband and I. We always knew, and still do, that whatever happens with the adoption she will be there to say ‘It’s OK, here’s what we need to do”.

Our adoption is almost final now. We are just waiting on a court date in NC. We first spoke with Teri last April. She came to our home and explained how things worked. By May we had found a way to fund the adoption and called Teri back to get started. She told us everything we needed to do & how to do it. We started our home study in July and had the official home study report by August 1st. While we were going through our home study process I was also working on our family profile (Teri showed us examples of these and gave us a guide as to what to include). So, by the time our home study was finished our profile was ready to go out to potential birth moms. We were very lucky. We got a call around the middle of August about a birth mom and sent our profile to her on a Monday. By Thursday of that week we had a match. The birth mom had selected us!

From there things seemed to go very fast. In September we took a trip to Ohio to visit our birth mom, meet her other children and go with her to the ultrasound. We found out together that we were having a baby boy! Her due date was 1/1/07, but Nathan wanted to get here a little quicker. We got the call to get there on December 6th and we were holding him by December 7th. We got there in time to be with the birth mom during his birth! Nathan left the hospital with us and we were home in time for his first Christmas. A year ago I thought it could take years and years to have the family we dreamed of, but with Teri’s help, one year later we are getting our son’s first portraits done and are not able to walk through our house w/o stepping on a toy! I wish you all the luck in the world and hope that by this time next year you are covered in drool : ) If you have any questions I am here! Good luck

Laura Greene

North Carolina

We have nothing but great things to say about A Step Ahead Adoption Services. We really debated about whether we needed them or whether we could do it on our own. Now, looking back, there is no way we would have our beautiful little baby in such a short amount of time (7 months) if we had not hired ASA. They were helpful in so many ways: (1) Helping us get organized and moving (2) Recommending agencies (3) Presenting adoption cases to us and keeping us updated on cases when the agencies were too busy to call us (4) Supporting us through a failed adoption by providing us with names of others who had experienced failed adoptions and (5) Supporting us through placement and helped us jump over the “bumps in the road”. We cannot say enough. We often say that hiring A Step Ahead was the best money we spent. We told Diane and crew that we really felt by the end of the process, they did not charge nearly enough for all the services they provided. We truly believe we got a bargain!

Adam & Teresa

South Carolina

From our Facebook Feed

We just heard from an alumni family who were contacted by their daughter's birth mother through their attorney. They hustled out to AZ for the placement of a sister! Welcome home to this family of 4 ... CONGRATULATIONS to the Big Sis 🙂 ... See MoreSee Less
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Winter love for one darling ME couple who will meet their newest member this December. Sending long distance hugs to them today! ... See MoreSee Less
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Sending love and congratulations to one WI family who brought their baby girl home just in time to meet her big sister💗 before she headed back to school. They joined us less than 1 year ago, finished their home study, profile and started submitting to the various opportunities sent to ASA. They matched and are home with their precious daughter in 1 year or less! ... See MoreSee Less
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Love continued .... "Howdy Baby" .... and here is that precious boy all bundled up and the pride of his new parents! We are over the moon with love for this new family of 3! ... See MoreSee Less
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We have fantastic news! An NC client family just took placement of their precious baby boy! They were long-waiting and patient, trusting the process "every step of the way". Sending all our love to our newest family of three. 💙 ... See MoreSee Less
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Help us say WELCOME HOME to a BIG (9 lb+) baby boy born in our client family's home state of SC. They had the privilege of being present at his birth and built a lovely relationship with his birth mother. We are so delighted for this arrival! ... See MoreSee Less
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It is alumni time!!! What a wonderful family who traveled from FL to CO ten years ago to take placement of their sweet baby girl. Photo #1 is "the moment" they met their daughter. Photo #2 is a 10-year old visiting her hospital birth place in CO. What a great way to celebrate🎉 ... See MoreSee Less
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HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY!On September 10th, Grandparents Day provides a cherished opportunity to honor the wisdom, love, and enduring connections shared between generations. This special day celebrates the invaluable role that grandparents play in the lives of families worldwide. It's a time to express gratitude for the wealth of experience they offer, the stories they tell, and the unconditional love they provide. As we mark Grandparents Day, let us recognize and appreciate the vital bridge between generations that grandparents represent, fostering a sense of unity, heritage, and the timeless bond that enriches our lives.Celebrate holidays 365 with us ...because Every Day is A Holiday!#holidaychannel #grandparents #holidays365 #grandparentsday #everydayisaholiday #familymembers #holidayhappiness365 #generationallove #holidayhappiness #familyconnections #celebrateholidays365 ... See MoreSee Less
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One lovely OH couple who have been in the process for a few years, realized their patience paid off! Chosen by an expectant mom with a baby due this Fall. Sending them love & light! 💛 ... See MoreSee Less
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We are so thankful and excited to celebrate our 24 years of service to adoptive families throughout our country! Today we send our BIG LOVE to over 2,000 families who have brought their children home through the miracle of adoption. Thanks to all the wonderful social workers, agencies, attorneys and professionals who have referred clients our way. A huge thank you to all the consultants who have worked with us and our client families over the years. Feeling so blessed to be able to be a small part in each adoption journey. 💗💙👣🎉 ... See MoreSee Less
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From VT they traveled to the southwestern US to find their precious daughter. Big brother was waiting to love and hug his baby sister. Home and happy, we send our warmest wishes to this great family of 4! ... See MoreSee Less
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Happy & ready to ride! Congratulations to this precious TN couple on the placement of their precious baby boy. Patient and trusting the process they did ... took a year of submitting their profile until the expectant mom found them and said YES to their family. So thankful for folks who understand that the reward is worth the wait!🎉👣 ... See MoreSee Less
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Congratulations to another NC family who brought home their precious son and are enjoying life as a family of THREE. BIg love to you all 💙 ... See MoreSee Less
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We are sending BIG HUGS and much love to a NC single mom chosen by an birth mother of a toddler boy! These two will be the perfect pair to walk through life together. Already enjoying playgrounds while they wait for their approval to come home .... forever! ... See MoreSee Less
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What a great opportunity for our Adoption coach, Gia, to connect with her client family from Maine. It is once in a “blue moon” ( literally we just had one) that we have the opportunity to meet our clients in person. What a joy it was to help this family fulfill their dreams of parenthood through Adoption!  ... See MoreSee Less
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We are so thankful and excited to celebrate our 24 years of service to adoptive families throughout our country! Today we send our BIG LOVE to over 2,000 families who have brought their children home through the miracle of adoption. Thanks to all the wonderful social workers, agencies, attorneys and professionals who have referred clients our way. A huge thank you to all the consultants who have worked with us and our client families over the years. Feeling so blessed to be able to be a small part in each adoption journey. 💗💙👣🎉 ... See MoreSee Less
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Let's hear it for the girls! Our third family to bring home their precious pink bundle this week 😉 So delighted for this Iowa family who had a previous loss and listened, waited and hoped for their precious daughter to join their family. Congratulations! ... See MoreSee Less
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Another precious baby girl! Born in the State of Georgia and the adored daughter of her new parents. They were patient and positive waiting for their baby to find them in their home state! Big Love to this newest family of 3 😍 ... See MoreSee Less
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Look at this precious dimpled baby girl! We were so excited to welcome a wonderful family from Maine last fall 2022. They put their trust in our process and are now holding their baby girl, born in FL, where they are cuddled together waiting out their first hurricane together. Much love to this lovely family💗 ... See MoreSee Less
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"Then" and "now" ... here we have one of our world-traveling families who graced us with their adoption photo and some current pics of their terrific family. We first met when they were stationed in HI (yes, a military family) and we followed them to AL, DC and now Germany!!! They adopted their son while they transitioned from HI to AL and we have stayed in touch all these years. Please enjoy celebrating with this happy family of four 😉If you are an ASA alumni family seeing these posts ... please know we would love to celebrate your family and your adoption as well. Please email your "then" and "now" pics to: dianehogan@astepaheadadoption.com ... See MoreSee Less
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Hello handsome young man! Thanks to his family for sharing his "then" and "now" photos.In his mother's words: "Our son was born 5/5/04. He is now a cadet in the United States Coast Guard Academy. He will be playing soccer for them in the fall. Semper Paradis! Go Bears! 💙 🧡" ... See MoreSee Less
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More fun photos from our Alums! THEN ...."Greetings from Jacksonville, we adopted our first baby in 2016 (left Florida just before hurricane Matthew made landfall and got to San Diego just in time for his birth.We decided to work with you again 2020/2021, but got the call from our home stud y provider about a safe haven placement here in town. Our second baby was born 9 wks early and in the NICU for 42 days. He weighed less than 3 lbs at birth…but you wouldn’t know it to look at him today!"NOW ... a beautiful family of 4 growing and extending their family roots! ... See MoreSee Less
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A wonderful TX family were chosen by an expectant mom in their home state. They are patiently waiting for baby to arrive before the end of the year! So thrilled for them, congratulations!! ... See MoreSee Less
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