Utah Adoption Specialists

05/15/2026

It’s Featured Family Friday - where we share about one of the prospective adoptive families working with UAS. Meet The Crook Family They are home study approved and ready to adopt again!

Hi!! We’re Braden, Tessa, and Kayson 🤍
We’re so grateful (and excited!) to be on this journey again as we grow our family through adoption for the second time.

We both grew up in Herriman, Utah, and met back in 2018. After getting married in 2020, we stayed close to home—never more than about 30 minutes away—and built a life we truly love. Our home is full of laughter, energy, and lots of play.

Our days usually look like dance parties in the kitchen, games of “chase,” and whatever sport Kayson is currently loving (lately it’s baseball and soccer ⚾️⚽️). We love being outside—whether it’s swimming, bike rides, hiking, camping, or just going for a drive up in the mountains.

We are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and love spending time serving and being with the youth in our community.

Adoption has already blessed our lives in the most incredible way, and we feel so honored to be on this path again. We are committed to providing a home filled with love, stability, laughter, and support—a place where a child will always feel safe, cherished, and deeply valued.
We know this journey can come with many emotions and challenges, and we want you to know we see you, we care about you, and we pray for you daily 🤍

If you feel prompted to reach out, we would love to connect and get to know you.

With so much love,
Tessa & Braden

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms, including the Adoptive Mamas who we’ve had the honor of being part of your journey. 💐

05/08/2026

She made a decision with love.
She carries a grief that few understand.
She is a Birth Mother.
She is honored today.

For some Birth Moms, Mother’s Day is a difficult reminder, and a holiday she might embrace or maybe feel awkward about celebrating. To a birth mother who sees this post, we hope you feel seen and appreciated this weekend.

Ways to honor and acknowledge your child’s birth mother today and every day:
🌼 Write and send a meaningful card, letter, or text message.
🌼 Give flowers, jewelry or other thoughtful gifts.
🌼 Help your child create a craft or homemade card to gift her.
🌼 Speak positively about her role in your child’s story.
🌼 Say a prayer or light a candle in her honor.

05/05/2026

One week left ladies!! registration will close May 5th so get your tickets now!

05/05/2026

Congrats to two families on their recent placements of baby boys! 💙

The A Family received placement via private/independent match, and The B Family received placement via an agency.

No matter the path that is best for our families, we are privileged to help guide them at every stage of the journey!

05/01/2026

Thank you The Medrano Adoption Journey for your kind words! It’s been a joy to work with you! 💚

What a full-circle moment this feels like 🤍

Yesterday was our very last meeting with our caseworker, Kim… and it’s hard to even put into words what this moment means. Being at the end of this process feels so bittersweet.

When we started our adoption journey almost 3 years ago, the homestudy process felt terrifying. Putting your entire life out there for someone to evaluate and decide if you’re “ready” is such a vulnerable and overwhelming experience. I remember feeling so unsure of where to go or who to trust, knowing that decision would shape everything.

Then one day, I came across a beautiful family right here in our city who had just been approved. I reached out, congratulated them, and asked who they went through and they couldn’t say enough amazing things about Utah Adoption Specialists and their caseworker, Kim.

Fast forward to getting the call about our sweet baby girl… we immediately reached out, asked for Kim, and from that moment on, everything changed.

“Amazing” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Kim never felt like just a caseworker she felt like a friend walking alongside us. She is incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and truly cares. When we found out about Ivy, we had just 19 days before her due date to get everything ready… and Kim did everything she could to help us get approved in time so we could bring our baby girl home. No hesitation just a team ready to support us every step of the way.

What meant the most to us was not just how they showed up for us as adoptive parents, but how they showed up for Ivy’s incredible birth mom. That level of care and compassion on both sides is something we will always be grateful for.

It’s almost bittersweet to be at the end of this chapter because we truly loved working with Kim and Utah Adoption Specialists. While we are so excited to be fully approved and moving forward, we will absolutely miss them.

If you’re in this process and feeling scared or unsure of where to start I promis Utah Adoption Specialists will be one of the best decisions you can make 🤍

04/24/2026

Home Study Approved, Allen & Steph are ready to adopt. Get to know them!

Hi there! We’re Allen & Steph. We’ve been married for fifteen years and have built a cozy life rooted in faith, family, and friendship. Our path to parenthood hasn’t been easy, but it has shaped us into more patient and empathetic people and deepened our long-held desire to grow our family through adoption. We are open to any gender or race and are also open to multiples.

Most of our favorite moments are the simple ones we share - working on a project around the house and bringing our ideas to life, serving in our community and church, or winding down with a favorite show or movie at the end of the day. Sunday dinners with our families are one of our most loved traditions - a time to slow down, share a meal, play games and laugh together.

We also love to travel, whether it’s hiking in a National Park, exploring new places, or revisiting a favorite spot. Travel is more than sightseeing for us - it’s about learning, laughing and growing together. After any adventure, we’re always grateful to come home to the space we’ve poured our time, energy and love into - a home we’ve worked hard to make feel warm and comfortable, and one we’re ready to share with children.

To learn more about Allen and Steph, visit their profile here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xFoHmhsCUrVSHemkMcXdnoPtgM2Ic8kW/view?usp=drive_link

04/10/2026

At our recent education event, guest presenter Tara Romney Barber from Children’s Service Society of Utah shared an impactful presentation on the Trauma of Loss. While adoption can be beautiful, loss is at the core for all parties involved. Tara shared that when reading this quote aloud at another education event, an attendee audibly gasped upon hearing it. After checking in with this attendee after the session, they shared that for the first time as an adoptee, the quote fully encapsulated their experience.

As adoption professionals and adoptive families, we must realize that the adoptee is the center of the entire adoption process. However, the adoptee almost always has no say in decisions made on their behalf. Recognizing this loss is the first step to having a child-centered adoption.

04/03/2026

Our Home Study Approved Featured Family of the week is The Mansfield Family! Give them a follow and get to know them more below.

We are Trevin and Sara Mansfield! We live in a small town in Utah. We both come from big families and we see them often! We’ve been married for 2 years and have always wanted a family from the very beginning. This year we felt led to grow our family through adoption and cannot wait to see how it all unfolds! We are hoping to adopt an infant of any race or gender in the United States. We are so grateful to be on this journey!

Trevin has a BA in Psychology and teaches high school students about Jesus Christ. He will be pursuing a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy later this year. He comes from a family of 14 kids and loves basketball, hanging out with Sara, and fishing.

Sara has a cosmetology degree and works from home as a piano teacher and AR clerk. She loves baking sourdough bread, playing the piano, and watching movies/TV shows. She has 6 younger siblings and has always loved children. Her biggest dream her entire life has been to be a stay-at-home mom and she can’t wait for the day when that dream is fulfilled!

Together we enjoy playing card games, visiting family, cooking, and watching movies/TV shows. We are Christians and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. God is a big part of our lives and we owe everything to Him!

If you feel a connection to us, please reach out to get to know us more! You can learn more about us on Sara’s profile or Trevin’s profile . We look forward to getting to know you! Thank you!