[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 120 (Monday, September 10, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING IRIS M. ARCHER AS 2012 ANGELS IN ADOPTION HONOREE

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                           HON. AUSTIN SCOTT

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 10, 2012

  Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Iris M. Archer of Macon, GA, as a 2012 Angels in Adoption Honoree for 
her outstanding advocacy of adoption in the State of Georgia.
  Mrs. Archer is the founding director of Covenant Care Services, a 
statewide adoption agency based in Macon and serving all of Georgia. 
Mrs. Archer founded the organization and served as Executive Director 
from 1989 until her retirement in May 2011.
  Adoptive parents often endure a long journey that requires them to 
endure a great deal of sacrifice. Their journey begins long before they 
ever meet their bundle of joy and to prepare for this momentous 
occasion they often secure an advocate to help them navigate the 
arduous process. However, in the late 1980s, during a time when 
unplanned pregnancy was still very much considered shameful, one woman 
noticed that a very important player in this process often did not have 
a voice in the world of adoption. While adoptive parents were cooing 
over the new addition to their family with their advocates by their 
sides, the baby's birthmother was left by herself to overcome the 
sadness that often accompanies the difficult decision she made.
  Mrs. Archer felt that she could be that voice for the birthmother. 
Utilizing her degree in counseling and previous work experience for a 
national adoption agency, she set out on a mission to offer counseling 
and education to mothers of unplanned pregnancy and offered herself as 
an advocate for them all around the state. By 1989, her one-woman 
mission had grown into a full-time cause and Covenant Care Services was 
established. In that time, she worked to change general adoption 
practices to identify a triad that included separate advocates for the 
family, baby and birthmother. The triad's purpose was to alleviate 
conflict of interest and ensure that all parties are fully served.
  As the demand for their services increased around the state, Mrs. 
Archer began to expand the organization. By the mid-1990s Covenant Care 
had staff in five communities around the state and employed seventeen 
full-time staff members. At the insistence of Mrs. Archer, Covenant 
Care was built as an organization that depends on fundraising for two-
thirds of its annual budget. This means that the agency is not 
dependent on adoption revenue to operate. Not only does it allow the 
agency to offer some of the lowest adoption fees in the state but more 
importantly the ability to emphasize education and counseling for the 
mother without the pressure of being forced to choose adoption. 
Covenant Care's work has resulted in an average of 25 adoptions each 
year, nearly 600 adoptions since 1989.
  Iris Archer is a woman who simply saw a problem and dared to believe 
that she could do something about it, and something she did. Mr. 
Speaker, for her tireless devotion to the entire adoptive family, 
please join me in honoring Mrs. Iris M. Archer as a true ``Angel in 
Adoption.''

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