About Amara
“We have been committed to finding permanence for infants, children and youth since our beginning in 1921 as a traditional orphanage called Medina Baby Home,” -John Morse, Executive Director of Amara. Read John’s “Welcome to Amara” message.
For 90 years, Amara has been providing services to families and children. Throughout our history we have developed pioneering programs to meet the changing needs of our community’s children, youth and families. Our mission is to create and support stable, loving homes for vulnerable children. And our vision and wish for the future is “A Home for Every Child.”
Amara is an independent, nonprofit organization in the State of Washington and was formerly known as Medina Children’s Services.
Our services today
- Adoption of children from Washington state foster care (foster-to-adopt) and of infants relinquished directly to Amara (private adoption). We follow a thorough and thoughtful process to ensure quality placements for every child.
- All-options pregnancy counseling and parenting support for birth parents facing an unintended or unwanted pregnancy. We offer free, non-judgmental, confidential guidance and we support birth parents no matter which decision they make.
Our values
Our values are a critical part of who we are as an organization and they guide us every day.
- We work in partnership with families on behalf of children.
- We focus primarily on the well-being of each child.
- We believe that children thrive in secure and nurturing permanence.
- We respect and embrace differences in abilities, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and perspective.
- We operate with professional and personal integrity, maintaining high standards.
Amara History
Medina Baby Home
1921
Amara was established in 1921 as Medina Baby Home, a traditional orphanage. The following year, the agency became affiliated with the newly-chartered Seattle Community Chest, known today as United Way of King County.
Medina Children's Services
1947
Amara, formerly known as Medina Children’s Services, pioneered efforts to find permanent homes for “harder-to-place” children, including sibling groups, children of color, and older children. The agency gained a reputation as a child-centered adoption agency.
African American adoptive family
1960
Amara initiated a three-year project to increase adoption opportunities for African American children. Amara also began placing children for adoption with single parents as one of the first adoption agencies to do so.
In the same period, Amara initiated a study that pointed to the value of early intervention with troubled families, to decrease the risk of abuse and improve parenting skills. This study contributed to the passage of legislation affecting the lives of children and families, including a landmark child abuse statute
Teen mom with her daughter
1970
In the 1970s, Amara began providing comprehensive, school-based services for teen mothers.
Nearly 25% of our families are LGBT
1980
As the first private adoption agency in Washington State, Amara began facilitating adoptions by gay and lesbian parents, resulting in a strong presence within the LGBT community today.
Project Mister
1989
Amara initiated Project Mister to help teen males at risk of dropping out of school, incarceration, and violence by providing counseling, case management, and job preparation.
Stella Mae Carmichael with Adam Cornell
2008
Amara established the Stella Mae Carmichael award in honor of its namesake, Ms. Stella Mae Carmichael ofBellingham, who served as foster parent to hundreds of children of all ages during her lifetime. Each year, Amara honors a foster or foster-to-adopt family, who opened their hearts and homes in an especially kind and selfless way to children in foster care.
