Small Miracles Locates New Homes for Special Children

The Daily Oklahoman

Author: Bernice McShane

and

are in the business of implementing ""small miracles.''

The two Oklahoma City women own and operate a child-placement agency, which specializes in adoptions of children with special needs, such as mixed-race children, minority children and handicapped children.

They founded the non-profit agency, which they aptly named

, in the fall of 1985.

""Margaret and I had been doing volunteer work in adoption for a number of years,'' Nichols said. ""We looked around and decided there weren't a lot of adoption alternatives in Oklahoma for families who didn't qualify for one of the existing agencies.''

Orr added, ""We deal a lot in what we call non-traditional adoptions. By non-traditional, I mean families who don't fit into the "married for 10 years, absolutely infertile, middle-class white couples who want normal, healthy babies.'

""There are many families who don't fit into that little mold, but who are very good families and can provide very healthy homes.''

The women have placed infants born in Oklahoma but primarily work with international children.

""We can place children from virtually anywhere in the world,'' Nichols said. ""Our program in Guatemala probably is what we're most excited about right now. We're in the interesting position of having more babies than families. We need families for infants from Guatemala.''

The women have personal perspectives on international adoption. Nichols is the mother of two Korean children. Orr has one child by birth and six adopted children of Caucasian and Asian nationalities and is in the process of adopting an eighth child.

""Part of our strength is that we've been dealing with this for so long as parents and as volunteers that we developed quite a network of contacts,'' Nichols said.

""Also, I am an attorney, and I have worked in the adoption field since my graduation from law school. I also do some immigration law, so that gives us an advantage in dealing with the complicated legal issues that arise in international placements.

""Margaret brings years of knowing who was trustworthy in adoption circles around the country. She was president of the Oklahoma Council on Adoptable Children, and I sat on the state board of directors for a number of years.''

Small Miracles occupies no office space and employs no staff other than Orr and Nichols.

""We don't want families to have to spend money so that we can have lovely, posh offices or an executive secretary,'' Nichols said. ""That's not necessary, and we get a lot of satisfaction from having hands-on experience. We think our families like it when the program administrator and the executive director show up at the airport when their kids come in, rather than having somebody else do that.''

Orr and Nichols encourage their clients to make an ongoing commitment to what they call the ""ideal of adoption,'' rather than dealing only with individual circumstances.

""There has been an "ostrich syndrome,' where people say, "I'm going to adopt my child, take him home and now he's mine. Never mind the other children who don't have families,' '' Orr said.

""So one thing we do is ask our families to provide some ongoing commitment based on their particular abilities. We have people who have volunteered to answer the phone, type a newsletter, crochet booties and layette sets for premature babies in India. We think that gives a positive message to the adopted child about the value of that child's origin.''

Small Miracles imposes few limitations on potentially adoptive parents, Orr said.

""We try to screen people so that if they can physically, emotionally and financially nurture a child, we want them to be adoptive parents,'' Orr said. ""We try to find families for all the kids we know are out there.''