Pacific Island Times Vol 4 No. 1 January 2020 | Page 5

Brief Chat
Lori Boss & Traci Anderson
Offering ‘a compassionate choice’
T
he number of children waiting
to be adopted has dramatically
risen in recent years. There are
280 children currently living in Guam’s
foster care homes, according to the
Archdiocese of Agana.
Ohala’ Adoptions, Guam’s first adop-
tion agency, builds a bridge between
families looking to adopt and children
in need of homes. And amid the re-
curring debate on abortion, the agency
also provides a “compassionate choice”
for young single mothers who are not
ready to raise a family.
Ohala’ Adoptions Agency, which
opened its doors in September, was
conceptualized by Lori Boss, a certified
birth doula.
By Phillip V. Cruz, Jr.
A doula is as a person trained to
guide and support a woman or the
couple – even family and friends --
through childbirth and post-natal care
as needed, and as well, other health-re-
lated experiences, such as miscarriage,
stillbirth and death.
“I was thinking about going to the
different shelters to inquire, and actu-
ally, I was praying about it,” said Boss,
executive director at Ohala’. “…what
to do and where to go. I felt impressed
that I should start an adoption agency.”
Boss wanted to offer free services
to single and struggling mothers who
have no support. Over lunch with
friends Traci Anderson and Kelley
Larsen, she mentioned her desire to
start an adoption agency. Anderson and
Kelley quickly got on board.
Ohala’ Adoptions went from a dream
to reality. “We received a wonderful
reception,” said Anderson, the agency’s
co-director.
Ohala’ Adoptions provides consult-
ing services and offers advice to those
who want to adopt, and those looking
to put a child up for adoption. The
agency is building a list of potential
foster families on Guam and off-is-
land. A pregnant woman choosing this
option would get a copy of the list, and
interview the best candidates. From
there, she would choose the family she
feels to be the best fit for her baby.
“It isn’t quite the severing of ties
as it used to be,” Boss said. There are
some mothers who want to keep in
touch with their child, either through
e-mail and pictures, while there are
those who want to be more hands-on,
she added.
Anderson said Guam law allows
parents to reconnect with their child,
or children. “But there is a time limit
for that,” she said. “(Our) next goal is
to get this partnership with the De-
partment of Public Health and Social
Services.”
Ohala’ plans to build a partnership
with DPHSS through a memorandum
of understanding to facilitate the adop-
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