Chelsey Huber, left, and Marlys Ubben, right, both work at the New Horizons Adoption Agency in Blue Earth.

It has been over 15 years since New Horizons Adoption Agency moved their offices to Blue Earth and more than 30 years since the agency began in Buffalo Center, Iowa, before moving to Frost and finally to Blue Earth in 2007.

There have definitely been many changes through the years but the agency’s commitment to children and families remains as strong as ever.

“Our role is not to convince pregnant women to do a placement but to give them a realistic idea of what it is to be a parent or do a placement,” New Horizons Agency director Marlys Ubben says. “Our goal is to provide options that give life to children.”

Fifteen years ago New Horizons Agency was placing about 70 children in homes each year.

“This year we will place 12 to 14 children through our international program and close to 12 domestically,” Ubben notes. “Many international programs have closed and so the numbers have decreased dramatically.”

One reason for fewer foreign adoptions is because a number of countries have not joined the Hague Adoption Convention Process.

“The Hague Process is an international treaty providing important safeguards to protect the best interests of children, birth parents and prospective adoptive parents involved in intercountry adoptions,” Ubben explains. “Also, some countries do not want to be seen as being too poor to take care of their own children. Add in other political factors and the end result has been fewer international adoptions.”

One foreign country where New Horizons Agency is making a difference is Liberia, where the agency opened the International New Horizons Children’s Home, an orphanage for children.

“Liberia is one of the poorer countries in Africa,” Ubben comments. “Many children are without parents or they have one parent who is incapable of caring for the child.”

The New Horizons Children’s home is one of two United States agencies licensed to work in Liberia.

“One of the requirements Liberia had in order to operate an adoption service in their country was for us to have and operate our own home in the country,” Ubben says. “We own the land, employ the staff and own the buildings. We are fortunate to have a benefactor who sends shipping containers to Liberia and allows our agency to put our supplies in the containers and ship the supplies for free.”

She says the orphanage is making a difference.

“Most of the children who come to the home have a certain degree of malnutrition,” Ubben shares. “When they come to the orphange they receive three meals a day plus snacks and medical care. After one month it is hard to recognize many of the children because their health and nutrition has improved so much.”

The story of how the agency’s work in Liberia came to be is quite interesting.

“I had been told there was someone I should meet, that this person had an interest in Liberia and together we could maybe make something happen,” Ubben says. “Well, life got busy and it had been a year and we still had not met. I was flying out to a conference in Denver and settled in my seat and had a nice talk with the lady sitting next to me. We did not realize it right away but we were the two people who were supposed to meet. It turns out we were both heading to the same conference.”

And, the rest, as they say, is history.

Ubben has traveled to Liberia a number of times but has not been to the country since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liberia is not the only international country where New Horizons operates.

“We do not go to every country and we do not try to go to every country,” Ubben comments. “We go where we feel we are called, and that includes the local area.”

Ubben and her husband, Verlyn, have adopted three children themselves.

“We had three kids, adopted three kids and had three other kids who lived with us,” she says smiling. “I always had an interest in adoption. I was a business teacher but had taken classes in social work. I saw a need for a faith-based agency which wasn’t located in the metro area.”

There are three types of adoptions, according to Ubben. An open adoption is one where everyone knows each other and the birth mother stays in contact with the family, and can even visit them. Closed adoption means that there are no follow up contacts. The third type is a semi-open adoption where the last name of the birth mother and family is used, and no addresses are exchanged. Information is exchanged through the agency.

“There are very few closed adoptions anymore,” Ubben mentions. “The trend is definitely more towards open adoptions. This can be a good thing for the child because they can access their medical history. And it is a way for the birth parent to be reminded of the positive step they took for their child.”

Ubben notes those seeking the agency’s services range from those who are poor to preacher’s daughters.

“Many referrals to our agency come from girls we have worked with in the past,” she says. “One thing we preach to the girls is that we will never lie to them. They may not like what we say, but we won’t lie. Some of the girls have never had that kind of honesty in a relationship.”

As a faith-based operation, Ubben says they survive off of donations and by having churches which support them.

“We provide a variety of services. We hold retreats for birth mothers, both during their pregnancy and after they give birth,” she comments. “We also provide counseling and will help birth mothers by providing anything from gas cards to housing to gift cards to buy food. We also have volunteers who will take the girls to their doctor appointments.”

New Horizons Adoption Agency operates, and is licensed in, three states – Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota.

“The adoption process has become more complicated and a lot more expensive,” Ubben explains. “We are here to provide for those people who have a need and help whatever kids need assistance. It would be great if our services were never needed, but there has always been that need.”

She sums up New Horizons’ mission with the same words she has used for many years.

“We believe that adoption is not giving up a child,” Ubben states. “It is giving a child a future. It is sacrificial love to place a child for adoption. And, we do not want to forget this sacrifice they have given.”