National Down Syndrome Adoption Network

What National Down Syndrome Adoption Network does

The National Down Syndrome Adoption Network (NDSAN) is a U.S. nonprofit founded in 1982 by Robin and David Steele, operating since inception as a fiscally sponsored program of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati (DSAGC). The organization's stated mission is to ensure that every child born with Down syndrome has the opportunity to grow up in a loving family. NDSAN explicitly positions itself as a 'connection point' rather than an adoption agency, facilitator, or attorney, and charges no fees for any of its services — all revenue derives from charitable donations routed through DSAGC. It maintains a registry of families who are home study-ready to adopt a child with Down syndrome, supports approximately 20–30 birth families annually in making adoption plans, and pairs them with pre-screened adoptive families across all 50 U.S. states.

NDSAN's service surface comprises a small set of core products and resources. The core product is the Adoptive Family Registry, which catalogs approved families and matches them with expectant parents considering adoption. Supporting products include counseling and educational services for expectant and new parents navigating a Down syndrome diagnosis, a foster-care resource listing children with Down syndrome awaiting adoption (sourced in part from weekly monitoring of Adopt US Kids), a medical-professional resource hub that distributes 'A Loving Choice: Adoption as an Option' (in English and Spanish) via Lettercase and partner channels, a 60-minute adoption process webinar, and family story resources coordinated with the National Down Syndrome Congress, Global Down Syndrome Foundation, Down Syndrome Pregnancy, and the National Parents First Call Center. There is no proprietary AI, software platform, or technology stack described in the source materials; operations are run by a two-person staff (Director Stephanie Thompson and Program Coordinator Molly Blaker) with direct phone, text, and email outreach, supported by organic social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram).

The business model is entirely nonprofit and donation-funded. NDSAN receives no fees from birth parents, adoptive families, medical professionals, or state agencies, and all finances are administered through DSAGC. Go-to-market motion is community-led and direct-to-consumer: referrals arrive through local Down syndrome associations nationwide, hospitals and medical professionals delivering diagnoses, state foster care caseworkers, organic social content, and direct inbound contact via a shared phone line (513-709-1751) and email ([email protected]). Customer segments comprise expectant/new parents navigating a Down syndrome diagnosis, adoptive families seeking children with Down syndrome, state agencies and foster care systems, medical professionals (obstetricians, pediatricians, genetic counselors), and adoption agencies; with the first two as primary. A disclosed outcome metric is that approximately half of expectant parents counseled ultimately choose to parent rather than pursue adoption, indicating the counseling function is itself a primary service rather than only a feeder to the registry.

Name

National Down Syndrome Adoption Network

Legal name

National Down Syndrome Adoption Network

Website

https://ndsan.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Down Syndrome Adoption Network is a Cincinnati-based nonprofit that operates a national registry of home study-ready adoptive families for children with Down syndrome, providing free counseling and resources to expectant and new parents, state foster care agencies, and medical professionals across all 50 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Needs Adoption Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Down Syndrome & Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Childcare (HSAAAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH), Assistive Technology & AAC for Young Children (EDACAFAL)

Keywords

• Special needs adoption
• Down syndrome advocacy
• Adoptive family registry
• Adoption counseling services
• Foster care adoption support

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Support: NDSAN charges no fees for services and is entirely supported by donations. Finances are run through the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati (DSAGC). Services are provided at no cost to both birth parents and adoptive families.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The National Down Syndrome Adoption Network (NDSAN) is a nonprofit adoption connection program that serves as a national "connection point" between expectant or new parents considering adoption plans for a child with Down syndrome and home study-ready adoptive families across the United States. It maintains a national registry of pre-screened adoptive families seeking to adopt children with Down syndrome, provides counseling, education, and emotional support to birth families, and advocates for children with Down syndrome in the foster care system. All services are provided at no cost to both expectant and adoptive families.

Product overview

The National Down Syndrome Adoption Network (NDSAN) is a non-profit adoption support organization that serves as a connection point between expectant/new parents and adoptive families for children with Down syndrome. The organization operates a family registry of home study-ready adoptive families, provides counseling and educational resources to expectant parents navigating a diagnosis, offers resources for medical professionals, and maintains listings of children with Down syndrome in foster care. The core service is the Adoptive Family Registry, supported by educational materials including the 'A Loving Choice: Adoption as an Option' booklet, a 60-minute adoption process webinar, and various Down syndrome educational resources. NDSAN does not charge fees for its services and is a program of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adoptive Family Registry

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately half of expectant/new parents who receive counseling from NDSAN ultimately decide to parent their child rather than make an adoption plan

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Penn Station East Coast SubsminorOthers · 1 January 2020Penn Station East Coast Subs is listed as generously supporting NDSAN. A news article from May 19, 2020 indicates a partnership between Penn Station East Coast Subs and NDSAN, with the sandwich chain supporting the organization through charitable contributions.
• Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati (DSAGC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1982Since its inception, the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network has been a program of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati (DSAGC). The founder of NDSAN, Robin Steele, was also one of the founding families of DSAGC in 1981. DSAGC provides significant logistical, supervisory, and financial support to NDSAN. To keep overhead down for NDSAN, all finances are completely run through DSAGC. Programmatically, NDSAN maintains great operational freedom while benefiting from DSAGC's infrastructure.
• Global Down Syndrome FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDSAN refers families to local Down syndrome associations through the Global Down Syndrome Foundation's directory of local organizations. The Global Down Syndrome Foundation also supports NDSAN's mission by directing families to their resources and connecting expectant parents with appropriate support organizations.
• Local Down Syndrome Associations (DSAs) NationwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDSAN maintains wonderful relationships with many local Down syndrome support groups across the United States. These DSAs provide expectant parent packets and medical outreach packets to hospitals, and NDSAN connects families with their local DSA for ongoing support. Many DSAs have a designated person who keeps expectant families' information confidential while providing peer support.
• National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDSAN refers families to National Down Syndrome Congress resources for accurate information about Down syndrome. NDSC's Pediatric Healthcare Guidelines and Growth Charts are recommended by NDSAN for families.
• National Parents First Call CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe National Parents First Call Center (part of the Maternal Detection Services Center) provides confidential, timely access to professionally-trained peer support parents of children with Down syndrome. NDSAN recommends this resource to expectant parents at no cost.
• Down Syndrome PregnancyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDown Syndrome Pregnancy offers accurate, balanced, and up-to-date books about Down syndrome available at no cost. NDSAN recommends these resources to expectant and new parents navigating a diagnosis.
• LettercaseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLettercase provides resources for medical professionals delivering a Down syndrome diagnosis. NDSAN's booklet 'A Loving Choice: Adoption as an Option' is available through Lettercase for distribution. Lettercase also created a page for medical professionals on delivering diagnoses respectfully.
• Down Syndrome Diagnosis NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network provides resources at no cost to medical professionals who serve prenatal families. NDSAN recommends this resource to expectant parents and medical professionals.
• Down Syndrome CollaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Down Syndrome Collaborative is a collaboration of top programs serving expectant and new parents of children with Down syndrome from pregnancy to age 3. NDSAN refers families to this resource for comprehensive support.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lifeline Children's Services: Faith-based adoption and family services organization with special needs adoption programs that overlaps with NDSAN's domestic special-needs adoption focus and serves many of the same adoptive family profiles.
• Nightlight Christian Adoptions: Adoption agency offering domestic, international, and special needs adoption programs including a Snowflakes program for prenatal matches — comparable to NDSAN's expectant-parent matching function but operating as a licensed agency rather than a free registry.
• Adopt US Kids: Federal photo-listing and adoption matching service operated in partnership with the Children's Bureau; NDSAN explicitly performs weekly searches of Adopt US Kids to identify children with Down syndrome in foster care, making it a direct operational peer in foster-care adoption.
• Bethany Christian Services: One of the largest U.S. adoption and foster care agencies offering domestic and special-needs adoption services for a fee; broader scope than NDSAN but competes for the same birth-family and adoptive-family relationships and is a downstream destination NDSAN coordinates with.

Direct peers

• National Down Syndrome Society: National advocacy organization for people with Down syndrome that overlaps with NDSAN's Down syndrome community reach and partnerships with medical professionals and expectant parents, though NDSS's scope is broader (policy, research, inclusion) rather than adoption-specific.
• National Down Syndrome Congress: National Down syndrome education and advocacy organization; NDSAN explicitly partners with NDSC and refers families to its Pediatric Healthcare Guidelines, making it a closely aligned peer in serving the Down syndrome expectant-parent ecosystem.
• Families Rising (formerly NACAC): Advocacy and support organization for adoptive, foster, and kinship families across North America; has formally recognized NDSAN for its advocacy work, indicating close mission alignment on adoption of children with special needs.
• Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network: Provides resources to medical professionals and new parents at the point of Down syndrome diagnosis; operates in the same expectant-parent funnel as NDSAN and is one of NDSAN's listed referral partners.
• Global Down Syndrome Foundation: Down syndrome research, medical care, and advocacy organization that operates a directory of local Down syndrome associations; NDSAN refers families to GDSF resources and GDSF routes families to NDSAN, making them reciprocal peers.

Emerging players

• Lettercase: Provides prenatal and postnatal Down syndrome resources for medical professionals delivering a diagnosis; NDSAN's 'A Loving Choice' booklet is hosted through Lettercase, making it a content and distribution partner in the same diagnosis-delivery funnel.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/dsadoption
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ndsan
• Instagraminstagram.com/ndsan321

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Down Syndrome Adoption Network