Colorful text on a black background reading "You could be a Forever Family."

about the forgotten adoption option

The Forgotten Adoption Option was founded by Marcy Bursac after her own experience adopting a sibling pair through the U.S. foster care system. Like many adults who feel called to adoption, she entered a process that was far more confusing, delayed, and opaque than she was led to expect.

Along the way, Marcy discovered a gap that affects thousands of families every year: while public awareness efforts encourage adoption from foster care, many adults who raise their hand never receive clear guidance—or are redirected into foster parent licensing even when adoption is their specific goal. This disconnect leaves adults discouraged and children, including sibling groups, waiting longer for permanent families.

The Forgotten Adoption Option exists to address that gap.

As a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the organization provides practical, research-informed resources that help adults understand where adoption through foster care is possible, what steps are required, and how to navigate the system with clarity and honesty. Its work focuses on education, guidance, and culture change—helping adoption move from awareness to action.

Programs and resources include a free adoption planning app, books for adults and children, a nationally distributed reading program for schools, a monthly podcast, and public-facing tools designed to reduce friction and misinformation in the foster care adoption process. Through this work, more than 12,000 prospective adoptive parents across the United States have been supported.

The Forgotten Adoption Option operates as a social enterprise, with funding supported through a combination of individual donations, grants, and earned revenue from books, courses, and mission-aligned products.

about the founder, Marcy Bursac

Smiling woman sitting on stairs, wearing a white sleeveless top, blue jeans, and black accessories.

Adoption was her Plan A.

Marcy Bursac is a nationally recognized foster care adoption advocate, author, podcaster, and researcher. She is an adoptive mom to siblings and the creator of the Foster Care Adoption Awareness Reading Program.

Her advocacy has been featured nationally, including on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she announced the winner of the Pilot Pen G2 Overachievers Grant in October 2023. She has been recognized as an Angels in Adoption® honoree by Senator Roy Blunt through the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, named the 2025 Missouri Mother of the Year®, crowned United States of America’s Mrs. Ohio 2022, and selected as an Invested Faith Fellow.

Marcy’s work is shaped by her lived experience navigating the foster care adoption process, years of coaching adults through adoption, and national research examining the barriers families face when attempting to adopt children waiting in the U.S. foster care system.

If you’re feeling confused, discouraged, or unsure whether adoption through foster care is even possible, you’re not alone. I’ve been there and this work exists to help you find a clear next step.

LinkedIn logo, black "in" letters on white background
Two-story house with symmetrical design, large windows, and front entrance
Black silhouette of a rabbit or bunny with long ears facing left.
  • Two people wearing matching gray shirts with 'ADOPT' printed on them, smiling and pointing at each other, standing in front of a plain background.
  • Three women standing and holding a large novelty check for $100,000 on the set of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
  • Person smiling and holding three books about adoption: "The Forgotten Adoption Option," "Are You a Forever Family?," and "What to Know When You Adopt Through Foster Care." Background is yellow. Person is wearing a gray t-shirt with "ADOPT" written on it.
Woman wearing a tiara and a "Mrs. Ohio" sash, smiling, in a strapless black sequined dress.

Without prior experience, Marcy crowdfunded, acquired the wardrobe, and sough pageant coaching to shine a national light on waiting children.
She placed in the Top 16 at nationals and won the Mrs. People’s Choice award with an unprecedented 6,000 votes—more than six times the previous record.

read more about the story in her chapter in “Intention” available on Amazon.

"As a person (child) who bounced from house to house, I love what you are doing. I know how it is to feel unwanted."

- Steve

Illustration of a person with two children outdoors, framed with a colorful polka dot border. The person has purple hair and wears a pink polka-dotted shirt, while the children are dressed in striped and plaid clothing. The background features green hills and clouds in a blue sky.

Meet the board

Man with beard wearing blue shirt and black apron, standing indoors.

Nathan Bursac
Adoptive Dad

Portrait of a woman with long brown hair wearing a golden shirt, looking directly at the camera, set against a warmly lit indoor background.

Keely Buchanan
Adoption Ally

Woman smiling with red flower in hair, wearing coral necklace and gold earrings.

Diane Fleetwood
Adoptee

Cartoon illustration of a family with four members, including two adults and two children, all smiling.

Want to hear more about my adoption journey?

I’ve been where you are and I wrote down my real experience walking through the foster care adoption process in my blog. I’ve also had the incredible opportunity to interview many others who have walked a similar journey or experienced adoption themselves on my podcast.

Have more questions? Just reach out!

READ MY BLOG
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST

This work is part of a broader national conversation. Media coverage lives at It’s Okay to Talk About Adoption.