Welcome

 Hello!!

My name is Crystal Baird, and I truly enjoy completing adoption home studies, custody evaluations, court investigations, and other court-related services for courts throughout Texas. Before we discuss the “how and why,” I want to share a little about myself. I live in Fort Worth, Texas, and work in more than 70 counties, including Tarrant, Parker, Wise, Dallas, Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman, Harris, Hunt, Collin, Bexar, Ellis, Johnson, Erath, Palo Pinto, Galveston, Corpus Christi, and Hood, among others. I have traveled across Texas and to other states to conduct adoption home studies and custody evaluations. I am married to a wonderful man, and we have two children: a strong, beautiful daughter who loves volleyball and a handsome son who plays golf. As a family, we enjoy going to the lake, watching movies, swimming, and eating the delicious BBQ chicken my husband grills. I hold a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and a Ph.D. in Forensic Psychology.

You may be wondering how and why I began completing adoption home studies. It started in 2016, when my husband and I decided to make our already beautiful family a forever family. After we hired our attorney, he told us we needed an adoption home study, so we contacted the evaluator he recommended and scheduled an appointment. She sent me a long list of requirements, and a few weeks later, she was knocking on our door. A few months after that, we were in court with our friends and family, asking the judge to grant our petition for a stepparent adoption. Yes, the picture on this page is from our FOREVER adoption day. It is blurry because it was taken on my phone, but it remains my absolute favorite picture.

I share this because I have been in your shoes. I have cried tears of fear and worry, questioned my decision, and felt overwhelmed by the paperwork we had to provide to our adoption evaluator. I have also had a stranger sit in my living room, walk through my home, take photos, and ultimately hold my sweet family’s future in her hands. But on September 26, 2017, when the judge asked my daughter what that day meant, she answered in her little 4-year-old voice, “I get my forever daddy.” In that moment, all the stress and worry disappeared, and tears of joy filled our hearts. To this day, I still tear up when I think about it. It remains one of my most treasured memories.

I complete adoption studies because I love helping families find peace throughout the process—and, hopefully, happy tears at the end. I still tear up at the adoption prove-ups I am invited to attend. My favorite part is writing your report, recommending your adoption, and typing your child’s new last name.

In our family, we say, “I love you more,” because neither of us believes the other could love more deeply. That saying inspired the name “Forever More.”

With all of that said, this process can be stressful, and there may be moments when you want to quit, but don’t. When everything is complete and the judge asks your child what that day means, time seems to stand still, and life feels perfect. You will celebrate that day for years to come, because it marks the moment you chose to love a child you did not birth, embraced the honor of that gift, and became a “Forever More” family.

~Dr. Crystal Baird Ph.D., LPC-S