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What is Open Adoption?
This information has been taken directly from Child Welfare Information Gateway
Open adoption is a type of adoption in which birth and adoptive families have some form of initial and/or ongoing contact. Contact may begin with a meeting between an expectant mother and potential adoptive parents. Sometimes, an expectant parent may choose the adoptive family based on such a meeting or other communication. After placement, birth mothers and/or fathers and members of their extended families may interact in various ways with the adoptive parents, as well as with the adopted child or youth. Communication may happen through letters, emails, social media exchanges, telephone calls, or visits. While some families may exchange brief notes and photos, others may spend more time together and celebrate birthdays or holidays together. The type and frequency of contact will be decided by the people involved and can range from several times a month to every few years. Contact often changes as a child ages or as family members’ needs and wishes change.
Parents have several options available related to openness. Some think of the options as a continuum, shown in the diagram on the next page. On one end of the continuum is a confidential, or closed, adoption. In this type of adoption, no contact occurs between birth and adoptive families and no identifying information is shared. (Some nonidentifying information, such as medical history, may be provided through an adoption agency or attorney.2) In the middle of the continuum, is a form of openness known as semi-open or mediated adoption. In a semi-open or mediated adoption, contact is made indirectly through a mediator, such as an agency caseworker or lawyer, or through an anonymous post office or email box. While letters, photos, and other information may be exchanged between the adoptive family and birth family, they do not share names and addresses. This type of adoption allows for communication, while also offering some privacy. On the far end of the continuum is an open adoption, also referred to as a fully disclosed adoption. In an open adoption, identities are known and there is direct contact between birth parents (and possibly other members of the birth families) and the adoptive families. Contact may be occasional or frequent, in person or remote, and may vary over time. An open adoption supports the development of relationships, particularly relationships between a child and his or her birth parents.
As highlighted above, there are different forms of openness. It is important to emphasize, however, that even in a fully open adoption, adoptive parents and birth parents do not parent their child together. In all forms of adoption, the adoptive parents have the permanent legal rights and responsibilities for parenting and raising the child.
| Confidential Adoption | Semi-Open Adoption (Mediated) | Open Adoption |
|---|---|---|
| No contact | Indirect contact | Direct communication |
| No identifying information shared | Share nonidentifying information | Exchange identifying information |
As highlighted above, there are different forms of openness. It is important to emphasize, however, that even in a fully open adoption, adoptive parents and birth parents do not parent their child together. In all forms of adoption, the adoptive parents have the permanent legal rights and responsibilities for parenting and raising the child.
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Resource
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Openness in adoption: Building relationships between adoptive and birth families. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.
Citation
2 Each State has its own laws about the kinds of information that may be collected and shared with adopting parents. For more information, see Collection of Family Information About Adopted Persons and Their Birth Families, available from https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/collection.cfm