O is for Open Adoption

This year, more than 90% of private adoptions will be made with a plan for openness. That means that birth and adoptive families will work together to come up with a plan of communication so that their child remains connected to their birth family. Openness is not always safe, wanted, or possible, but when boundaries are communicated and contact is desired, the relationships that form can be filling and full of grace.

Open adoption plans can range from periodic sharing of photos and updates to face-to-face visits and regular phone calls between families. It’s all determined by the level of comfort and desire of each person involved.

Over time, the value of open adoption has become more apparent to the triad. When adoptees have access to their first families, they are able to develop an early understanding of the decisions that were made for them.

Beyond relationships with birth mothers and fathers, open adoption allows for the fostering of relationships between birth siblings and extended family as well. In some situations, there is a network of family that experiences the “loss” of the adopted child as part of their family, and they desperately want to remain connected to the child they love.

When the effort can be made to pour into these relationships, the reward for the adoptee is massive. Not only do they get bonus family to love on them, but they are given multiple avenues to approach with questions about their heritage, history, health, and identity.