Understanding Open Adoption

Open adoption refers to any type of contact between the child and his/her birth family after the adoption legalization. This ranges from annual cards and letters to occasional face-to-face contact. Open adoption agreements can be either informal or legally binding. The decision to have some form of open adoption between the birth and adoptive families will be determined in the best interest of the child and is often addressed as part of the legal process to terminate parental rights. Many waiting children also have important relationships with siblings, extended family and former foster families which they wish to maintain in an adoptive family.