Adoption has changed dramatically in recent years, and each adoption plan is unique to the individuals within the adoption triad: the birth parents, the adoptive family, and the child. Birth parents today are actively involved in decision-making regarding the openness of their adoption plan. They work with the caseworker to match them with a family with a similar comfort level in regard to meeting in advance, what hospital time will be like, and how connected birth parents want to be after placement. We prepare adoptive families to have semi-open to open adoptions.  

Closed Adoption
In the past, most adoptions were confidential, or closed. In CLOSED ADOPTION, the birth mother essentially allows the agency to make the adoption plan and to choose the adoptive family. There may be little information exchanged and no ongoing contact.

Open Adoption
Today, adoptions are much more open. OPEN ADOPTION can be defined in several different ways. It may refer to the full disclosure of identifying information between birth and adoptive families, or it may refer to the open relationship and ongoing contact after the placement of the child into the adoptive home. The birth parent(s) choose and meet an adoptive family prior to the birth of the child. Often, the adoptive parents are invited into the hospital experience and play an active role there. There are usually personal visits after the child is placed for adoption, and communication occurs directly with each other, apart from the agency.

Semi-Open Adoption
An in-between option is SEMI-OPEN ADOPTION. In this kind of adoption, the birth parents may choose and meet the adoptive family, invite the family to participate in the hospital time, and communicate through letters and pictures and, in some cases, personal visits, throughout the child’s life. However, identifying information is not typically exchanged, and the agency acts as intermediary for the mailings and the visits. Sometimes, an adoption that begins as a closed or semi-open one may eventually develop into a more open adoption, as the parties involved get to know each other.

Christian Adoption Services mainly handles semi-open to open adoptions. We believe that some degree of openness assists children in answering the important questions in their lives, but we recognize that openness can only be built on mutual trust and respect. Each adoption plan is individualized and is determined by the needs and desires of all the parties involved.