Open Adoption Case Study

Fredric Reamer (2007) defines an open adoption as “an adoption where at least one biological parent and their child’s adoptive parents have contact with each other, share some identifying information with each other, and the child, when old enough, knows that contact exists.” Through this definition, there can be many different types of open adoption. Some open adoptions include the birth parent as a prominent role in the child’s life. Other open adoptions limit the contact between birth parent and adoptive parents to only a few times a year. It is important to note that while the design of each individual open adoption case is unique, they are all very different from closed adoption in the sense that the adopted child has means of connecting …show more content…
He first points out issues associated before placement. The structure of birth parents choosing adoptive parents varies between agencies. Some agencies give a birth parent one prospective adoptive family’s profile at a time while other agencies give a birth parent three profiles at a time. Whether or not birth parent has the right to have telephone contact with or meet a prospective adoptive family face to face before making a decision to place with them depends on the agencies policies. Reamer suggests that where agencies fall on policies for these choices reflects unspoken ethical assumptions about birth parents’ autonomy and rights to make informed choices for themselves, sharing power and control in the preadoption …show more content…
Adoption agencies should help families individually tailor their open adoption agreements. They should avoid forcing their pre-designed templates on prospective adoptive parents and expectant biological parents who are considering adoption. As previously stated, open adoption is very individualized and looks different for every case. The way one family best succeeds open adoption may not work for all families. The agency's role is not to prescribe a particular type of openness, but rather to educate parents about the benefits of openness for the child and help clients decide for themselves what kinds of openness fit their current situations. Post-adoption resources also need to be made readily available to all involved in open-adoption. As in any area of specialized practice, worker bias and lack of information can cause harm. Both case workers and counseling staff should work with the participating parents and identify any challenges or concerns that they need help