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Domestic Adoption
Building a Family
By Michele St. Martin
Until recently, most adoptions were "closed," with the birth parents and adoptive family having no contact and in many cases, not even knowing each others' names. The current trend in domestic adoption is toward more openness in the process.
Open adoption is defined as an adoption in which the birth parent(s) choose their child's adoptive family, and there is ongoing contact. According to Patricia Irwin Johnston, "The percentage of [open] domestic infant adoptions varies dramatically from region of the country to region of the country and also depends on how you define 'open,'" says Johnston. "There are no averages. Overall, far fewer than half of adoptions today are genuinely open."
Vicki and Mark Baker's adoption of Joe is, according to Vicki, a closed adoption in that they do not have back-and-forth contact with Joe's birth mother. However, they do update her on Joe's life and since she chose them and is a family friend, she knows who they are. We send her quarterly letters and pictures, along with a copy of his end-of-the-year school report," says Vicki.
Tami and Kris Davis' adoption of Alex is an open adoption. "With the help of our agency, we created a contract with Alex's birth parents regarding communication," says Tami. "By the terms of the contract, we sent letters and photos at 1 month, and then 3, 6, 9 and 12 months for the first year. After the first year we are required to send photos and letters twice a year." The contract also includes a yearly visit to Alex's birth parents.
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