It's Time for Open Adoption Essay

Adoption is the process in which a person takes over the parenting of someone else’s child and permanently transfers all the responsibilities and rights from the biological parent or parents. Giving up a child for adoption is a very difficult decision for a mother to make. Today, many children are being parented by a single parent, a grandparent, a stepparent, foster parent or other parent figure. Making adoption an option is done by providing loving, responsible, and legally permanent parents to a child when their biological parents are not able or will not take care of them.(Carter)

4). In the scope of adoption, it is evident that child welfare agencies use the majority of their available resources for placing children in foster families, investigating child-abuse cases, and providing other family services. “As a consequence, they do not possess adequate additional resources for efficiently placing children in adoptive homes once they are available for adoption, depriving many children of the benefits a stable, permanent home provides” (Snell, 2000, p. 2). The current government operated child welfare system is detrimental to the children involved due to its inability to ensure their safety and

When a couple cannot conceive children naturally, they may look to adoption to start a family. In the past, adoption was shrouded in mystery. Closed adoptions were the norm, and many children grew up not knowing they were adopted. Recently though, open adoptions have gained popularity. Adoptive families and birth families maintain contact in any way that they feel comfortable. I feel open adoption is a better choice than closed adoption because children may have the opportunity to meet their birth parents, the transition is easier for the birth family, and the benefits outweigh possible complications.

Closed adoptions allow birth parents privacy and to remain unidentified. Closed adoptions can also help birth parents with the grieving process because closed adoptions provide a sense of closure and the ability to move on with their lives. They get a new beginning (“Open”). In an open adoption, the birth parents are involved in the child’s life, which can act as a constant reminder that the child is no longer legally theirs, which can cause more grieving and sadness for the birth parents (Byrd).

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Adoption defines adoption as the transfer of parental rights and obligations from one family to another. The adoptive parents assume all responsibilities of raising the child legally and financially, therefore severing all ties to the biological parents. The difference between a closed adoption and open adoption is when birthparents and the adoptive parents know nothing of each other. Records are usually sealed until the child becomes of age and chooses to open them. An open adoption is when the birthparents and the adoptive parents meet each other and come to a legal agreement concerning the exchange of pictures and letters and sometime visitation is allowed. This is where the conflict comes into play.

If you choose to have an open adoption, your child will know both sides of their adoption story their entire lives. You can tell your child how you choose them because you loved them and how you wished and prayed for them to come into your lives. You can read your child stories about what it means to be adopted that explain how much your adopted parents love you.

What is an open adoption? In an open adoption, the adoptive family and birth parents have contact. The amount and type of contact varies depending upon the situation, the people involved, and terms agreed upon prior to the adoption. Some adoptive families and birth parents conduct personal visits. Some go to great lengths to ensure that the adopted child maintains a relationship with the birth mother. The exact definition of “open adoption” will vary between families and adoptions. But there are a few things that all open adoptions will

With closed adoptions, meaning those adoptions where the birth parents have no further contact with the adoptee or the adoptive family, one has to look at the fact the birth parents, who could be considered not the best of people, are out of their lives for good. There is not an issue with a birth parent coming in at some point and ruining the relationship that has been built between the adopted child and their family. However, the adoptee may develop a sense of a lack of identity since the adoptee would have no contact with their biological beginnings. Open adoptions, those adoptions where the birth parents and the forever families continue to have contact with one another throughout the child’s life, give the child the option to

The necessity of adoption in the world is astounding. Currently, there is an estimated 143 million orphans worldwide (Wingert, vol.151). As of 2007, there were 513,000 children living in foster care within the United States alone (Rousseau 21:14). International adoption in the United States was jumpstarted post World War II as a way of helping those children who were left homeless, after war had taken their parents. Although there are thousands of healthy children awaiting adoption in the United States, several American couples still turn to foreign adoption when seeking potential children. Americans often fail to realize the need for intervention within their own country and their duty to take care of domestic affairs before venturing to

Adoption is a big decision for birthparents (and adoptive parents). There are so many factors to consider when putting a child up for adoption and also when adopting a child. A majority of the time the birth father isn¡¯t even considered in the decision. Birthparents often begin to second guess their decision of adoption usually after the birth of their child. They get attached instantly and don¡¯t want to give the child up. There are lots of pros and cons and some people don¡¯t even consider when they make comments about adoptive parents and children and open adoption.

When a couple or individual decides to adopt a child, they know they are going to take on the responsibility of taking care of someone else’s child. Due to the biological parent(s) who can’t take care of that child anymore, because of either drug abuse, alcohol abuse, abuse to the child or if the parent(s) had died and there is no other care for the child. So that’s why this gives other couples who cannot have kids, the opportunity to promise themselves to be a great parent to a child in need. Though there are some bad things about adoption as well. Like adopting a child from another country of another race, because once that child is adopted into an American family, he or she will be cut off from their culture and never know about their

     Adoption is metamorphosing into a radical new process that is both sweeping the nation and changing it. But this process is not an easy one, there are many steps to go through. Through research it is made a lot easier. Adoption is a also a highly visible example of a social institution that has benefits from and been reshaped by both the Internet and the exponential growth of alternative lifestyles, from single to transracial to gay. It is accelerating our transformation into a more multicultural society; even as it helps redefine out understanding of “family.” The process includes three main steps including a type of adoption, the techniques for location a baby for adoption, arranging

Secondly, birth parent’s intense stress can continue into later years like on the child’s birthday and while they think of what type of person their son or daughter might have become under their care. For example, an adoptee might study and learn to play instruments very well with the adoptive parents, but if the child would have grown – up with his/her birth parents. They might would have been a great artist, but since this was not the case. The child may not develop those skills as the birth parents would have hoped. Through all this loss and guilt, the relationship among both parents may fall apart because of how each one feels about the adoption and their parent’s lack of support will distance them all even farther from one another. A major case is when the birth mother may have to leave her home and family due to pregnancy, which would degrade her educational and work status in the community. (Information Gateway) The birth parents have to encounter much hardship and denial to of most of an adoption plan, but more current issues, such as their shame, identity, and long- term issues effect them as well.

Adopting a child is an experience that promises to bring great joy as it changes a couple or individual’s life forever. But what happens if the mother of that child wants to endorse their child? Those are the issues that many adopting parents and birth-right mothers are facing today. Many biological mothers want their child back. There are many concerns for adopting parents to know- that there is the possibly that the birth mother may file for the child. As a birth mother or the adopting parent one must realize consequences that could lay ahead.

After this paper do you think adoption should be encouraged? This is a good question because we need to know that adoption is a good thing, and a blessing to a child’s life. My three main points are what is the problem with this issue, how has this problem been created, and the solution to solve this problem. I hope after this paper that you learned that adoption is a good thing and it needs to be encouraged to family’s. Adoption can save a child’s life and give them hope for the