Open vs. Closed Adoption

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)

Family and community acceptance, example if the child looks different to parents the adoptive relationship is apparent

“I want to be like my adoptive mother, but my birth mother says I’m like her. I don’t know what to do or who I am. My whole life is messed up. It’s not my fault. It can’t be fixed,” said a girl adopted into an open adoption (Byrd). An open adoption is a process in which the birth parents and the adoptive parents know each other and are involved in the adopted child’s life. A closed adoption is when there is no contact at all and no identifying information is given between birth and adoptive parents (Byrd). While both are common to today’s society, closed adoptions allow opportunities for the adoptive parents to raise their kids without the interference of birth parents (Bender).

`Have you ever wondered what it is like to be in or a part of the adoption process? Most people have different opinions on the whole system. Many think that the process is easy and they don’t actually know what most children go through. If more people understood the problems they face then child welfare wouldn’t be so difficult. Children come from broken or abusive households where treatment is horrible or to the point where they just remove the children.

When considering adoption, couples need to be aware of what happens to children when they are taken out of foster homes, or homes with unfit parents. Couples are improving the child 's life, and even possibly saving their life. There are many effects of adoption on children to consider when thinking of adoption. It is a phenomenal experience when couples have the opportunity to do this for children, but couples need to know all the information before deciding on adoption.

Open Adoption or closed adoption; what would you choose for the child's benefit? Open Adoptions has many benefits; "95% of adoptions have been open adoptions in the United States" stated by Kinship Center (Open Adoption Study). When the birth parent decides to have an open adoption the child learns to deal with their emotions better, it's easier for the child to understand the situation rather than with a closed adoption. In an open adoption the birth parents can be involved in the child's life. This will help them maintain a good psychological health and the adoptive parent may know the child's health history.

One of the biggest advantages of semi-open adoption is that your child will be able to access their birth parent’s health information, and your child’s birth parents will agree to share important health information with the adoption agency and with their child. This information can be crucial to your child’s health as they grow up.

In the 1960s, adoptees began The Adoption Reform Movement to make sealed adoption records accessible. Before then, traditional or closed adoptions were thought to be the best option for everyone involved in the adoption triangle. This triad consists of the adoptee, adoptive parents, and biological parents. In a closed adoption, the adoptee is not allowed access to medical records and does not know their birth parents. Prior to the reform, people did not consider the ethical or moral problems that would arise from these kind of adoptions. The belief was that sealed records would protect everyone, but this is not the case. As adoptees grew into adults, the demand for more information on their birth parents increased. This led to the debate of whether or not adoptees were entitled to know the identity of their biological parents. The opposition from birth mothers appeared almost immediately after the reform set about. These mothers were not ready to give up their own rights to make the decision between open or closed adoption. Even though biological parents have the ability to choose, adoptees have the right to know their biological parents because of the search process being emotionally damaging, their need to access medical records, and their development as a child.

Not many children who are put in closed adoptions get to know who they are and their family history. Closed adoption children do not get to know any of their historical background, and this sometimes gives children self-esteem issues (“Adoption Emotional Issues”). They can also deal with loss and grief issues at times because they do not have their biological parents around to help raise them. It is not until the age of eighteen for the child to legally find their biological parents on their

There are many sides and opinion about adoption, me coming from the adoption system highly agrees with adoption. In this paper, I 'm going to explain the history of adoption, the rules you have to follow, the pros and cons of adoption and the process of adoption, and stories of adoption. Also, I will talk and explain about the system and what could be improvements to the system.

There are two types of outside adoption, one is closed adoption and the other is open adoption. In open adoption the biological parents are given the ability to have contact with their child through the adoptive parents and share any background information needed. Likewise, the children are also given the free

In the last four decades, the concept of the American family has undergone a radical transformation, reflecting society¡¯s growing openness. Among all segments of society, there is a greater acceptance of a variety of family structures ¨C from single parenting to blended families to same sex parenting of children. The introduction of openness into the process of adoption offers new opportunities for children in need of a parent or parents and prospective parents wishing to create or expand their families. Meeting the requirements to become eligible to adopt no longer means being constrained by the conventions of an earlier generation.

When the average American citizen today thinks about the concept of adoption, what images are typically the first that come to mind? Although different people are sure to have equally as different experiences in this field, one picture continues to remain the most commonly-accepted. This image consists of a man and a woman who cannot have children of their own, a newborn baby, and a single mother who will certainly be unable to provide for the infant due to her young age, lack of financial support, or another variety of unfortunate circumstances. Making the decision to adopt a child is without a doubt one of the best options available for couples who are unable to conceive, but by thinking of adoption as nothing more than the fallback

     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

They have self-satisfaction and identity development problems more than their peers. An identity problem is an effect that teenagers develop once they know they’ve been adopted. They do not have a strong sense of self and struggle with identity issues; that also leads to depression, anxiety, and other psychological health problems. Children in semi-open adoptions often wonder what their real families look like, where they live and how they act. They begin to become curious about their biological family and wonder what it would be like to meet their family members and other siblings they may have. In the other hand, during open adoptions children are given a chance to know their birth parents and form some kind of relationship with them and receive information that they might not have known in the past. Feelings of regret may come along with their identity issues. The children may feel as though they are doing something wrong behind their adopted parents back. They feel betrayal towards them for simply being curious of their biological family. In many cases the emotions are confusing and difficult to deal with. They also face difficult times when questions begin to arise about being an adopted child in the family. People outside your family will become curious if the child does not physically look like the parents. That is when at times adopted children become sad and annoyed at the same time. Adoption parents should quickly