Adoption Openness

As a minimum requirement adoptive parents are required to send pictures and letters to birthparents once a month for the first twelve months and yearly updates until the child is eighteen. The trust and relationship that develops between the adoptive families and the birthparents will determine the level of openness. There are many opportunities to stay connected in the future including the annual ABC picnic, additional arranged visits, communication through phone and e-mail, etc. These are just a few ideas. Depending on the situation you may come up with more creative ways to get together on your own.

We also encourage birthparents to share letters along with pictures of their childhood and present life with the birth child and the adoptive family. We feel it is important to the well-being of the child to know about their birth family and their heritage as they grow. Letters and pictures can be exchanged through the agency so that you do not have to reveal identifying information to the adoptive couple if you are not comfortable doing so.