Varied Degrees of Openness
Open adoption occurs when the birth parents and prospective adoptive families are allowed to interact with one another. Though the types of contact may vary from one family to another. It may involve letters, e-mails, telephone calls, or visits.
Beacon House has traditionally been an agency that allowed for semi-open adoption through its Domestic Adoption Program, with all contact being through the agency and no identifying information being passed. However, at the request of both our birth parents and adoptive parents we are working to embrace varied degrees of openness.
Every case is treated individually and the degree of openness is set and agreed to by both the birth and adoptive parents in advance. Varied degrees of openness allows for benefits to all members of the adoption triad.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS
Benefits for the Child
• Build a complete and stronger identity
• Involvement in adoption project
• Allow for some continuity in the life of the child and ties to origin
• Facilitates growing with a sense of belonging to families of origin allowing children to not abandon past
Benefits for the Adoptive Parents
• Communication about origins is more natural and transparent
• Assists with knowing medical history of the child
Benefits for the Birth Parents
• Can alleviate some of the pain and culpability
• For those who are reticent about an adoption, the possibility of some contact can facilitate the decision making process