Before entering into an adoption agreement, birth parents and adoptions parents must decide the level of involvement they want to maintain with the other family. In the past, all formal adoption records were sealed and the only information the parents knew about each other was written on a short data sheet. Today, birth parents sometimes remain a part of their child’s life, years after the adoption is finalized. It is important for birth and adoptive families to be in agreement on whether their adoption will be open or closed to avoid confusion later in the child’s life.
Closed Adoption
A closed Child Adoption in Austin is confidential. The birth parent and the adoptive parent never meet and they do not have any identifying information about each other. In most cases, however, adoptive parents are provided with relevant medical information about the biological family if it is available. The birth mother may be allowed to choose from several adoptive parent profiles to select the family who will raise her child. All adoption arrangements are handled by a third party and the birth mother has no direct contact with the child or the adoptive parents.
Open Adoption
In an open adoption arrangement, birth parents and adoptive parents meet each other and make an agreement to exchange information that may be relevant to the child. Open Child Adoption in Austin gives birth parents the assurance that their biological child is loved. Most adoptive parents who enter open adoption arrangements agree to send photographs periodically to the birth parents. The birth parents agree to keep the adoptive parents updated with medical information that may affect their child. In some cases, the birth parents have direct contact with the child.
The choice of whether to have an open or closed adoption rests with the adoptive parents. Some lawyers and adoption agencies work specifically with birth parents and adoptive parents who are willing to share information between each other. Others only facilitate closed adoptions. Parents must consider their own preferences and the best interest of the child and should not feel pressured to make a commitment that they may not be able to fulfill as their adopted child gets older.
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