The concept of an open adoption is relatively new. A cultural shift has occurred that acknowledges the damage done in previous generations by making adoption a secret. Adoption professionals today emphasize an adoptee’s right to be aware of the adoption, and the importance of honoring the adoptee’s heritage. In the middle of the holiday season, it is not our intent to create new pressures or obligations for adoptive families. There is no right or wrong way to address these issues. However, there is no point in denying the fact that the holiday season is complicated for adoptive families by the fact that birth families exist.
Whether or not contact with birth relatives is maintained by sending pictures, letters, or visits, failing to acknowledge the existence of the child’s birth family is unwise. When direct contact with birth relatives is impossible or harmful, the adoption is still “open” when the adoptive family recognizes the fact of the adoption and discusses whatever is known about the child’s background.
Pennsylvania formally opened the door to “open adoption” in April, 2011, when it established a statewide confidential registry where birth parents may register medical and other information for receipt by children who were adopted. At the same time, the Adoption Act was revised to require notice to birth and adoptive parents of the opportunity to voluntarily agree to post-adoption communication or contact. As with most laws, the true impact will be discovered over the course of the years to come.
Wisely, both provisions leave the choice whether to participate in the registry or to agree to post-adoption contact, to the individuals whose lives are changed forever by the adoption. Such decisions are not made easily, nor should they be made lightly. Further, as the children grow, the Adoption Act now makes it possible for all members of the triad to change their minds. Birth parents can register information and later change their decision whether or how much of the information should remain available. Adoptive parents and adopted children over the age of 12 can petition the court to modify a post-adoption contact agreement.
Preserving the ability for post-adoption modification of these contact provisions is a common sense acknowledgement that no family can foresee the future. Whether an adoption is finalized when the child is an infant or a teenager, the best interest of the child who is affected by post-adoption contacts must always be the primary concern. Maintaining contact in any form, whether, must be done only if it remains in the best interest of the child who is affected by that contact.
heARTbeat is a publication of the KingSpry Adoption/ART Law Practice Group. It is meant to be informational and does not constitute legal advice.
