Understanding Open Adoption and Its Benefits

Insights into Open Adoption from Birth Parents

When selecting a family to adopt a child, it also involves deciding on the degree of communication or accessibility that suits your needs.

Why Have an Open Adoption?

Boys & Girls Aid believes that some form of openness is in the best interest for all involved—especially your child. We help birth parents establish a comfortable degree of openness and help facilitate contact with the adoptive family.

Openness reassures birth parents that they have made the right decision and it allows a child to know their background and develop a healthier sense of self while growing up.

For adoptive families, a pre-set agreement means they can plan for an open relationship. It also offers the opportunity to understand more about your child when they have open communication with you.

Each adoption is unique, and each openness agreement is unique as well. You will be the one who decides the level of openness.

Birth Parents & Adoptive Families Agree On The Open Adoption Plan

Our experienced and compassionate counselors help adoptive families and birth parents explore the amount of openness with which they are comfortable.

Examples of Open Adoption

• Exchanging photos and letters

• Visiting in-person

• Keeping a picture of the birth parent in the home/child’s room

• Openly talking to the child about their birth story

• Reading children’s books about openness

• A birth parent can record themselves reading a story to the child

How We Support An Open Adoption

Before an adoption takes place, birth parents and adoptive families sign a mutually agreed upon Open Adoption Agreement.

We provide ongoing counseling support for our birth parents and adoptive families through our Post Adoption Program.