Open Adoption
Open adoption is a type of adoption which allows communication between birth parents, adoptive family, and child.
Open Adoption Benefits for adoptive families
Open adoption also benefits adoptive parents by creating transparency and trust. Adoptive families may gain:
Access to important family and medical history
The ability to answer a child's questions honestly
A positive relationship with birth parents
Greater confidence in helping their child understand adoption
Many adoptive families value the opportunity to maintain a connection with the people who helped bring their child into their lives.
What is Open Adoption?
Open adoption is an adoption arrangement where birth parents and adoptive families have ongoing communication and contact before and after the adoption is finalized. The level of openness varies from one family to another, but it typically includes sharing photos, updates, emails, phone calls, video chats, and sometimes in-person visits.
Unlike the adoptions of decades past, today's open adoptions recognize the important role birth families play in a child's story. Open adoption allows children to grow up knowing where they came from while also developing a secure relationship with their adoptive family.
Open Adoption at Alaska Adoption Services
Alaska Adoption Services exclusively offers open adoption. We believe children benefit when they have access to their story, their history, and the people who love them. As a birth parent, you remain an important part of your child's life. You have the opportunity to:
Choose the family you feel is the best fit for your child
Get to know the adoptive family before placement
Build a relationship based on mutual trust and respect
Receive updates and photos after placement
Maintain ongoing communication according to your comfort level
Watch your child grow and thrive over time
Every adoption relationship is unique. Some birth parents prefer frequent communication, while others are more comfortable with occasional updates. Together, you and the adoptive family can create a communication plan that feels right for everyone.
What Does Open Adoption Look Like?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to open adoption. Every family creates a relationship that reflects their unique needs, preferences, and comfort levels. For some families, open adoption may involve regular text messages, phone calls, emails, or video chats, while others may stay connected through social media, photo and letter updates, birthday cards, holiday greetings, or occasional in-person visits. The level and type of communication can vary widely and often evolve over time as relationships grow and life circumstances change. What matters most is creating a healthy, respectful connection that supports the child's best interests while honoring the needs and boundaries of both the birth parents and the adoptive family.
Open Adoption Benefits for Birth Parents
Many women considering adoption worry that they will never know what happens to their child after placement. Open adoption helps provide reassurance and peace of mind. Benefits often include:
Knowing your child is safe, loved, and thriving
Receiving updates about milestones and accomplishments
Building a positive relationship with the adoptive family
Having answers to questions about your child's wellbeing
Maintaining a connection that can support long-term healing
Many birth parents find comfort in seeing their child grow and knowing their adoption decision created opportunities for their child's future.
Open Adoption Benefits for children
Children benefit from having access to their personal history and understanding the people who love them. Open adoption can help children:
Develop a stronger sense of identity
Understand their adoption story
Have access to family history and cultural connections
Ask questions as they grow Know they are loved by both their birth family and adoptive family
Research and adoption professionals increasingly recognize that openness can help children develop a healthy understanding of their adoption journey.
Why Alaska Adoption Services Supports Open Adoption
At Alaska Adoption Services, we believe adoption works best when built on honesty, transparency, and mutual respect. Open adoption allows children to understand their story, birth parents to remain connected, and adoptive families to build meaningful lifelong relationships.
Our team helps birth parents and adoptive families navigate those relationships with guidance, support, and compassion every step of the way. Whether you are considering adoption for your child or hoping to grow your family through adoption, we are here to help you understand how open adoption works and what it could look like for your unique situation.
Open Adoption FAQ
-
No. Open adoption is not co-parenting. Once an adoption is finalized, the adoptive parents become the child's legal parents and are responsible for making all parenting decisions. Open adoption simply allows for ongoing communication and connection between the child's birth family and adoptive family.
Think of open adoption as an extended family relationship built around supporting the child.
-
Yes. Relationships naturally evolve over time.
Some birth parents initially want frequent communication and later prefer fewer updates. Others become more comfortable with additional contact as trust develops. Healthy open adoptions allow flexibility while keeping the child's best interests at the center of the relationship.
-
Yes. Alaska Adoption Services specializes in open adoption because we believe ongoing connection benefits children, birth parents, and adoptive families.
-
Absolutely. You have the opportunity to review family profiles, ask questions, and choose the family you feel is the best fit for your child.
-
Yes. Open adoption typically includes ongoing communication, updates, and photos after placement.
-
Yes. Most birth parents and adoptive families have the opportunity to communicate and build a relationship before placement occurs.
-
Many open adoptions include visits, but every relationship is unique. The level of contact is determined through mutual agreement and what is best for the child.
-
Open adoption does not mean sharing every detail of your life. Boundaries and communication preferences can be established to create a relationship that feels comfortable and healthy for everyone involved.
-
Every situation is different, but open adoption is widely recognized as providing important benefits for children, including access to their personal history, identity, and connections with birth family members.
-
Contact Alaska Adoption Services for confidential information, guidance, and support. Our team can answer your questions, explain the adoption process, and help you explore whether open adoption is right for you.
