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Open/Cooperative Adoption:
The Impact of Current Laws
on Negotiated Relinquishments
Madelyn
Freundlich
The Evan B.
Donaldson Adoption Institute
Open/cooperative
adoption has become a key issue in adoption
practice both in the context of private adoption
and of permanency planning for children in
foster care. The research on outcomes for
children and their birth and adoptive in
open/cooperative relationships is somewhat
limited because of the short period of time over
which open/cooperative adoption has been
practiced and the methodological issues that
affect much social science research. The
research, however, does suggest positive
outcomes related to openness in adoption from
the perspectives of birth and adoptive families.
The research is just beginning to examine the
experiences of children in open/cooperative
adoption. The first part of this article
provides short summaries of some of this
research.
The law has also begun
to consider issues related to open/cooperative
adoption. State statutes on this issue vary
widely. The second part of this article provides
an overview of the various approaches taken by
states in legislatively addressing
open/cooperative adoption. Despite the attention
that has been paid to open/cooperative adoption,
there remain many unresolved child welfare
practice and legal issues in the area of
open/cooperative adoption. Some of those issues
are:
- Should the promise of
ongoing contact in the future with the child or
adoptive family be used as an incentive for
birth parents to relinquish parental rights?
- Should cooperative
agreements be legally enforceable?
- How should "best
interests of the child" be defined in the
context of cooperative adoption agreements? To
what extent should a child's wishes
"count"?
- What should be the
standard for modification of a cooperative
adoption agreement?
Whether open/cooperative
adoption represents "good" or
"bad" public policy is currently being
debated. The benefits and risks will continue to
be evaluated to determine whether
open/cooperative adoption is an appropriate
policy direction.
Part I. Empirical Research on Openness in
Adoption [Selected Studies]
A. Outcomes: Infants
1. McRoy, R. G.;
Grotevant, H. D.; and Ayers-Lopez, S. Changing Practices in
Adoption. Austin, Texas: Hogg Foundation
for Mental Health, 1994.
This longitudinal study
of openness in adoption looks at the issue from
the points of view of adoptive parents (N=190),
adopted children (N=171+), birth parents
(N=169), and adoption agencies. The participants
in this study were interviewed between 1987 and
1992, when the children were between the ages of
four and twelve. Sixty-two families had
confidential adoptions, 69 had mediated
adoptions, and 59 families had fully disclosed
adoptions. For the adoptive parents, the concern
that openness would lead to unwanted intrusions
by the birth parent was found to be groundless.
The majority of parents were satisfied with the
level of contact between the child and the birth
parents. Parents who were dissatisfied with the
level of contact were those who wanted more
contact with the birth parent than was possible.
Fear that the birth parent would reclaim the
child was lowest among the parents with fully
disclosed adoptions. In confidential and
mediated adoptions adoptive parents' fear was
higher that the child would be reclaimed.
Reasons given for the heightened fear included
stereotypical views about birth parents and
awareness of media portrayals and court cases
dramatizing birth parents reclaiming their
children.
Regardless of type of
adoption they were involved in, the children
expressed the desire to know more about their
birth parents. Specifically, children with less
knowledge about birth parents wondered about
their health and about what they looked like.
Children with more information wondered about
when they would see them again and about birth
siblings. Most birth parents found openness to
be a satisfactory arrangement. Those with fully
disclosed placements were less likely to feel
regret about placing the child for adoption.
They also reported feeling no jealousy or
competitiveness with the adoptive families
2. McRoy, R. G.;
Grotevant, H. D.; and White, K. L. Openness in Adoption: New
Practices, New Issues. New York: Praeger,
1988.
Among the conclusions
reached by the authors is that there is more
overall satisfaction by all members of the
adoption triad in semi open than in fully open adoptions. Among
the problems reported were the continuing pain
felt by birth parents. Adoptive parents reported
feeling burdened in preparing for the meetings
with birth parents.
3. Christian, C. L.
"Birth mother Role Adjustment in
Fully-Disclosed, Mediated and Confidential
Adoptions." Master's Thesis, University of
Texas at Austin, 1995.
Seventy-five birth
mothers with differing levels of openness in
their adoptions were studied four to twelve
years after
placing a child. The researcher sought
to determine the impact, if any, of the varying
levels of openness on the adjustment of the
biological mother. The results indicate that
birth mothers in time-limited mediated adoptions
have the most difficulty adjusting to the
adoption process.
4. Wrobel, G. M.;
Ayers-Lopez, S.; Grotevant, H. D.; McRoy, R. G.;
and Friedrick, M. "Openness in Adoption and
the Level of Child Participation." Child Development v
67, n 5 (1996): 2358-74.
One hundred and
seventy-one children were studied to examine how
their role in open adoptions influenced their
conceptual understanding of what adoption means,
general self-worth, satisfaction with level of
openness, and curiosity about Birth parents. The
children in the study were all adopted from
private agencies before their first birthday and
were between the ages of 4 and 12 years at the
time of the study. Fifty-seven children were in
confidential adoptions, 14 children were in time
mediated adoptions, 45 were in ongoing mediated
adoptions, and 55 were in fully disclosed
adoptions. On an individual level, children in
all types of adoptions in this study reported
positive levels of self-esteem, curiosity about
their birth parents, and satisfaction with their
openness situation. Across all levels of
openness, children approaching adolescence were
generally less satisfied with their level of
adoptive openness and were more curious about
their birth parents.
5. Drasin, R. E.
"The Impact of Closed, Semi-Open, and Open
Adoption on Children's Psychological
Development." Ph.D. diss., The University
of Michigan, 1994.
This study compared the
psychological adjustment of 39 children between
the ages of 5 and 10 years old living in a
variety of adoption arrangements. Standardized
tests including the Wechsler Primary and
Preschool Scale of Intelligence, the Child
Behavior Checklist, and the Teacher's Report
Form, and interviews were utilized by the
researcher. A key finding was that regardless of
the level of contact the children expressed
ambivalent feelings about adoption and a desire
to know more about their birth parents. Overall,
children in open (N=8) semi-open (N=7), and
closed adoptions (N=11)exhibited few differences
in their psychological adjustment. All three
groups of children fell within the normal range
of psychological development. Children in the
semi-open adoptions appeared to be experiencing
the most difficulties.
B. Outcomes: Older
Children
1. Fratter, J. "Parties in
the Triangle." Adoption and Fostering v 15, n 4
(1991): 91-98.
This British study of 22
adoptive families found that some form of
continuing contact could work well for families
with special needs children. The nature of the
contact with birth parents varied widely.
Initially, 16 families felt that ongoing contact
with birth parents was a positive experience for
their children. A key element, as described by
the adoptive parents, was the ability of the
birth parents to accept their changed role. The
families were re-interviewed three years later.
All of those who initially felt positive about
openness remained positive. Four birth parents
were re-interviewed. They also felt the ongoing
contact had been a positive experience for
themselves as well as the children and adoptive
parents.
2. Berry, M.
"Adoptive Parents' Perceptions of, and
Comfort with, Open Adoption." Child Welfare v 72, n
3 (1993): 231-53.
This article presents
the results of a survey of 1,268 adoptive
parents in California. The study was designed to
learn about the correlates of openness in
adoption and the predictors of comfort with
openness. Pre-placement sharing of information
and post-placement contact was fairly common in
this sample of adoptions finalized between 1988
and 1989. Post-placement contact was most likely
in adoptions of infants, adoptions of children
with no history of mistreatment, and adoptions
by relatives. Predictors of high levels of
comfort with open adoption were: 1) the adoptive
parents had planned the contact, 2) the child's
absence of history of mistreatment, 3) the
biological mother's level of education, 4) the
adoptive mother's older age, and 5)
pre-placement meetings between the two sets of
parents. Among the groups with low levels of
comfort with open adoption, those who met the
biological parent prior to placement report
significantly higher levels of comfort with
post-placement contact. Adoptive parents in
transracial adoptions were no different than
same race adopters in terms of comfort.
Those adopting through
private agencies experienced the least direct
contact--primarily mail-only contact -- and
reported the highest comfort levels with
contact. Independent adopters experienced more
in-person contacts with biological parents and
also reported high comfort levels. Adoptive
parents using public agencies reported lower
levels of comfort with open adoption. The
researchers attribute this, in many cases, to
the child having been abused by the biological
parent. There were high levels of uncertainty
among the adoptive parents regarding the
long-range effect of openness on the child and
on their family.
Part II. State Statutes: Post Adoption
Contact Agreements
A number of states have
statutes that allow ongoing contact between
adopted children and their birth parents after
finalization of an adoption. Under these
statutes, sometimes referred to as cooperative
adoption statutes, birth parents relinquish
parental rights but maintain certain
post-adoption contractual rights that may
include the exchange of letters and photos,
phone calls at specified times such as holidays
or birthdays, and face-to-face contacts.
Cooperative adoption may provide an opportunity
for parents who may realize that they cannot
raise their children but who view total
relinquishment of their rights as an
unacceptable abandonment. Some states have
comprehensively addressed post-adoption contact
in their statutes while others have touched on
the issue in more limited ways.
The following provides information on the states that
have statutorily addressed Post-Adoption contact. First, information on the states that have more comprehensively addressed the issue is presented. Second, information on the states the have touched on post-adoption contact in more limited ways is presented.
States with more comprehensive statutes
regarding post-adoption contact
agreements
States with statutes
which address post-adoption contact
in more limited
ways
POLICY AND PRACTICE
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