The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute recently released a new report, entitled “Openness in Adoption: From Secrecy and Stigma to Knowledge and Connections.” The report shows that open adoptions are becoming more popular. In researching the report, the Institute surveyed one hundred adoption agencies nationwide. The survey results showed that only 5% of infant adoptions are considered “closed” or “confidential”, and the vast majority of infant adoptions are “open” to some degree, meaning there is on-going post-adoption contact between the adoptive family and the birth parents. The report also indicates that birth mothers who have ongoing contact with the adoptive families demonstrate lower levels of grief and regret after the adoption process.
You can read a summary of the report on the Institute’s website, here. Or, the full text of the report (50 pages) is available in PDF format, here.
If you would like more information about open adoptions or the role that a qualified adoption attorney plays in the adoption process, please feel free to contact me.