Open, Closed and Semi Open Adoptions – Know the Main Difference

Adoption is a process by which a couple adopts a child or a baby from another couple or a single mother by their permission and by following legal formalities. In some cases, the process of adoption may result with the help and assistance of an adoption agency.  There are three major types of adoption procedures and they are: open adoption, closed adoption and semi-open adoption.

The main points of differences between these categories of adoption are on the basis of the level of contact the new parents of the child will have with the family from which they are adopting.  The following discusses more about the main differences between open and closed adoptions:

open , closed and semi open adoptionsOpen Adoption

In the case of an open adoption, the family which is adopting and the birth family have a contact not just prior to the birth of the child but also after it.  They may talk on the phone and may even have face-to-face visits often.  There is a clear exchange of phone numbers, addresses, mails and other information.  Often, the adoptive family even lets the birth family meet the baby even after the birth of the baby. The exchange of pictures etc. is also common in the case of an open adoption which is free of any major legal formalities etc.

Closed Adoption

Closed adoption was a more common and popular form of an adoption in earlier days even though it has become rare these days.  In the case of a closed adoption, the adoptive family and the birth parents do not have any contact amongst one another both before and after the birth of the baby.  The entire information remains confidential and the adoption is mostly carried out by an adoption agency.

But since the process has become more open these days, the families do not wish to get into a closed adoption.  The only reason why people opt for closed adoption is because this process is a little more safe because a lot of adoptive families think that if the birth family knows the location or contact number, they might turn up to get the baby back in the future. Often, a legal contract etc. is also signed in the case of a closed adoption.

Semi Open Adoption

Semi open adoption is also a kind of an adoption procedure and is one which falls between the open and the closed adoption process.  In this case, both the families know the basic information about one another such as the names, state of residence etc. but the contact information is not shared. While the families may communicate before the birth, but some level of confidentiality is maintained.

In this case, most of the communication between the families is done by the means of a third party which is mostly an adoptive agency.  Semi-open adoptions are the most common types of adoptions these days as both families prefer knowing one another but wish to avoid sharing their contact information.

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