Are you an expectant parent considering making an adoption plan for your child? Are you wondering whether or not open adoption is right for you?
Or are you a prospective adoptive parent questioning the level of openness you’d be willing to have in your future adoption plan?
Open adoption essentially represents the joining of two families. When you decide to have an open adoption, you’ll maintain significant ongoing contact with all people involved. What that contact looks like will vary based on your individual situation and preferences. Some open adoptions include in person visits, while others include regularly mailed out pictures and letters and telephone calls.
Whatever your open adoption looks like, one thing will always be true: open adoption benefits all members of the adoption triad (birth parents, adoptive parents, and most importantly the adoptee).
Recently, STAR! Podcast host, Shaun Doyle, had the opportunity to interview past Adoption STAR clients on their open adoption journey, that’s now nearly ten years in the making. Claire and Nico (birth parents) decided to make an adoption plan for their daughter and selected Kyle and Tiffany to be Kennedy’s parents. These two families blended into one and their relationship and open adoption has blossomed over the years.
This interview will walk you through the journey from the very beginning to present day, talking about highs, lows, challenges and everything in between. You’ll even be able to hear the perspective of Kennedy herself.
You can choose to listen to this interview as a podcast (audio only), watch the full interview via video, or scan through segments of the video broken down into mini-clips (scroll down below).
Big thank you to all parties involved in making this interview possible!
Listen as a podcast:
Watch the full interview:
Q: Did you know you wanted an open adoption? Did open adoption make it easier? [Adoptive Mom]
Q: Did you know you wanted an open adoption? Did open adoption make it easier? [Birth Mom]
Learn more about the different types of adoption plans here (open adoption, semi-open adoption, and closed adoption).
Q: How did you feel when you surrendered your parental rights? [Birth Mom]
Q: Did Anyone try to convince you to not pursue open adoption? [Adoptive Mom]
Q: Did Anyone try to convince you to not pursue open adoption? [Birth Mom]
Q: When & How Did You Tell Your Child Their Adoption Story? [Adoptive Parents]
Further reading: How to Talk To Your Child about Adoption
Q: Do you remember when you were told you were adopted? [Adoptee answers]
Q: What sort of things do you do together in Open Adoption?
Language choice & explaining birth family relationships to kids [Adoptive Mom]
Q: How is Open Adoption Going? [Birth Father’s Perspective]
Q: What is a Post Adoption Contact Agreement (PACA)?
Learn more about the post adoption contact agreement here.
Q: Have You Been Consistent with Your Post Adoption Contact Agreement (PACA)?
On Answering Questions from Adoptees about Adoption as they Grow Up [Answered by Adoptive Mom]
Q: What advice do you have for people considering open adoption? [Birth Father]
Birth Father, Nico, Shares his Thoughts on Adoptive Family and Birth Mom
Q: What do you want people to know about open adoption? [Adoptive parents]
Q: What would you tell people considering adoption and open adoption? [Birth Mom]