While it is true that most of the info collected on a child put up for adoption is documented on the child’s adoption records and these are typical of most states, which means an inclusion of comprehensive medical and genetic background details besides social, mental health, religious, ethnic and educational records, some states may require even more in-depth information. This includes more detailed family history and racial origin details as well as dental history, vaccination and developmental health records and the mandatory academic progress records.

At times, adoption records may also contain eligibity information or exclusivity outlines that indicate the states where the child can be adopted with federal adoption support, such as extended to citizens of the States of Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Vermont, Oklahoma and Rhode Island.

Apart from birth parent’s history and background details, a home study also serves the purpose of enabling the adoption agency or state department with the opportunity to gather info on medical history, socio-economic background, the family’s mental health history, spiritual inclinations and to what extent the child’s parents are educated; all these details help determine a child’s future and are included in the adoptive records. Still other states ask for more detailed adoptive records that include description of parent’s looks, skills, hobbies, career and medication that the birth mother may have been taking at the time of her pregnancy; other states exist that provide adoptive parents futher identifying info about the birth parents and the child’s background such as name and address (Colorado, New York and American Samoa are some examples.)

Adoptive records help prospective parents determine what kind of a family background they are willing to adopt a child from and also where vice versa i.e help the birth parents and state/adoption agency ascertain whethere the adoptive family’s atmosphere and backgroudn will be suitable to the child concerned. Thus, the home study also includes aspects of a couple’s life that may affect the adoption of a child, such as a criminal background, instance of child abuse or history of the prospective parent’s health, emotional maturity and stability of finances besides the social aspects.

Among the hardest states to adopt from, Montana is surely the one that tops the list, for they ask for occupational, drug or alcohol abuse and domestic violence history besides the racial-ethnic background details of the adoptive parents and some of these categories of information also need to be filled up by the states of New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia, Arizona, Illinois, Vermont, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, for their adoption records.

After the final documentation for the adoption records as required by these demanding states has been filed properly and is found to be in order, they are duly signed by the judge and depending on the type of adoption procedure the couple concerned have opted for, these are sealed and kept confidential or left open to the public. In the case of an adoption record that is kept confidential, it is kept this way till such time as the adopted child becomes an adult.



Thanks to Abhishek Agarwal for contributing this article to our Adoption blog:

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A “fully open” adoption is one in which the birth mother has ongoing visits with the child after the child has been adopted and is being raised by their adoptive family. In the past fifteen years or so, fully open adoptions have become more common as a result of proponents of fully open adoptions pushing the idea on birth parents and adoptive parents. Some people believe that having the open relationship benefits the children.

Some adoptive parents-to-be are scared by the idea of a fully open adoption, and there are a number of birth mothers who have fears about ongoing contact, as well. There are no studies that prove that ongoing contact between birth parents and a child that has been adopted is really in the child’s best interest, and many adoption professionals actually don’t feel a fully open adoption is the best solution.

It is likely that an adopted child would benefit greatly from having information available to them, things like photographs, health histories and possibly letters from their birth parents. If an older child requests to meet his or her birth parent, every effort should be made to arrange the meeting – but to force a fully open adoption on a child who may not even desire to have ongoing contact with the birth parent(s) does not seem to be beneficial or in the best interest of the child. Adoption agreements are typically arranged before the child is even born – how can you know at that point if the child needs or wants to have ongoing visits with the birth parents in the years to come?

Some children may experience confusion and upset over ongoing visitation with the birth parent(s). It can be upsetting to have to say goodbye to your biological parent over and over again, and depending on the age of the child, he or she may not really understand why that happens.

The solution may be to provide semi open adoption. Semi open adoptions allow the adoptive parents to meet and get to know the birth mother before the baby is born. Photos, letters and updates can be exchanged on a regular basis, so that there is continued contact and the ability for the child to meet the biological parent(s) someday if that is what he or she chooses to do. In this situation, the child has access to the documents, photographs, family history, and letters from the birth parent(s) when he or she may want to look at it but the child would never be forced into spending time with the biological parent.

If you have been thinking about adopting a child, but the idea of a fully open adoption scares you, you do have options. Just be sure that the adoption professional you choose to work with and hire understands your preference and is willing to work with you under a semi open adoption arrangement. If you like the idea of a fully open adoption, perhaps work it out so the terms of the agreement always takes into consideration the child’s needs and wants. For example, you could agree to visits for the first three years of the child’s life, or until the child is old enough to understand, and leave it open to reevaluate based on the reaction and needs of the adopted child. It’s impossible to predict what the child will prefer beforehand, so having this type of adjustable agreement allows you to make a decision based on the child rather than on what the birth parent(s), adoption professional or adoptive family may think is the best decision.



Thanks to Cindy Simonson for contributing this article to our Adoption blog:

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Adoption is when the birth parents of a child sever all legal ties to their child, and the parental rights are legally given over to the new adoptive family, who are strangers.

Apart from adopting a child from your own country, intercountry adoption is also available as there are also many children from international countries who need a family.

In the UK and the USA, children are usually given up for adoption because they have been mistreated; other reasons are due to teenage pregnancy, or because the birth parents are no longer able to look after the child, or they have given up the child because it isn’t the right sex, it has some form of disability, or because they simply don’t want a child.

There are many different reasons for wanting to adopt – if couples are unable to conceive, if they want to help others by adopting, and now there are same-sex couples who prefer to adopt.

The adoption process varies from one country to another. The ethics for eligibility can differ in each country which can include the age limit, the requirements for same-sex adoption couples, and whether a single person is able to adopt.

Placing a child into care and up for adoption is free in the United States. Adopting fees for the parents vary in different countries, and even in some, to charge an adoption fee would be illegal. In the United States, for adoptions you are given a $10,000 tax credit.

The new parents face many concerns in adoption. The child’s family history and their family medical history may be unknown, or kept secret until the child starts to ask questions about where they come from. This usually happens when a child is old enough to ask the right questions, or when they feel the need to ‘find themselves’. There are always misconcepts about children who have been fostered and this is usually fuelled by the media. Some children are thought of as not being able to develop properly or will become problem, but that is not always the case, as children can fare well when given a new,loving home and go on to lead successful lives. However, many children lose out and some reach the eighteen when they are too old to be adopted and are legally adults. They fall out of the system.

Not everyone chooses to understand or support adoption, although Americans are experienced in it. The history of adoption can be traced as far back as the 18th Century B.C. During Ancient times it was more popular to adopt adults rather than children so that they could carry on the family heritage or to protect the family’s property rights. Men and women single or married had the right to adopt.

Modern adoption laws are based on the heritage in 18th Century B.C. of the Hammurabi Code. Adopting adults was the focus in Ancient Times as a means for someone to follow in one’s footsteps; whilst the Middle Ages set some ground rules with their focus on the adoption of children. Certain laws were placed in order to protect children, so by this time adoptions were dealt with by the court systems. It was in 1851, in Massachusetts, that the first state adoption took place. Rev. Charles Loring Brace was the founder of the New York Children’s Aid Society in 1853, which helped orphaned and abandoned children. He wanted to rescue these children and transport them to good Christian homes. They were placed on Brace’s ‘Emigration Plan’ onto regular trains called the ‘Orphan Trains’ for families to view at each station, until they were taken up by one of many of the wealthy farming families.

Times have changed, although we still want the best for our children, although it is still sometimes difficult to know what that is. Adoption is one of the best things to have happened over the centuries, to give children without a home a good chance to find one.



Thanks to Abhishek Agarwal for contributing this article to our Adoption blog:

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