What is the legal definition of an “Open Adoption”?
There is none. Open Adoption is not a legal term. As the term is used by birth parents and by adoptive parents it can mean several things: (1) After the adoption the birth parent(s) will continue to have contact with the child. The contact can be as little as receiving pictures of the child on an annual basis, to regular visitation with the child, and the child, at an appropriate age, being told the identity of the birth parent(s). (2) To other people an Open Adoption is one in which the birth parent(s) interviews the prospective adoptive parents and reviews the backgrounds of the people who are interested in this adoption, and then it is the birth parents who make the selection. The selection process can be done in a private adoption. Some adoption agencies also allow the birth parents to select the adoptive parents.
