Resources

Opening Adoption: A National Trend

When Open Adoption & Family Services (OA&FS) was established in 1985, most adoptions were closed and open adoption was a new concept. How common is open adoption today? Nationwide, the trend over the past 25 years has been towards openness.

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted a nationwide survey of 2,089 adoptive families. The 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents is the first of its kind and its findings were published in 2009.

The national survey showed 97% of all adopted children age 5 and older know that they were adopted. It also found over two thirds (67%) of parents who adopted domestically, chose to create pre-adoption contact agreements with birthparents. An estimated 68% of all adopted children in families surveyed, had some level contact with birthparents after placement.

To read the full report, visit the Adoption USA Chartbook.

Openness: More or Less?

Families often find their open adoption family relationships so worthwhile, they want more openness. A national study of 360 open adoption families, including Open Adoption & Family Services (OA&FS) families who participated in the survey, found that over time, adoptive parents, birthparents and adoptees all tend to wish for more openness in their adoption. Learn more in The Birthparent Perspective, a special report in the September/October 2008 issue of Adoptive Families Magazine.