A Collaborative Relationship with the Child Welfare System

Birthparents who have had their parental rights terminated involuntarily by the state, tell us it was one of the most traumatic events of their lives. Consequently, Open Adoption & Family Services (OA&FS) has developed a collaborative relationship with Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) to create an alternative track for parents who are at risk of losing their parental rights.

In 2010, DHS released a memorandum clarifying state policy to support women who wish to work with a private agency, such as ours, instead of facing involuntary termination of their parental rights. When parenting is no longer an option for women who have children up to the age of 1.5 years, they can now choose to proactively plan an open adoption with our agency.

By accessing open adoption services at OA&FS, at risk parents can ensure their child is quickly placed in a safe and permanent home. Through our open adoption model, high risk moms are respected and honored as they create an adoption plan that truly meets their needs and those of their child. At OA&FS, women are empowered to choose adoptive parents, form a close relationship with them and to create a legally enforceable contract for ongoing visits.

Through this collaborative relationship with DHS, we can now bring our services to parents who have previously had few adoption options. It also gives the birthparents the opportunity to set their child on a new path in life and potentially create a new direction for their own life.

Angela, a birthmom who utilized our services, affirmed, “Planning an open adoption was an opportunity for me to get my life back on track and still be part of my children’s life. I knew I could make my life better with support, and my open adoption has given me a whole new family. I just graduated from a recovery program and have a part- time job. I couldn’t have done that with court involvement, or threats and pressure from an authority figure.”

Hear More of Angela's Story:

To inform at-risk parents of this alternate track, we created a new brochure describing the option and two videos featuring testimonials from moms who accessed this alternate path. In order to build this cooperative model, we mailed a letter outlining this viable option and copies of our new DVD to stateworkers in Oregon, along with an offer to deliver free on-site presentations to answer any questions they had about our program or how this collaboration could work in practice.

Last year agency staff provided on-site presentations about this progressive collaborative relationship for case workers throughout Oregon. We look forward to working with Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to bring this innovative cooperation to Washington.

Hear Another Story:

Feedback from Community Professionals:

“Often the time kids spend in foster care is very damaging to them. If we can reduce or avoid this time by working with OA&FS, we will be helping these kids tremendously.” – DHS Caseworker

“The termination hearing for the birthmom is humiliating and should be avoided at all cost. This is an excellent alternative.” – DHS Supervisor

“I have worked with moms who created open adoption plans with OA&FS prior to DHS involvement. This has been very rewarding for both the mom and the child, who doesn’t have to enter the foster care system.” – Medical Social Worker

More Information

Since Open Adoption & Family Services’ inception in 1985, OA&FS has been at the forefront of adoption reform, advocating for open, child-centered adoptions. For information about creating this collaborative relationship in your state, please contact OA&FS Executive Director Shari Levine at: 1-800-772-1115 or via email at shari@openadopt.org.