Even if you know placing your baby for adoption is the right choice, it may feel like you’re telling your child “goodbye” forever. That isn’t necessarily true, though, because you can always choose open adoption in Arizona.
What’s an open adoption in Arizona? If you’re looking for an open adoption definition in Arizona, it’s simple: open adoption is an agreement between birth parents and the adoptive family to continue contact after placement. Open adoption in Arizona lets you build a lifelong relationship with your child, thanks to ongoing communication.
Through open adoption in Arizona, you can give your child a chance at a bright future while retaining your parental bond. Open adoption in Arizona is widely accepted as beneficial in modern adoption, and you can learn more about its advantages by completing our online form.
For now, keep reading to find out about the differences between closed adoption, semi-open adoption, and open adoption in Arizona and how each kind of adoption will impact your relationship with your child and the adoptive family.
What is Open Adoption in Arizona?
Open adoption in Arizona is good for everyone involved. Open adoption in Arizona is born from a mutual love for the child shared by the parties involved in the adoption. That’s why open adoptions in Arizona are the norm now. Birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees all benefit from them.
Some of the benefits of open adoptions in Arizona are:
- Your child gets to grow up understanding their heritage and history.
- You get to see your child grow and develop while knowing they’re loved.
- You get to provide critical family medical history details if your child needs medical care.
- You get easy access to adoption records to learn details about your child’s life.
- You get to connect often with your child, including through in-person meetings.
- Your child gets protected from feelings of abandonment that arise from closed adoption.
- Your child gets an extended family to love and support them throughout their lifetime.
What Are the Drawbacks of Open Adoption in Arizona?
Some people claim there are some supposed drawbacks to open adoptions in Arizona. As a birth mother, you can still choose closed adoption if you want to. But most open adoptions in Arizona are good for everyone involved, especially the adoptees. That’s why open adoption in Arizona is recommended by the majority of adoption professionals.
What does open adoption mean in Arizona? When you opt for open adoption in Arizona, you remain in control of your decision. The terms of your open adoption are totally up to you. That includes things like how much information you share, what information you share, and how frequently you communicate with your child.
Agreements for open adoption in Arizona are built to meet your personal wishes. Still, in most open adoptions in Arizona, some basic information is shared, such as:
- Contact information so birth parents, adoptive parents, and the adoptee can stay in contact
- Family medical history for the birth parents
- In-person visits for special occasions such as holidays
- Direct contact between the involved parties
You’re in control of choosing the right family to raise your child in any kind of adoption. If open adoption in Arizona is appealing to you, be sure to search for agencies that handle open adoption in Arizona.
Below are some agencies in Arizona that work with birth mothers to facilitate open adoptions in AZ.
- American Adoptions
- Building Arizona Families
- Agape Adoption Agency of AZ
- ABC Infant and International Adoption Agency
What is a semi-open adoption in Arizona?
Semi-open adoption in Arizona has some things in common with open adoption in Arizona, but the primary difference if that the scope of semi-open adoption in Arizona is more limited. While there’s some communication between the birth parents and adoptive parents, the information shared is often less detailed.
The communication isn’t always direct in semi-open adoption in Arizona. Sometimes, the contact in semi-open adoption in Arizona is mediated by an adoption professional who serves as a go-between. The information exchanged may include limited details like:
- First names of the birth parents and adoptive families
- Basic medical information and family medical history for the adoptee
- Details about birth parents like biographical information or geographic location
If you prefer limited contact but want to know how your child is doing, then semi-open adoption in Arizona may be right for you.
What is a closed adoption in Arizona?
There are birth mothers who want no contact with their child or their adoptive family following placement. If that’s how you feel, it’s okay. The choice is yours alone. Closed adoption offers such an arrangement because there’s no exchange of information. The birth mother, however, can allow her child to find her at the age of 18.
Open Adoption vs. Closed Adoption in Arizona
The primary difference between open vs. closed adoption in Arizona is how much contact there is among the parties. In open adoption in AZ, any contact that the parties agree to is allowed. In a closed adoption, no information is exchanged at all, and there’s no post-placement contact between the parties.
If you’re contemplating closed adoption vs. open adoption in Arizona, please know some of the outcomes associated with closed adoption can negatively impact you and your child. For example:
- Birth parents won’t know their children are healthy and happy.
- Adoptees have no family medical history.
- Adoptees must often process feelings of abandonment.
- It can be tough (or impossible) for birth parents and children to meet in the future.
Closed adoptions were once the norm, but the advantages of open adoption in Arizona have made it routine now. Also, the supposed benefits of closed adoptions have been totally debunked, which makes open adoption in Arizona the preference of most birth mothers.
You have a right to choose closed vs. open adoption in Arizona if that’s really what you think is best for you and your baby, especially if ongoing contact creates safety issues for the child.
Are Open Adoptions in Arizona Enforceable by Law?
Agreements for open adoptions in Arizona, also known as post-adoption contract agreements or PACAs, are legally enforceable under Arizona state adoption law. However, in open adoptions, legally binding agreements aren’t usually necessary because the parties in the open adoption in Arizona share a mutual concern for the adoptee’s best interest.
Open adoptions in Arizona grow from a spirit of cooperation shared by the birth parents and adoptive parents. Adoptive parents and birth parents in open adoption in Arizona aren’t co-parenting. However, both parties love their child and cooperate for the child’s best interest. To find out more about open adoption in Arizona, you can speak with a licensed adoption professional to learn how the law applies to your situation.
How to Learn More about Open Adoption in Arizona
If you’re still asking, “What is open adoption in Arizona?” you should know it can mean many things to many different people. But there’s a good reason that open adoption has become the new norm in modern adoption. It benefits everyone involved. For birth mothers like you, there are few (if any) drawbacks in continuing your contact with your child and watching them grow within their adoptive family.
You may decide that open adoption in Arizona isn’t for you, and that choice is yours to make. Your decision is a personal one, and your choice will shape the future for you and your unborn child.
To get guidance from adoption professionals when choosing the type of adoption arrangement you want, simply complete our online form when you’re ready.
