Choosing to place your baby with another family through adoption doesn’t mean that you will never see your child again. Through open adoption in Kentucky, you can communicate with your child and their adoptive parents before and after adoption placement.

In the U.S., 90% of adoptions are open adoptions and here are just a few examples of benefits that come with an open adoption:

• Allows you to build a trusting relationship with your child’s adoptive parents
• Allows you to build a special relationship with your child
• Helps you cope with grief and loss after adoption placement
• Gives you peace of mind to see your child living their best possible life

Let’s take a look at some of your questions about open adoption vs. closed adoption in Kentucky. Contact an adoption professional online at any time to begin your open adoption or if you have more open adoption questions.

What Does an Open Adoption Mean in Kentucky?

When you choose to communicate with your child and their adoptive parents before, during and after adoption, this is known as open adoption in Kentucky.

An important part of open adoption is your willingness to share your contact information with your child’s hopeful adoptive parents — and they share their contact information with you as well. When you create your communication plan, you can exchange phone numbers, email addresses and home addresses for phone calls, video chats and sending letters or gifts in the mail.

You don’t have to share all of your information, though. For example, you may only share your phone number if you only want contact by phone. Here are some reasons that you may share your information in an open adoption in Kentucky:

1. Build trust with your baby’s adoptive parents
2. Ask each other questions
3. Share important information
4. Your child’s adoptive parents want to get to know you, too
5. They want to be prepared to give your child the opportunities that you want for them
6. you are giving your child a connection to their heritage
7. You and your child’s adoptive parents can talk to your child together when they have questions

In Kentucky, it is important to know that your open adoption communication plan is not a legal document, which means that it is an informal agreement between you and your child’s hopeful adoptive parents. But, your adoption professional will include your communication plan in your adoption plan and they can help you if there are any issues with your communication plan in the future.

How Does an Open Adoption Work in Kentucky?

The open adoption process can be simple and straightforward when you work with the right adoption agency. There are three basic steps to the open adoption process:

Step 1: Know that open adoption is right for you. Talk to your adoption specialist and let them know that you’re considering open adoption. They will help you decide how much communication may be best for you.

Step 2: View adoptive family profiles and choose your baby’s perfect parents. Adoption agencies have local and/or national matching services to help you learn about the families they work with. You can view as many profiles as you need to find the hopeful adoptive parents that you would like to get to know.

Step 3: When you have an adoption match, get help scheduling a time to talk and/or meet your child’s hopeful adoptive parents. If the adoptive family that you chose agrees to adopt your baby then you have an adoption match. Now your adoption specialist can contact the adoptive parents and let them know that you want to communicate with them through open adoption.

Keep in mind that you can still have an open adoption even if the adoptive parents that you choose for your baby live in another state. Your adoption specialist will coordinate travel arrangements for the hopeful adoptive parents to travel to you — you don’t ever have to worry about traveling when you agree to meet with your child and their adoptive family in person.

There are no limits to your open adoption communication plan, only what you and your child’s adoptive parents are comfortable with. You don’t have to meet in person or talk on the phone to have an open adoption. If communication by email updates is all that you need to have peace of mind in your child’s health and happiness, that’s OK. Once you and your child’s adoptive parents agree then your open adoption communication can continue for many years.

Open vs. Closed Adoption in Kentucky

The difference between open and closed adoption in Kentucky is whether or not you choose to share your personal information with your child’s adoptive parents.

With open adoption, you can share your personal phone number, email and home address with your child’s adoptive parents and they share their personal information with you as well.

Closed adoption means that your child’s adoptive parents will not have access to your personal information and you won’t have access to their personal information.

It’s not bad to choose closed adoption if you believe that this option is best for you. But, keep in mind that research shows open adoption to be beneficial for everyone involved.

When you choose closed adoption, you still get to choose your child’s adoptive parents. Your adoption specialist will let the hopeful adoptive parents know that a prospective birth mother has chosen them and they will give the family information about the baby’s race, due date and other medical information.

After adoption placement, in a closed adoption, you can still get support and counseling from your adoption agency, but you won’t receive any updates about your child. Some birth parents want the space that closed adoption provides, and that’s OK. You’re still brave for choosing adoption and you’re selfless for giving your child a loving family.

If you have more questions about open adoption vs. closed adoption, you can contact us online to speak with an adoption professional.

Open Adoption Agencies in Kentucky

If you know that open adoption is right for you, then you can benefit from working with an open adoption agency. These agencies work with hopeful adoptive parents and prospective birth parents who want an open adoption.

Open adoption agencies in Kentucky understand that communication throughout the adoption process can create the best possible adoption experience for you, your child’s adoptive parents and your child. Adoption is always about what is best for your child’s future and open adoption is the best way to provide your child with the opportunity to understand their identity as an adoptee.

You can contact the following open adoption agencies in Kentucky to learn more about their services:

• American Adoptions
• Love Basket
• All Blessings International
• Heart to Home
• Nightlight Christian Adoptions
• Adoption Bridges

You can contact an adoption professional today to learn more about open adoption in Kentucky.