When you choose open adoption in Wyoming, it allows you to stay connected to your child and their adoptive family.

Most modern adoptions have a degree of openness. In fact, open adoption agreements are common and supported by most adoption professionals. 

Open adoption in Wyoming can be a rewarding experience for the whole adoption triad; it benefits you, your baby, and the adoptive parents.

With open adoption, you can:

• Select your baby’s adoptive family and begin a long-lasting relationship with them.
• Choose the type of contact you want with your baby’s adoptive family and how often you would like these interactions.
• Continue a relationship with your child throughout their adolescence.

Adoption places you in control of the process. You get to determine what is right for you and your baby and make choices that will support you now and in the future. One of the most impactful decisions you will make is what kind of adoption agreement you enter. Your adoption specialist will help you understand the way that this works and guide you through the process.  

If you are ready to talk to an adoption professional about the type of adoption that you wish to have, contact an expert today.

What is Open Adoption in Wyoming?

Open adoption is a common type of adoption agreement that allows the birth mother to stay connected to her baby and her baby’s adoptive parents. There are as many ways that an open adoption can look as there are open adoptions. Everyone has different preferences and life circumstances that allow for slightly different interactions. Some engage in consistent communication, and others have updates that are more spread out.

An open adoption in Wyoming can involve:

• Pictures and letters (mediated or not)
• Emails and text messages
• Phone calls and video calls
• In-person visits

You might wonder if open adoption is a specialty that you must ask about when considering different adoption agencies. There really is no such thing as an “open adoption agency” because – for the most part – every private domestic agency is willing and able to work with you to create the adoption agreement that makes you most comfortable.

The following agencies can facilitate an open adoption for you:

• American Adoptions
• Wyoming and Colorado Children’s Society
• Catholic Charities of Wyoming

What are the Benefits of Open Adoption in Wyoming?

It is widely accepted by adoption professionals that an open adoption has significant advantages. The benefits of open adoption are not limited to one person, but span the whole adoption triad.

Post-adoption contact is good for everyone: birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children.

• Birth Parents: Open adoption allows birth parents an opportunity to maintain contact and foster a loving relationship with their child. They can receive updates about the ways that their child is growing and thriving, and they are able to tell their child their adoption story when they get older. When a birth mother knows that adoption placement does not end their relationship with their child, it can lessen the feelings of grief and loss that can follow placement.
• Adoptive Families: Hopeful adoptive families who are willing to enter an open adoption agreement will match with birth mothers who want the same thing. This will likely result in a shorter wait time. Open adoption also offers them the benefit of having answers for their child when questions come up about their birth parents and adoption story.
• Adopted Children: Open adoption is perhaps most beneficial to the adopted child, and this is the reason it is encouraged by so many adoption professionals. Adopted children who have an open adoption relationship with their birth parents can ask questions about their history, their adoption, and their biological family. Especially during their older adolescent years, this can ease some of the identity challenges that adopted children often face. Additionally, open adoption offers an avenue to learn about any health history changes that would be good for them to know.

Can I Choose a Closed Adoption in Wyoming?

Though the benefits of open adoption are clear, there are many valid reasons that a birth mother may prefer a closed adoption.

A closed adoption is one with little to no information that is shared between adoptive parents and birth parents. Closed adoption gives you the opportunity to choose the perfect adoptive family for your child, but does not require that you have pre-adoption contact with the adoptive parents. The relationship does not continue after adoption placement.

If you are debating between adoption vs. closed adoption, it is important that you consider some of the reasons that birth mothers decide to enter into a closed adoption.

Some reasons women choose closed adoption are:

• They require emotional closure after placement that open adoption does not allow.
• They are concerned about risks to their safety or the safety of their child.
• They need privacy that only a closed adoption can give them.

How Will I Find Adoptive Parents Who Want an Open Adoption in Wyoming?

Some hopeful adoptive parents enter the adoption process hesitant to agree to an open adoption in Wyoming. However, when informed of the many benefits of open adoption, it is very common that they are enthusiastic about the possibility of an open adoption.

Many adoption professionals advocate for open adoption, and therefore, it is not all that difficult to find adoptive parents who are also looking for an open adoption in Wyoming. Increasingly, families are looking for birth mothers who desire a continued relationship with them and their child.

Open adoption agencies that will facilitate the adoption agreement you want are easy to find. Professionals will guide you through the matching process so that you have many choices of families who want an open adoption. They will gather profiles of families for you to review, and you will choose the perfect adoptive family from there.

Your adoption specialist will also help you draft a postadoption contact agreement (PACA) which will outline your post-adoption relationship needs and preferences. Also known as an open adoption agreement, this will help set some shared expectations between you and your child’s adoptive parents.

The right agency will advise you and the adoptive family to stay true to one’s word when agreeing to an open adoption agreement in Wyoming. They will also inform you that reasonable and mutually agreed upon changes can be made to your agreement as time goes on.

What are the Cons of Open Adoption in Wyoming?

Closed adoption is an adoption agreement that does not allow contact between you and your child. Semi-open adoption  — which involves mediated or very limited communication – or open adoption are your other choices. This decision is yours, and your preferences will influence the details of your adoption agreement.

While there may be some disadvantages to choosing open adoption, the benefits of an open adoption agreement in Wyoming far outweigh any potential cons.

Of course, your open adoption is a relationship, and no relationship is perfect. There likely will be some growing pains and differing opinions you need to work through. However, the typical cons of open adoption that you hear are rare and, often times, products of a misunderstanding of how open adoptions work.

The truth is that open adoption, while imperfect, is almost always the best option. However, you are in control of this process, and you get to determine what kind of relationship is best for you.

Whether that is open or closed adoption, adoption professionals will offer you with counsel and empathy throughout your journey and even after.

If you are ready to speak with a Wyoming adoption specialist about the type of adoption that is right for you, contact an agency today.