open adoption
Non-secret family arrangement
Open adoption is an adoption arrangement where biological and adoptive parents maintain some form of contact, ranging from occasional letters and photos to regular visits.
This contrasts with closed adoption, where records are sealed and identities concealed.
The degree of openness varies widely and may be renegotiated as the child grows: They chose open adoption so their daughter could know her birth mother.
Relatives through legal placement
- birth familyRelatives by blood origin
- triadGroup of three
- constellationNamed pattern of celestial bodies
- attachmentConnection or fondness
bonding · connection · extended family · siblings · half-siblings · adoptive parents · co-parenting · dual identity
Supervised substitute parenting
- permanencyState of being lasting
- placementPutting somewhere specific
- best interestsOne's optimal benefit
- child servicesYouth protection agency
home study · guardianship · custody · protection · stability · well-being · advocacy · child rights
Act of revealing information
- honestyTruthfulness, sincerity
- opennessQuality of being accessible
- candorUnguarded truthfulness
- truthfulnessHabit of not lying
records · sealed records · right to know · telling · age-appropriate · family history · medical history · forthrightness
Female who gave birth
- biological fatherMale progenitor by blood
- birth familyRelatives by blood origin
- relinquishmentFormal giving up
- origin storyAccount of how something began
search · reunion · birthright · progenitor · maternity · paternity · ancestry · heritage
Official or formal visit
- lettersAlphabetic characters or mail
- photosRecorded light images
- updatesNewly provided information
- phone callsAuditory telecommunication sessions
video calls · meetings · boundaries · birthdays · holidays · milestones · social media · email
adoptive family
Relatives through legal placement
- birth familyRelatives by blood origin
- triadGroup of three
- constellationNamed pattern of celestial bodies
attachment · bonding · connection · extended family · siblings · half-siblings · adoptive parents · co-parenting · dual identity · blended family
foster care
Supervised substitute parenting
- permanencyState of being lasting
- placementPutting somewhere specific
- best interestsOne's optimal benefit
child services · home study · guardianship · custody · protection · stability · well-being · advocacy · child rights · kinship care
disclosure
Act of revealing information
truthfulness · records · sealed records · right to know · telling · age-appropriate · family history · medical history · forthrightness · sincerity
biological mother
Female who gave birth
- biological fatherMale progenitor by blood
- birth familyRelatives by blood origin
- relinquishmentFormal giving up
origin story · search · reunion · birthright · progenitor · maternity · paternity · ancestry · heritage · lineage
visitation
Official or formal visit
phone calls · video calls · meetings · boundaries · birthdays · holidays · milestones · social media · email · correspondence
- adoptionadoptive parents, birth parents, adoptive parent, birth parent, birth mother
- familymother, father, parents, siblings, parent
- family lifebirth, kinship, childbirth, pregnancy, new baby
- child welfarechild protection, child welfare, foster care, child services, foster home
- rainbow familiesrainbow families, rainbow family, same-sex parents, two dads, two moms
- ICWAtribal courts, tribal membership, tribal nations, native children, indigenous children