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How Does an Open Adoption Work in Idaho?

Staying Connected With Your Child Post-Adoption

Open adoption in Idaho can be one of the best choices you’ll make because it can provide your child with a life full of love and opportunity with their adoptive family. Open adoption also allows you to maintain a lifelong connection with your child and the adoptive family.

As with any major decision, understanding the pros and cons of open adoption in Idaho may help you decide the best choice for your and your child’s future.

Take a moment to look at some common questions prospective birth mothers have asked about open adoption in Idaho.

After you have read through this article and you believe open adoption in Idaho is right for you, contact us today to be connected with an adoption professional to start your adoption process!

What is Open Adoption in Idaho? [And Not Saying “Goodbye” Forever]

When it comes to open adoption in Idaho (or any type of adoption), know that you are the one who makes the decisions. Free help and support from adoption professionals will always be available to you during any part of the process.

Open adoption in Idaho is an opportunity to continue a relationship with your child after placing them up for adoption. This is accomplished in a few ways, depending on your preferences.

How does open adoption work in Idaho? When you’re a prospective birth mother, you will create your adoption plan, which sets the level of contact you want with the adoptive parents and your child pre-and post-adoption. Working with a professional, you will choose one of these three options:

  • Open adoption
  • Semi-open adoption
  • Closed adoption

If you would like to have a long-lasting relationship with your child and the adoptive family, then your adoption plan will involve either open or semi-open adoption in Idaho.

With many levels of openness, you can build a lasting relationship with your child in a way that makes you feel comfortable.

If you’d like to know each other’s identifying information (like full names and phone numbers), you can do that.

However, the level of privacy varies between the prospective birth mother and the adoptive parents in a semi-open adoption. Identifying details like last names, phone numbers and addresses are kept private. Open adoption in Idaho, on the other hand, is a direct relationship.

Open adoption in Idaho is the most common form of adoption for birth parents. This openness typically includes:

  • Phone/video calls
  • Text messages
  • In-person visits throughout the year
  • Emails
  • Letters

Where are Open Adoption Agencies in Idaho?

There are a number of open adoption agencies in Idaho that can help you place your baby for adoption. Contact an open adoption agency here, or reach out to one of these Idaho open adoption agencies to learn more:

What are the Benefits of an Open Adoption in Idaho?

There are many notable emotional and psychological benefits of open adoption in Idaho for your child, yourself and the adoptive parents.

Benefits of open adoption in Idaho for your child:

  • The child can always come to you with any questions they might have someday about the adoption.
  • Children benefit from other adult connections in their life, so open adoptions create a natural, expanded sense of a supportive family.

Benefits open adoption in Idaho for you:

  • You can enjoy the child’s milestones and watch your child grow up healthy, happy and loved.
  • You set the boundaries of communication, so if you only want to speak with the adoptive parents about your child’s life, that’s absolutely possible.
  • Your child and the adoptive family will be able to talk to you if their child has any medical concerns in the future.

There are many beautiful stories of birth mothers choosing open adoption, like Alanna placing her daughter up for adoption to Jimmy and Chris, so she and her daughter could have a brighter future. You can watch their story here.

Benefits of open adoption in Idaho for the adoptive family:

  • For some adoptive families, the birth mother becomes part of their own extended family, and with that comes an opportunity to develop an ongoing, healthy relationship with one another.
  • There is also often an extra measure of encouragement the adoptive family experiences from knowing they were hand-picked to become the caregivers for the child.

What are the Disadvantages of an Open Adoption in Idaho?

Even though there are many benefits of open adoption in Idaho for you, the child and the adoptive family, we cannot ignore the possible hardships and challenges you might face before, during or after the adoption. Open adoption in Idaho may not be the best solution for everyone.

Some women find post-adoption contact with the adoptive family and their child to be a painful reminder of a difficult time. Other women might enjoy the communication and interaction with their child so much that they may get second thoughts about the adoption.

In these cases, some women may choose a closed adoption because they believe it will be easier to find closure and move forward after adoption, and that’s okay. Just know there is never a wrong solution.

Any problem that may arise is something that you and the adoptive family can work through with conversation and with some patience. Remember to talk to your adoption professional if you have any concerns about the potential cons of open adoption.

Open Adoption and Closed Adoption in Idaho [What’s the Difference?]

The decision to have openness in your adoption can be a well-established, evolving connection based on the comfort of both you and the adoptive parents. The open adoption definition can be whatever level of contact you want.

You might initially decide just phone conversations are enough communication for your relationship, however, later in life on a special holiday or another occasion, you might want to arrange for a visit. Open adoption allows for such times to happen.

Birth parents can take charge of their adoption plans in an open adoption. The question of whether you chose the right family could no longer be a concern after meeting and interacting with the adoptive parents. Meeting and developing a relationship with the family typically puts many birth parents at ease and makes the difficult decision of open adoption in Idaho less strenuous.

Closed Adoption

When it comes to open vs. closed adoption in Idaho, a closed adoption does not involve many interactions between the prospective birth mother and the adoptive family or the child. There is a little-to-no exchange of identifying information from either party, which usually includes medical records.

A birth mother’s choice for wanting a closed adoption is typically to avoid the challenging emotions of moving forward after placement. We recommend speaking with your adoption professional before deciding on whether open vs. closed adoption in Idaho is the better option for you.

This is a significant decision because once you make the choice of closed adoption, it can be very difficult to change.

There are many families waiting for the opportunity to adopt. And, whether you have further questions about open adoption in Idaho or you are ready to start the adoption process, you can contact us now to be connected with an adoption professional.