What is an open adoption?
In an open adoption, the birth and adoptive families have access to varying degrees of each other's personal information and have an option of contact. The adoptive parents hold all the rights as the legal parents. Yet, the individuals of the birth and adoptive families may exercise the option to open the contact in varying forms: from sending mail and/or photos, to face-to-face visits between birth and adoptive families.
On the other hand, closed adoptions only allow for the exchange of non-identifying and medical information regarding the birthparents, typically through the agency through whom the child was placed.
