Choices in Adoption

Open adoption as defined by the Second Open Adoption Conference is adoption which includes the birthparents and adoptive parents meeting one another, sharing full identifying information, and having access to ongoing contact over the years. (All three components must occur to fit this definition.)

Openness in adoption (or semi-open adoption) refers to various forms of communication between birthparents and adoptive parents, such as exchanging letters and pictures, meeting on a first name only basis, meeting once, but not engaging in ongoing contact, etc.*

Closed adoption would be if a birthmother does not want any contact at all with the child and/or the adoptive family.

*Kathleen Silber and Patricia Domer take this definition directly from Children of Open Adoption)

Agency Adoptions

1. The client would contact an adoption agency and go for counseling; the agency would assign a social worker who would meet with her from time to time during the pregnancy.
2. The agency keeps a list of couples who want to adopt and does an extensive interview and home study on each couple before approving them as adoptive parents.
3. The agency tells the client general information about the couple selected by the agency, or the agency gives the client the opportunity to peruse resumes and actually select the couple herself so that she can be comfortable with her decision.
4. One important part of the paper work is a social/medical history form that the birthmother must complete for the future welfare of the child.
5. If the father is named, the agency will attempt to notify him as soon as possible to see if he wants to be involved in the adoption plan. (This is not required by the State of Ohio, but it is done by the agency as a precaution.) If the agency is unable to contact the alleged father, his name is put into the Putative Father Registry so that he has the opportunity to claim paternity within 30 days of the baby's birth. Some agencies go beyond the Putative Father Registry by arranging court termination of fathers' rights for all known and unknown fathers.
6. All pregnancy and adoption-related expenses for the birthmother which have not been paid by health care insurance will be paid for by the adoptive parents.
7. The earliest that the birthmother can sign the termination of rights papers in Ohio is 72 hours. The baby usually stays in the hospital during that time and then goes to the adoptive parents' home, even though technically the custody belongs to the adoption agency until the final decree. Once in awhile, while the father is being notified (may be 30 days) or for other extenuating circumstances, the baby is kept in the agency's private foster care home (sometimes called cradle care), where the birthmother may visit the baby.
8. After that time, when the birthmother is ready to legally consent to the adoption plan, she signs the relinquishment of rights and consent to adoption papers (usually at the agency office, although sometimes she will request a different place).
9. The birthmother must complete a form - "Ohio Adoption Laws and Material" - within 48 hours of the child's placement into the adoptive home. This either provides or denies permission for the child to receive identifying information about his birthmother after he turns 18 should he request it. The agency files this document with the Department of Vital Statistics. The birthmother may update or change that form at any time during or beyond those 18 years.
10. The agency monitors progress of the adoptive family for six months, and then the adoption plan is finalized.

Court Adoptions or Private Adoptions

The term court adoption refers to those adoptions that are arranged legally, but not through an adoption agency; these adoptions are approved through the Franklin County Probate Court. The term private adoption means that placement of the child in the home is arranged privately through a private attorney or through a private physician who works with an attorney. (The term private sometimes has negative connotations; some people think it is the same as "black market adoption". This is not the case in Franklin County, where private or court adoptions are entirely legal. About the same number of infants are released for adoption each year in Franklin County through court or private adoptions as are released through licensed adoption agencies.)

1. A client would contact a private attorney (PDHC has a resource list of adoption agencies and attorneys) who handles adoptions (or a private physician), usually her OB/Gyn, who would work through an attorney. If the girl needs counseling, the attorney or physician might arrange this for the girl during her pregnancy.
2. The attorney keeps a list of adoptive couples. These people have been approved after an extensive home study by the Franklin County Probate Court.
3. The attorney tells the client general information about the couple so that the client is comfortable with the couple who will be adopting her baby.
4. One important part of the paper work is a social/medical history form that the birthmother must complete for the future welfare of the child.
5. If the father is named, the attorney may notify the father to see if he wants to be involved in the adoption plan. All attorneys do not do this since the State of Ohio does not require it. It depends on the wishes of the mother.
6. The client is not charged for the services of the attorney, nor for the medical care she receives during the pregnancy and during her stay at the hospital. The adoptive couple, according to provisions of Ohio law, pays for her expenses and the baby's. (If you ever hear of a case where money is changing hands between a birth mother and an adoptive couple, this adoption is not legal; the mother should see a reputable attorney or agency at once.)
7. When the mother leaves the hospital after the birth, she generally goes to the Probate Court with her attorney, where she signs the adoption papers in a private room with a court referee. This cannot occur until at least 72 hours after the baby is born, giving the mother time to consider her decision.
8. After the mother has signed the adoption papers at the court, the baby is released (generally from the hospital) to the attorney, who delivers it to the adoptive couple.
9. The birthmother must complete a form called "Ohio Adoption Laws and Material" within 48 hours of the child's placement into the adoptive home. This form either provides or denies permission for the child to receive identifying information about his birthmother after he turns 18 should he request it. The attorney files this document with the Department of Vital Statistics where it remains. The birthmother may update or change that form at any time during or beyond those 18 years.
10. The attorney or someone he hires monitors progress of the adoptive family for six months, and then the adoption plan is finalized.