Benefits of Semi-Open Adoption in Colorado
The most talked about adoption options are definitely open and closed adoptions. Many people don’t realize there’s a third adoption option called semi-open adoption. Adoption Choices of Colorado is one of the adoption agencies in Colorado that offers all three types of adoption.
If you’re facing an unplanned pregnancy and looking for a middle ground between closed adoption and the kind of ongoing post-adoption relationship that often goes with open adoption, semi-open adoption could be a great choice for you. Semi-open adoption provides more privacy protection than a typical open adoption, but you can still receive information about your child as he or she grows.
What are the Advantages of Semi-Open Adoption for Me as a Birth Mother?
If you are considering putting your child up for adoption, but aren’t sure you want to completely cut off all contact with him or her, a semi-open adoption plan is a good option to consider. Semi-open adoption offers some of the same privacy protections as closed adoption; but with contact between the birth mother and the adoptive family, facilitated through your adoption agency. Our Colorado adoption agency, specifically, uses a secure and confidential online portal called ChildConnect. Through this, you can exchange letters, photos and updates with the adoptive parents from a safe distance, which is just one of the many advantages semi-open adoption offers.
There are many other benefits of semi-open adoption for you to keep in mind as well:
- Control. Facing an unplanned pregnancy can be a scary and uncertain time in your life. If you decide you do not want to, or are unable to, parent a child right now, being able to choose your baby’s adoptive parents can give you a sense of control. Selecting the right adoptive family for your child is an empowering choice you can make that helps secure a future for your child in a loving home.
- Comfort. Semi-open adoption can help you manage the grief and loss you may feel post adoption. Knowing your child is loved and being raised in a nurturing home, chosen by you, can provide you comfort. Plus, with semi-open adoption, you have the option to receive regular updates, including photos of your child. This allows you to check-in with your child and receive assurance that he or she is doing well. Having the ability to have some contact with your child can help you find closure and peace with your decision.
- Privacy. Unlike in an open adoption, where you have direct contact with the adoptive parents,, in semi-open adoption, the contact is mediated through Adoption Choices of Colorado helps mediate and facilitate all communication through ChildConnect. This gives you an extra layer of privacy — where last names and other identifying information can be kept confidential — and allows you to converse from a distance.
Can Semi-Open Adoption be a Good Choice for My Baby?
Yes! Open adoption is widely regarded among adoption professionals as the most beneficial choice for not only birth mothers, but also for adoptees and adoptive families. Yet, semi-open adoption shares many of the same advantages and can still be a beneficial option for your child..
- Identity. As adoptees grow, they often have questions about their birth families and histories. The answers to those questions can really only be provided by a member of their birth family. An adoptee who has contact with his or her birth mother can get answers to those questions. Having those questions answered often helps boost an adoptee’s self-esteem and gives him or her more confidence in building his or her own sense of self.
- Support. Maintaining some kind of contact between a birth mother and her child gives the adoptee a larger and greater support system as he or she grows. With contact, the potential exists to grow the relationship between the birth mother and her child, if that is something both parties want. Having even limited contact can help give an adoptee a greater sense of belonging and comfort.
- Medical History. It sometimes happens that a birth mother becomes aware of a potentially inherited medical condition after she’s placed a child for adoption. With semi-open adoption, birth mothers are able to contact the adoptee or the adoptive family through Adoption Choices of Colorado and inform them of any medical information they may need to know. Even if it never becomes necessary, it can be comforting to the adoptee to know that he or she has an up to date family medical history.
In What Ways do Adoptive Parents Benefit from Semi-Open Adoption?
Adoptive parents share many of the same benefits as adoptees in semi-open adoption, such as the opportunity to know a more complete medical history for the child. But semi-open adoption offers some advantages unique to adoptive parents.
- Reassurance. Often, adoptive parents have long dreamed of becoming a family through adoption. Your sacrifice is a gift to them. Many adoptive parents find comfort and reassurance in knowing they were specifically chosen by their child’s birth mother to be his or her adoptive parents. Getting to know their child’s birth mother can help the adoptive family find closure as well.
- Boundaries. With Adoption Choices of Colorado facilitating the communication, both the birth mother and the adoptive family have both privacy and clear boundaries that can help both parties feel protected. Having boundaries in place and roles clearly defined helps eliminate any potential confusion or conflict.
- Information. In addition to medical history, adoptive parents might learn more about their child’s birth family history through communication with the child’s birth mother. Those stories and that information can help adoptive parents answer questions and give appropriate explanations to the adoptee.
Is Semi-Open Adoption the Right Choice for Me and My Baby?
Semi-open adoption offers a middle ground between the finality of closed adoption and the more personal relationships in an open adoption. This can provide valuable protection for a birth mother who values privacy but still wants to check in with her child as he or she grows. With a semi-open adoption, Adoption Choices of Colorado will mediate communication between you and your child’s adoptive family throughout his or her childhood.
Our adoption professionals can help you weigh the benefits of semi-open adoption compared to other types of adoption. We will help you put together the right adoption pan for you and your baby.
If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and want to learn more about your adoption options, contact Adoption Choices of Colorado by email, phone, or text: Email Us, Text us: 720-371-1099, Call us: 303-670-4673 (HOPE). If you are hoping to adopt, please contact us here.
Meet the Author: After graduating from University of Michigan with a degree in Education, majoring in English and Social Sciences, Brianne Davis has spent her adult life as an educator; first in the public schools, later through martial arts. Her ability to convey difficult concepts, navigate varied learning styles, and always keep it interesting defined her reputation as an impactful instructor. Many of her early published blogs centered on the goal of helping other instructors effectively teach children for whom learning is a struggle. Once an empty nester, she committed to sitting in traffic less and writing more. With those goals in mind, she, along with her husband and dogs, packed up, sold their family home, and moved to the banks of the Columbia River in Central Washington’s wine country, where the pace of life is slower and the sun shines brighter. Realizing in our modern age, more of us turn to the internet for information than ever before, Brianne, now dedicates her time to educating others through blog writing.
As a life-long information junkie, Brianne enjoys taking deep dives into new topics, then condensing them in an interesting way to convey valuable information in a relatively short amount of space. Once her career, Brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts remain hobbies, along with boating, reading and traveling.
Stephanie joined the Adoption Choices family in 2014 as the Child Placement Supervisor. Her love for adoption began in first grade when she made friends with twins adopted from Vietnam. Her heart grew strong over the years for adopted children and ultimately led her to graduate school where she continued her focus to her dream of working in the adoption field. Stephanie earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2001. Over the past 15 years, Stephanie has worked as a pregnancy counselor and as an adoptive parent counselor for foster care, international adoption and domestic adoption, writing hundreds of home studies for families, and helping build their forever families. Stephanie is married and has three boys ages 12, 9, and 5. Together with her family she enjoys riding bike, playing games, watching her three sons compete in their various sporting and musical activities and go on vacations.
Christy Ikeler, is our Executive Director and Birth Parent Director. Christy has been with Adoption Choices Team for 18 years, since opening the doors in 2002! Christy has a true passion for what she does and her true love is working with and helping each birth parent. Whether she is up all night on the phone talking with them, taking them to doctors appointments, out for their favorite treat, providing counseling or at the hospital during labor and delivery, Christy is very involved every step of the way. She has a contagious laugh and a spunky personality that our birth moms all can bond with and relate to. As an adoptive parent herself, adoption holds a very special place in her heart and she can relate on every level with both birth parents and adoptive parents. In her free time Christy loves spending time with her daughter, gardening, baking and taking vacations with her family. Christy is an excellent leader for our team at Adoption Choices and is truly one of a kind!! As Executive Director, Christy spends time with the staff, birth parents and adoptive families in order to ensure that the agency is running smoothly. She has placed a huge emphasis on community outreach and programs for birth parents. Christy loves the opportunity to lead the agency into a brighter future.
Ms. Mackenzie has built a successful counseling career over the past 20 years, supporting mothers and families, people of all ages and genders, students, community professionals and fellow clinicians. Liv values a diverse professional focus, including the entrepreneurial life of a sole proprietor, the evaluative process of certifying foster/adoptive homes, the insightful and mindful one-on-one one work with enthusiastic clients, and serving as an advocate for underserved populations. Liv is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a BA in Pre-Law and Economics from American University, an MA in Counseling from Adams University and a certificate in Human Resource Management from Villanova University. Away from work you will find Liv spending time in nature, biking to the farmer’s market and adventuring with her family.
Catherine A. Madsen, joined the Adoption Choices family as legal counsel in 2013. Catherine is responsible for providing legal guidance to the Agency, training and updating staff on developments in adoption law and legislation, and program development. Catherine
Virginia Frank is an adoption attorney accredited since 1991 with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Ms. Frank is a leader in the field of private adoption and has completed over 4,000 adoptions in her career. Ms. Frank has a law degree from Oklahoma City University and a BA in both Political Science and Communications from the University of Oklahoma.
Cassidie has been with Adoption Choices since 2015, she has her bachelors in Interdisciplinary Affairs with concentrations in both Sociology and Business Management. Cassidie has additional training in Victim Advocacy, foster care and has been working in women’s services for over 10 years. Cassidie has always had a heart for adoption and it was her career dream to work in adoption. She started off doing volunteer work for advocacy programs, adoption organizations and worked in High Risk Maternal Fetal Medicine through the University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Cassidie is also blessed to have personally experienced an adoption of her own in 2012, completing her family of five! Cassidie loves what she does as a case worker from initial phone calls, meetings, doctor appointments, interaction with the adoptive families to delivery and counseling. Cassidie has a passion for those in need and strives to help make a difference in the lives of the people she meets. She is a firm believer in being kind, compassionate and open minded in all situations. “Unless you’ve walked in their shoes, there’s no place for judgment. A kind word or compliment can go a long way!” The bittersweet moments in adoption reminds Cassidie each and every time, why she loves what she does!