Choosing the Type of Adoption You Want in Your Adoption Plan
As an expectant mother exploring your unplanned pregnancy options, you may have questions about the types of adoptions available through adoption agencies in Colorado. Whether or not to place your baby for adoption is a hard decision. We can help! At Adoption Choices of Colorado, we can provide you with the information and support you need to make the right choice for yourself and your baby.
We offer three basic categories of newborn adoption for you to consider in your adoption plan: open, semi-open and closed adoptions. The differences among the three mostly focus on the issues of contact and privacy. Determining which adoption option works best for you depends on your preferences. For instance, how much personal information you’re comfortable exchanging with the adoptive family, and how much contact you want between yourself and adoptive parents — both during the pregnancy and post adoption.
What is a Closed Adoption?
Closed adoption, also known as confidential adoptions, is the most private adoption option we facilitate at Adoption Choices of Colorado. In a closed adoption, the birth mother and adoptive parents will have no direct contact. No identifying information, such as known medical history, is exchanged between you and the adoptive family through the adoption agency or otherwise.
Sometimes in closed adoptions, the child may not even be told that he or she was adopted, and you will not know his or her name. This option might work well for birth mothers who find it too difficult to have contact with their child and want to gain a sense of closure. However, we do want to note that this option can be challenging due to the existence of social media and the internet. While we do our utmost to protect your privacy, there is no guarantee you would maintain absolute anonymity.
What is a Semi-Open Adoption?
Semi-open adoptions involve more contact between the birth mother and adoptive family. All communication is typically monitored through a secure, confidential online portal we use at our adoption agency called ChildConnect. This allows you to receive updates, letters and pictures of your child from a safe distance. Identifying information, such as last names and addresses, can be kept private, if you’d like that, as well.
Often, in a semi-open adoption, the birth mother and adoptive family have the opportunity to meet prior to the birth of the baby. The adoptive parents may also be present at the hospital when the baby is born. So, if you’d like to know a little about your child’s adoptive parents and how he or she is doing as they grow up, semi-open adoption can provide that for you.
What is an Open Adoption?
Open adoptions make up the largest percentage of adoptions through Adoption Choices of Colorado. It is the most common type of adoption chosen by birth mothers, and the one that we believe keeps everyone’s best interests at heart. The exact terms of an open adoption plan can be decided by you to reflect your level of comfort, along with your needs from the adoption process.
In an open adoption, the birth mother and adoptive parents make contact directly and begin forming a relationship before the baby is born. The adoptive parents usually come to the hospital when the birth mother is in labor and take the baby home as soon as it’s medically advisable. Keep in mind, the degree of involvement in one another’s lives post adoption can change over time. Open adoption agreements are not legally enforceable in Colorado, but are often advised as the best option for you, the adoptive parents and the child.
Which Type of Adoption is Best for Your Adoption Plan?
As you can see, each type of adoption comes with its own pros and cons. Each one has a varying level of openness and communication to best accommodate you and your personal situation. There is no right or wrong choice to make. It’s all up to you and what you feel is best for you and your child.
Adoption Choices of Colorado would love to answer your questions and help you figure out what adoption option will best meet your needs. No matter what type of adoption you choose, we want to help make sure it’s a choice that works well for you — both now and in the future.
So, what type of adoption is best for your adoption plan?
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!