by Susan Donley

Created on: June 11, 2009

Historically, there have been two types of adoption:

* Open: Both the adopted child and the adoptive parent may have access to the child's biological family and life history.
* Closed: Neither the adopted child nor adoptive parent has access to the child's biological history.

Today, with kinship adoptions of children by their biological grandparent(s) or other relatives, sibling group or adolescent adoptions, and with foster-to-adopt adoptions from child protective service agencies, the distinction between open and closed adoptions is less clearly defined. Even some international adoptions are open because adoptive parents can meet with and exchange information with their child's biological family.

Consider, for the purposes of this discussion, these new definitions of the two types of adoption:

* Open: Adoptive parents allow their adopted minor child access to his biological family. Access may include, on one end of the spectrum, information only; to, on the other end of the spectrum, unsupervised visits with his biological family.
* Closed: Adoptive parents do not allow their adopted minor child access to his biological family.

While there are benefits to both types of adoption, open adoptions have the most benefits.

It is important to keep foremost in your mind, the primary benefit of adoption. Children are adopted for their benefit not for the adoptive parents' benefit. All children deserve loving parents, a safe home, nutritious food, and quality education. Children who do not have these necessities are adopted by adults who can provide them.

Understanding that an adoption is for the child's benefit helps us to answer the questions that confirm an open adoption provides the most benefits:

Should an adopted child understand why he has different physical features than his adoptive family? Absolutely. Growing up, children who do not look like their parents are teased by not only their siblings but by school mates and other children whether they're adopted or not. Children need to feel like they belong. If their skin color is olive while their siblings' or parents' skin is fair, they struggle to understand why they look different. In an open adoption, even young children can be told why they look different than the rest of their family. Physical differences can be explored and celebrated. Differences can be appreciated as diversity. Children who understand why they don't look like Mommy or Daddy but feel that their differences are valued and important have higher

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