Domestic Adoption

What is Open Adoption?

Most open adoption practitioners tend to agree that a genuine open adoption is an
adoption that is based on truth, reality, honor, respect,
options and flexibility, acknowledgement of pain, transformation, a
relationship kin to covenant, and a desire to maximize the adopted child's
total life experience by being inclusive of all the child’s blood and
psychological relatives.

(Written by Cathy Raidna; Ideas conglomerated in
The Spirit of Open Adoption by Jim Gritter)

What is an adoption triad?

An adoption triad consists of all the parties to an adoption -
birthparents, adoptive parents, and the adoptee.

What actions are involved in an open adoption?

An open adoption is a legal transfer of parental rights from one set of
parents to another. Original parents become birthparents, adoptive applicants
become parents.  Both sets of parents love and nurture the
adopted child. The new parents raise, teach, discipline, make decisions
on behalf of, and provide for the child as their son or daughter, as a
member of their immediate family.

What might an open adoption look like?

Sometimes birthparents and birthfamilies become very close with the
newly created family and develop relationships much like we
see with today's extended families. Birth families may take on as
significant a role as the in-law families created by marriage. When a
couple marries and accepts their spouses family, they do it out of love
for their spouse. Shouldn't the same be given to a child who joins the family?

Frequently birthmothers and mothers, and birthfathers and fathers,
develop relationships similar to siblinghood.

A child's four sets of grandparents often find it gratifying to have seven
other adults doting on their grandchild.

And of course, problems may arise--given that we are dealing with humans
and intense emotions. But you will learn to work through them with support from your
case worker and through classes specifically designed to address adoption related issues.

International Adoption

We wholeheartedly endorse and support

Chinese Children Adoption International

as one of the best international adoption programs you will find in the USA.

Adoptaid provides home studies and post-placement services (Cost for both services about $2400,
see Fees and Services) to Michigan Families who use CCAI to facilitate their
adoptions. Adoptaid and CCAI have successfully worked together since 1998.

Please review their website for more information. www.chinesechildren.org

Please email adoptaid@greaterhopes.org or call (616) 365-3166 for more information.

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