ABSTRACT
The numbers of birth and adoptive families that embrace some degree of openness in adoption are growing each year, and will continue to transform the landscape of adoption, both in the United States and around the world. Whether these families are prepared to face the complexities of these relationships depends in large part on how adoption professionals see their role in preparing and educating all parties, before and after the adoption takes place. This chapter will examine the role of adoption professionals in preparing the way for healthier open relationships, and discuss some of the best practices of open adoption. We will also look at some of the ways that openness is expressing itself in international adoptions. Finally, the profiled family features a 26-year-old woman who has spent her entire childhood and young adulthood in an open relationship with her birth mother.
