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Introduction

Introduction

A two-day symposium on openness in adoption, hosted by the Dave Thomas Center for Adoption Law (now known as the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy) in Columbus, OH, was held in May, 2000. The symposium focused on two specific issues of primary importance to all connected with adoption:

• Access to birth records by adult adoptees (open records), and
• Post-adoption contact between birth and adoptive families (open adoption).

I encourage everyone to attend any conference or symposium where diverse groups from the world of adoption gather to talk and exchange ideas. You might be surprised at the changes occurring, and your own experience added to the dialog may help someone listening to formulate his/her own opinions.

Those who attended and participated in the symposium were, for the most part, a progressive and forward-looking group of people who are no longer (if they ever were) accepting platitudes, definitions, and biases of the past. Open records and open adoption were almost universally seen as viable and justifiable practices; what remain for most are the specifics of implementation.

Things you may not know

As a teaser, here are some points made during the symposium that will be discussed in context in the article:

• The Child Welfare League supports open adoption and open records.
  
  
• Tennessee's records access statutes and automatic contact veto apply to an enormous range of relatives of an adoptee including birth and adoptive family members, step-parents, descendants, and the legal representatives of any/all of these.
  
  
• Measure 58 in Oregon provides that the one document adult adoptees will receive will be a copy (not certified) of their original birth certificates.

It's not possible to relate everything that was said, and what follows are summaries of major points together with my comments.

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