Types of Adoption in Pennsylvania

“Types of Adoption in Pennsylvania” blog post photo.

“Open” or “closed” are two of the many ways in which we distinguish the various types of adoptions in Pennsylvania. There are also kinship, or family adoptions, agency adoptions and international adoptions. Today, we’d like to focus on the open vs. closed distinction, as it is something that you can see in any of the other types of adoptions noted above. Agency, kinship, or international adoptions focus on the type or manner of the adoption. Open vs. closed focuses on what happens to the parties involved in the adoption both during and after the adoption process.

A closed adoption is regarded as a traditional type of adoption in which the adoptive and biological parents do not know each other and do not meet during or after the actual adoption. There is no contact after the adoption between the adoptive family and the new child on one side and the biological family on the other side.

This system has been in place for decades, with the reasoning that a “clean break” was better for both the child and for the biological parents. There has been a feeling that the biological parents might “cause trouble” or interfere with the child’s new life and identity. Obvious problems with this system are the huge gaps in information that this may cause for both the child and his or her new family – gaps in health information, genealogical information, and in many cases, lack of information surrounding the surrender of the child for adoption, which can lead to feelings of abandonment and other issues for the child in later years.

Of course, the closed adoption may not be possible in some cases, such as a family adoption, where it is more likely that the parties all know each other, and is more likely in agency adoptions where the parties are strangers.

An open adoption can take many forms, from meetings and interactions between the parties prior to the child’s birth or adoption, including and through to continuing contact during the childhood of the subject child.

Obviously, the continuing contact can present many issues, as noted above, such as the potential for interference in the child’s life, or even a feeling on the part of the adoptive family that the adoption is never really finalized because of the continuing contact.

Pennsylvania has adopted a law which attempts to set limits for continuing contact. It is known as the Post Adoption Continuing Contact Agreement, or PACA. A PACA cannot be ordered and only can be entered into at the agreement of all parties, including the subject child if he or she is over 12 years of age. It sets forth the terms under which the parties will have contact after the adoption is final, whether they will get pictures or letters on an annual basis, or even visits with the child on some regular schedule.

Parties to an adoption need to consider the terms of a PACA carefully as it is something they will be dealing with for a long time. The terms can be changed if it is in the child’s best interests to do so. The PACA can even be terminated for the same reason. No one can force the other party into a PACA, but once it is agreed to, it becomes a court order and can be enforced as such. Each side must be sure that they (and the child) will be comfortable with the amount of contact they have agreed to as they go forward.

For more information on domestic relations in Pennsylvania, visit our practice area page, or to contact a family law attorney at Willig, Williams & Davidson, call (800) 631-1233.