Open adoption programs growing in popularity
By Tammy Batey
Emerald Associate Ediior
Eugene resident Eileen Hallman cried when sin; first
saw hot son Jakr; in the delivery room of Portland's
University Hospital She said she did all the "silly
things new mothers do. like screaming "It's a baby!
At the birth of her baby, however. Hallman was just
an observer. She watched ns 10-year-old Kendra, the
baby's biological mother, suffered the labor pains and
pushed the baby into the world
Hallman said she her husband Dave decided to adopt
in April 1000 after trying unsuccessfully to have a child
for 12 years Open adoption was the best choice for
them
"It always would have boon uncomfortable for me to
wonder if his parents were out there looking for him
and just going to pop into his life." she said " 1 hat s
taken ( are of from the beginning They an; a part of his
life."
An open adoption Is simply a process where there is
an openness of information, said Susan (.ox. Holt Inter
national Children’s Services' director of development
However, the birth mother chooses how open she
wants the adoption to be.
"There's a risk to adoptions that are open," she said
"Adoptive parents get much more emotionally attached
to the mothers and much more Involved In the person's
life."
Holt offers both open and closed adoptions, said Col
leen Mayberry, director of social services Only about
three birth mothers of the past 20 the agency worked
with chose closer! adoption.
"If you mean openness where the people share
names, addresses and phone numbers, the numbers
would Ik; low." Mayberry suid "Jiiit if you mean where
they moot each other and exchange first names, then it
would be very high "
Shari Levine, the regional director of Open Adop
tions and Family Services Inc , said she considers open
adoption the "most humane approach ' to adoption
The non-profit, state-licensed agenc y has completed
•100 adoptions sinc e; 10B5. when it opened
At the open adoption agency, birth mothers choose
the family they want to adopt their c hild by looking
through a nolelxiok containing picture-, and letters from
prospective parents
After the; birth mother selects a family, she and the
adoptive parents negotiate the number of vesits and let
Photo by David hiatt
EUaan and Dava Ballman hold thalr ton. Jaka, whom thay racaivad by opan adoption. Tha Ballmant said thay ara
comtonabla with Jaka'a biological molhar batng part ol hi a Ilia. Tha coupla triad to concaiva unauccaaatully lor 12
yaara. Thay ara currantty planning to adopt anothar baby through tha opan adoption program.
ters that will bo exchanged
Levine liuid a ho disagrees with poop I e who boliovo
oj>on adoption* arc confusing for tho child.
"In ciiM*s whom pamnts dlvort:o. tho part children
understand is that they have a mom and a stop-mom,"
she said "Tho |wrt they don't understand is all of tho
adults Pighting over thorn "
Open adoption gives adoptive parents tho chance to
loam the medical history of the child's family, and it
provides children who have a "natural c uriosity" about
their biological parents with answers to questions such
as why they were pul up for adoption
When University senior (iwenn Smith was 18 years
old. she became pregnant and knew she couldn't finan
cially support her Iwihy. She said she considered abor
tion and closed adoption before c hoosing open adop
tion
Smith. 21. visits her two-year-old daughter Sarah
uboul every six months and receives letters from Sa
rah's new parents about her.
"It's a great sense of security," she said. "With closed
adoption, I wouldn't know where she was or oven if
she was ulive It's like hitting a wall, and you can’t go
beyond the wall."
i
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