What is the difference between an opened and a closed adoption of a child in the state of Maine?

Question

If an adoption took place in the court in the State of Maine in the late '60's would that make it an opened or a closed one?

Answer 1

an open or closed adoption is the same in every state, an open adoption, not popular until recently, is an adoption in which the birth parents maintain contacts with their child's and its adoptive parents by sending letters pictures or visiting. the more traditional kind of adoption is refered to as a closed adoption in which their is no contact with the birth parents.

Answer 2

Can you tell us a little more? Was this your adoption?

Open adoptions were quite uncommon in the 60's, so most likely it was not. A court is involved in both open and closed adoptions. The terms refer to transparency and whether the child is raised knowing the identity and whereabouts of the biological parent(s). Contact in open adoptions can be as little as an annual written update or as much as daily visits. If the adoption is open and you were involved in it, you would know it.

Or are you really asking whether or not the RECORDS are open?

Answer 3

Freckle Face is right.   Open adoption and closed adoption refer to whether or not there is some kind of contact between the first (birth) family and the adoptive family.  Open adoption is a fairly recent invention.  It refers to an arrangement between the first family and the adoptive family that allows contact and/or exchange of pictures and letters.  

An open adoption has nothing to do with whether or not the records are sealed or unsealed, however.  The adoption court records, along with the original birth certificate, seal at the time an adoption is finalized by the court.  This happens whether the adoption is an open or closed adoption.

In Maine, however, adult adopted citizens can access their own original birth records, just as non-adopted citizens can do, starting on Jan.1, 2009.

Answer 4

Hi Baremp,

Closed adoption means no contact between the natural parents and the adoptive parents including the child.

Open adoption can mean many different things but overall there is some sort of contact between the natural parents and the adoptive parents and possibly the child.

Maine did just open its original birth certificates(OBC).  Now in Maine, adoptees like every other citizen can receive a copy of their OBC.

ETA:  Maine has OPEN records so yes you can get a copy of the orginial birth certificate.

Answer 5

All adoptions of that era had imposed sealed records and secrecy, it was not a choice.

But luckily hardworking advocates of adoptee rights  http://www.obcforme.org/  have very recently managed to pass a Bill allowing adult adoptees to be treated equally to the non-adopted and they will be able to request their original birth certificate, if they so choose, from January 2009 - Yay for Maine

Now, if the rest of the country would just catch up into the current century so that nobody is left stigmatized and penalized by the fact they were adopted . . . .