Post-Adoption Contact Agreements
The Kansas Adoption and Relinquishment Act does not allow for post-adoption contact agreements (PACA) between adoptive parents and biological parents or even between siblings that are being adopted. The reasoning behind this is that it gives the appearance that the consent signed by the expectant mother or birth mother was not done as her free and voluntary act. In other words, the signed consent was accomplished by a future promise of contact with the child.
While PACAs may be an excellent idea for an adopted child because that child will have an opportunity to know their biological family and where they came from. This knowledge while growing up gives the adopted child an added sense of security. In addition, the child will understand their biological parents' circumstances and the reasons for their removal from their biological parents.
Because there are benefits to PACAs, and since these kinds of agreements are not enforceable in Kansas, it underscores my philosophy that once an expectant mother or birth mother and an adoptive family have been matched, a level of trust in the relationship must be developed. It is the comfort of knowing that the bond built between the adults in the adoption is strong that can later be relied upon.
Some things to discuss when thinking about the type of post-adoption contact that would be most comfortable, you might include anything from written or phone contact to in-person visits occurring at some regular interval. Remember that you can include anything you agree to, such as an annual written update and photo, to monthly, supervised, in-person visits.
Any discussion you have should include an understanding that if the agreed-upon terms are not followed by the biological parent, then the adoptive family can end future communication. It should also set clear parameters of how scheduling in-person visits will occur and how requests for written updates need to be made.
You can call, text, or email me anytime -call or text: 785-217-4603, email: lisa@theadoptiongroup.com, or Facebook message: https://www.facebook.com/theadoptionlawgroup/. The office phone is answered 24 hours a day, every single day. I make every effort to respond to emails and text messages within a few minutes of receipt.
POSITIVE ADOPTION LANGUAGE DISCLAIMER: These blog posts are written using language people use when searching for help with their adoption plans. Unfortunately, while many of us understand what positive adoption language means, most expectant moms that come to me at first do not. Like it or not, the search term, "how do I give up my baby for adoption," is the most common. If I do not include those words in the blog posts and instead write "how do I create an adoption plan for my baby," my website will not show up in most expectant moms' search results in Google.
