If you are making an adoption plan, something that you may want to start thinking about is a post adoption contact agreement.

What is a post adoption contact agreement?
It is a written communication agreement between expectant mothers and/or fathers and prospective adoptive parents that detail contact between them after the finalization of the adoption. Detailed and child centered, post adoption contact agreements can lay out the future exchange of pictures, emails, phone calls, visits, etc. and include the frequency. Typically, these are prepared and written before finalization.

Are post adoption contact agreements upheld by law?
No, post adoption contact agreements are not legally binding but written in a “good faith” style.

What are the benefits of having a post adoption contact agreement?
They can help you in being sure that adoptive parents are on the same page as you are regarding future contact. Also, post adoption contact agreements get all your desires in writing on paper so if there is a question about what is expected later on down the road, you and the adoptive parents can refer to the written agreement.

Who writes the post adoption contact agreement?
They can be mediated by an adoption professional but do not have to be. If you are comfortable enough to speak up for yourself, you and the adoptive parents could write the agreement together while with a mediator present he or she could bring up issues that you might not feel comfortable bringing up yourself.

What if the adoptive parents do not agree with everything I am asking for?
If you are butting heads too much while discussing and preparing a post adoption contact agreement, this may be a sign that the adoptive parents you are currently matched with may not be the best situation for you and your child. Don’t settle just to please them.

For more information on post adoption contact agreements, check out this article.