미국 개방입양서비스의 경험과 시사점

Open Adoption Services in the United States and its Implications : A Case from Oregon

본 연구는 미국 오리건(Oregon)주가 입양가족들에게 제공하는 개방입양서비스가 본래의 의도대로 입양아동의 복지를 실제 증진시키며 잘 수행되고 있는가를 파악하고자 함이 그 목적이다. 개방입양은 입양아동의 유전적인 기원인 뿌리에 대한 욕구, 즉 친생부모와 연결되고자 하는 욕구를 충족시켜 주기 위해, 입양 후에 입양가족과 친생가족이 서로 접촉하는 것을 뜻한다. 본 연구의 큰 의의는 개방입양이 사적입양기관을 통해 친생모가 자발적으로 포기한 신생아를 입양한 가족들 대상이 아니라, 학대 등으로 인해 친생부모의 친권이 박탈되는 아동을 공적입양기관을 통해 입양한 가족들이 개방입양의 대상이라는 점이다.

The State of Oregon started to provide open adoption services in 1993. The purpose of this research study is to determine if Oregon’s open adoption program works well for the adopted child and for the adoptive and birth families. Open adoption means that the adoptive family recognizes there is another set of parents for their adopted child, and there is communication between the child’s birth and adoptive families after adoption. The adopted child can have contact with his birth family through letters, cards, pictures, or visits, and can freely talk and ask about his birth parents with the adoptive parents. The study indicates that Oregon’s open adoption service program works very well for the well-being of the adopted child and his adoptive and birth families. The positive study results are even more meaningful given the fact that the child had been traumatized by the separation from and abuse by his birth parents whose parental rights were involuntarily terminated due to substance abuse or abusive behavior to their child.