Mediating a Family: The Use of Mediation in the Formation and Enforcement of Post-Adoption Contact Agreements

Authors

Sophie Mashburn

Abstract

This comment will discuss how and why adoption law has evolved into a preference for open adoption, provide a brief history of post-adoption contact agreements, and discuss the current and best practices for utilizing post-adoption contact agreements. Finally, this comment will explore the use of mediation in various states to assist adoptive parents and birth parents in forming and maintaining an agreement they both accept and that furthers the best interests of the children being adopted. Using mediation to further the interests of children, adoptive couples, and birth parents is a positive trend in adoption law that should be encouraged and continued wherever post-adoption contact agreements are used.

Recommended Citation

Sophie Mashburn, Mediating a Family: The Use of Mediation in the Formation and Enforcement of Post-Adoption Contact Agreements, 2015 J. Disp. Resol. (2015)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/jdr/vol2015/iss2/7