Adoption is in place to balance, nurture and create a safe structural environment in which the child can thrive and become a productive contributing individual to society. Additionally, it allows older children to abandon old maladaptive behaviors and take their first steps toward building new behaviors influenced by their new environment. In the past, parents who adopted a child as a baby often wondered whether they should talk to the child about adoption. Many children grew up without knowing that they were adopted, and the identity of their birth mother was kept secret from those who knew (Ashford, LeCroy, and Lortie 249). This article provides facts about the widely accepted option of open adoption rather than the traditional practice of closed adoption. Adoption separates true biological family members, removing adoptive inheritance, whether the adoption is open or closed. Open adoption can cause problems, but there is evidence that open adoption is the best option for all parties working together in the best interests of the children. First, social work and mental health experts have reached consensus over the past decade. that greater openness offers a range of benefits to adoptees - from ongoing information about family medical issues to satisfying their innate desire to know their genetic history - even if extended relationships prove difficult or uncomfortable for some participants (Verbrugge). An open adoption occurs when the birth mother and adoptive family know each other's identities and can obtain background or medical history from the birth parent. In an open adoption, the parental rights of the biological parents end, as in a closed adoption, but an open adoption...... middle of paper ......9. Print.Beckett, Celia, Jenny Castle, Christine Sonuga-Barke, Colvert Edmund and Jana Stevens. "The Adoption Experience: A Study of International and Domestic Adoption from the Child's Perspective. Adoption and Foster Care. Espejo, Roman Opposing Viewpoints: Adoption. Ed. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. Goldstein, Jennifer. "I'm not looking for my birth parents: being adopted can raise a lot of questions." Cosmo Girl November 2005: 100. Print. Purvis, Karyn, David Cross and Jacquelyn Pennings. “Truth-Based Relational Intervention: Interactive Principles for Adopted Children with Social-Emotional Needs.” Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development 2009: 3-20. Print.Verrbrugge, Allen. Companion to Contemporary Issues: Adoption. Detroit: 2006, 2006. Print. Weston, Carol. "Adopted." The lives of girls April-May 2010: 17. Student edition. Internet. April 19. 2011.