Under the law, judges would be able to order that an adopted child stay in contact with a biological parent, including supervised visitation, if it helps the child. The order would apply even if an adoptive parent does not agree. Judges are currently banned from allowing any contact after ending a parent’s rights.
Only eight other states allow judges similar leeway. The New York legislature passed the measure, but the governor’s office is still reviewing it, said Caitlin Girouard, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cuomo.
Ms. Joyner, a Democrat who was the lead sponsor of the bill, said completely severing ties meant she missed out on valuable time with her birth mother. They were reunited when Ms. Joyner reached adulthood, but her mother died just six years later.
“When she went into the hospital, I was the first person she called,” said Ms. Joyner, 32. “We had a better relationship, but it was relatively short.”
On the other side are many child welfare workers, including those with their own stories, such as Ms. VanVleck. She recalled being tugged between her biological family and her foster family for six confusing years before she was adopted. Her childhood, she believed, would have been better without that contact.
“There’s the ‘I love you’s.’ The ‘I want you back.’ There’s the trauma of people not showing up,” said Ms. VanVleck, 43.
A major report on adoption in 2012 showed that about 95 percent of infant adoptions are now open, meaning that children stay in some contact with their biological parents. Studies show the approach is largely beneficial. Children are less inclined to blame themselves, or to idolize their birthparents and demonize their adoptive parents. There is also the advantage of knowing family and medical histories.
But that trend has not reached cases in which the rights of parents are ended by a court, usually because the court has found evidence of abuse or neglect.
These cases, called terminations, usually occur after months or even years of legal wrangling and regular visits between birth parents and children while they are in foster care.
“The child grows up fully aware, knowing their parent. You go through this process,” Ms. Joyner said. “You don’t want to cut that contact off. That’s very traumatic.”
NYTimes.com, August 6, 2019 by Nikita Stewart
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