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Interesting question. There is no way to tell if someone is sincere. A good sign is a family that is already in a successful, healthy open adoption. I think a bad sign is a famliy who tries to negotiate with the expectant parent for a no contact "open" adoption. Even in states where open adoptions are legally binding, the adoptive parents can close the adoption for the benefit of the child. While the clause is important to protect children from first parents who may have life styles that are detrimental to child's well-being, it really could mean just about anything. It will be interesting to see how these states deal with broken agreements.
One should also take a close look at the agency's view of open adoption. Meaning, are they using it as an advertising gimmick or do they truly make an effort to educate adoptive and expectant parents about the benefits and that it is NOT co-parenting? When my daughter was pregnant and considering adoption, she worked through an agency that advertised itself as an open adoption agency but most of their clients wanted no contact.
Happy G'Ma
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