Since 1985, Open Adoption and Family Services has placed more than 900 children in families based on the philosophy that adoption is a shared, lifelong commitment for all parties involved.

"It’s such a beautiful thing how all these people become family," said Tara Wilkinson, development director for the agency licensed in Oregon and Washington.

OAFS places between 40 and 60 children each fiscal year. Last year, 49 kids were placed. The year before, the number reached 60. The average wait is about 10 months for the 58 to 68 potential parents in the adoption pool, Wilkinson said.

But with a process that relies on birth parents — primarily mothers — choosing adoptive parents, some take longer than others.

"We’ve had adoptive parents chosen in two days," she said. "We do have some families who have been in going on three years."

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Adoption placements are only one aspect of the agency’s work, however. Last year, staff fielded 182 calls from pregnant women. On average, between 175 and 275 women each year contact OAFS for counseling that is aimed at helping them find the best solution for their lives.

That could include options of abortion, adoption or raising their children, Wilkinson said. Unlike many of the 25 licensed adoption agencies in the state, OAFS defines itself as a "pro- choice" agency, she noted.

"Many, many, many birth parents don’t choose placements," she said. "Adoption is the rarest choice."

When birth mothers — and sometimes, fathers — opt for adoption, they’re choosing from a pool that increasingly includes gay and lesbian couples who hope to become parents.

About 30 percent of the agency’s potential adoptive parents are homosexual, Wilkinson said. In the past 20 years, 42 children have been placed with gay or lesbian parents. Last year, six of the 49 placed went to gay families.

"We’re just really progressive," Wilkinson said. "It really wasn’t a thing until the early 1990s, but as things continue to open up and open up, we’re seeing more and more."

Typical arrangements require adoptive parents to pay expenses that range from about $19,700 in Oregon and $21,000 in Washington to about $23,000 for more complicated, out-of-state agreements.

The relationship is sealed with a legally binding contract that spells out terms of visits and other contacts. About 10 percent of birth mothers who agree to the adoption decide against it once the baby is born. That compares to a rate of 20 percent nationally. Breaches of contract have been rare, Wilkinson said.

"We’ve had birth parents who call and say adoptive parents aren’t living up to their agreement," she said.

The trend toward more open, less secretive adoptions has revolutionized the process for a generation. Even agencies that once insisted on closed adoptions have been forced to craft more open arrangements, said Stephanie Jernstedt, Oregon’s licensing coordinator.

"To be blunt, birth mothers have demanded it," she said. Adoption agencies "won’t get relinquishments without it."

Additionally, results of social research show children benefit from openness, she said.

Now, almost all agencies offer some communication between birth parents and adoptive parents, Jernstedt notes. That can range from exchange of pictures and gifts a few times a year to supervised visits.

The phrase "open adoption," in fact, has become so common that Levine was unable to submit it for federal trademark status.

"The biggest struggle for us as an agency is to differentiate our version of open adoption from some of these impostor agencies," she said. "We’ve seen an adoption called an open adoption when the birth mom gets to go to a restaurant once and view the child from across the room."

From the start, the OAFS idea of open adoption has been an ongoing relationship among everyone involved.

"It’s a loving, humane model for kids to grow up in. It’s a viable option for birth parents that they can feel good about over time," she said.

For more information, visit www.openadopt.org or call 608-6134.