In recent years, adoption policy has been influenced by a number of socio-cultural and political factors. An adoptees-rights movement has pushed for access to information about their origins; birth parents increasingly seek a voice in selecting their children's families; and adoptive parents have responded to policy changes through their own organizations. Differences in the perspectives of the three corners of the triad have often been assumed without testing. This paper reports on a study of 1007 participants (birth parents and adoptees) in reunions completed at least 1 year prior to data collection and reports on their views of openness, information access, and reunion. A small restrictive sample of 175 responses from the adoptive parents of participants is also included. Though there were some differences in the perspectives of these groups, this study found more convergence than divergence. Participants (both searchers and search subjects) agreed resoundingly that reunion services should be available to anyone who seeks that option. Over 90% of all searchers and search subjects reported that reunion was a positive experience.
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