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Open Adoptions Redefining the Extended Family

By Greg Allen
Published December 23, 2004 at 11:00 PM CST
Joy Zimmerman and her adopted son, Connor, age 3 and a half.
Greg Allen, NPR
Joy Zimmerman and her adopted son, Connor, age 3 and a half.
Connor's birth mother, Cory Swayne, is still a part of his life.
Greg Allen, NPR /
Connor's birth mother, Cory Swayne, is still a part of his life.

Families choosing open adoption don't just gain a son or daughter -- they gain an extended family that includes a birth mother and sometimes aunts and grandparents. For one adoptive family in Overland Park, Kansas, building and keeping those ties is not as complicated as it sounds. NPR's Greg Allen reports.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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All Things Considered
Greg Allen
As NPR's Miami correspondent, Greg Allen reports on the diverse issues and developments tied to the Southeast. He covers everything from breaking news to economic and political stories to arts and environmental stories. He moved into this role in 2006, after four years as NPR's Midwest correspondent.
See stories by Greg Allen