I grew up driving through the tip of the West Virginian panhandle on a regular basis. We'd leave Pennsylvania, enter West Virginia and leave it for Ohio in a ten minute time frame. Living so close to the state, I was subject to a wide array of jokes in my formative years. Perhaps that's why I had a negative view of the state before I pulled up the information on how they handle post-adoption contact agreements. Unfortunately, the information I found didn't help my opinion of the state at all. Thankfully, it's a beautiful state to drive through! (New River Gorge? Stunning!)

But back to the subject at hand. Prepare to be underwhelmed!

What may be included in postadoption contact agreements?
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Since it's not addressed, that would mean that you could put whatever you wanted in it, right? So families could agree to meet on the moon every fifth Thursday in February (?) and the court would approve it? Awesome. Sounds crazy an impossible, right? That's why being specific and addressing what can and cannot be included in the contact agreement is vital.

Who may be a party to a postadoption contact agreement?
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Since it's not addressed, you can include those Moon Men in the agreement. Since you're meeting on the moon every fifth Thursday in February, those Moon Men deserve to be acknowledged as well. Oh, and your grandma's uncle's cousin's best friend's neighbor's dog. Sound silly? When you don't put a restriction on who can be included in said agreement, it can get a little crazy indeed! While I'm of the belief that including certain extended family members (grandparents and other siblings, for example) can benefit the child, not specifying who cannot be included could leave the door open for confusion and future problems for all sides of the triad.

What is the role of the court in postadoption contact agreements?
Citation: Ann. Code § 48-22-704
A decree or order entered under this article may not be vacated or set aside upon application of a person alleging there is a failure to comply with an agreement for visitation or communication with the adopted child.

So, in short, West Virginia is telling us that the adoption can't be overturned nor can the agreement be vacated if the adoptive family doesn't show up on the moon on the fifth Thursday in February? That's fine. I've never supported the overturning of adoptions when one side (or the other) doesn't uphold their end of the contract. However, we don't even know what a "failure to comply with an agreement for visitation of communication" entails as the state hasn't stated one specific thing thus far. How are families even to know what all of this entails?

Are agreements legally enforceable?
Citation: Ann. Code § 48-22-704
The court may hear a petition to enforce the agreement, in which case the court shall determine whether enforcement of the agreement would serve the best interests of the child. The court may, in its sole discretion, consider the position of a child of the age and maturity to express such position to the court.

Hey! West Virginia finally said something! Worth listening to, at that! While they used the vague "best interests of the child," they went on to include a possibility of asking the child what he/she wants in regards to the situation should he/she present an appropriate age or maturity. Good job on this one. (Hey, at least it's something!)

How may an agreement be terminated or modified?
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Gee, thanks, West Virginia.

This state gives us evidence as to what happens when you aren't specific. Families are left with no help, no guidance on the tricky issue of post-adoption contact agreements. There is little help for them should something go wrong and even less help in actually forming the who's and how's of the agreement itself. Quite unfortunate for open adoption families residing in West Virginia.

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For more on Post-Adoption Contact Agreements, read these posts.

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