If you haven’t noticed yet, the majority of the adoptees that search are females. However, I do think that with the internet, more male adoptees are starting to search. When I look at the PARR database, most of the folks registered are between the years of 1966-1972. There are more adoptees searching than birth moms. The opposite is true for the adoptions of the 1980’s. There are more birth mothers searching than adoptees. I think that what birth mothers were told had changed by the 1980’s and that is why they feel more free to search. As for birth fathers,... more

Whenever someone begins a search, one of the first steps to take is to obtain your non-identifying information. What you find on your own copy of your non-id may vary depending on who compiled it.

It just dawned on me recently that nothing was ever mentioned to me about non-identifying information when I relinquished my son. No one told me that based on the facts that I gave them, that they would be putting together a few sheets of information that my son would someday receive. I do recall that they asked me some basic questions about both me and birth dad. However,... more

I believe that in my previous post regarding accessing original birth certificates, I used an incorrect term in mentioning the DE legislation that was passed several years ago. The DE law that provides access to the original birth certificate does NOT contain a “contact preference” but rather is referred to as a “disclosure veto” in the legislation.

The difference between a contact veto and a disclosure veto is that a disclosure veto is a document filed by one party to register a refusal to the release of any identifying information. A contact veto is a document filed... more

Your non-identifying information may not seem particularly useful in the beginning of your search. However, later on, it can provide many clues which may help you narrow your search. To make the best use of your non-id, I suggest that you spend some time with someone who really understands the clues it contains.

For instance:

 It could help you to narrow down the states in which you search. If your non-identifying info states where your birth mom grew up, you know that could be one state to search in. Many birth moms left their homes, or were sent away to give... more

Identifying information is considered to be data that may lead to the positive identification of an adopted person, birth parents, or other birth relatives. Identifying information includes the current name of the person, but usually also includes an address or other contact information so that adopted persons and birth relatives can use the information to arrange personal contact with one another. The statutes in nearly all States permit the release of identifying information when the person whose information is sought has consented to the release.

A mutual consent registry... more

Another option when petitioning the court is to use the Indian Child Welfare Act if you have Native American in your heritage. In fact, it can be the key to a successful petition to open a sealed adoption file.

The Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in 1978 to address congressional findings that "an alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are broken up by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children from them by non-tribal public and private agencies and that an alarmingly high percentage of such children are placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions; and..... that the States, exercising their recognized jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings... more

I have been procrastinating writing about this for some reason and today I realized why. I am not a control freak or anything like that but when I decided to do something I want to accomplish it and I usually do. I get very frustrated waiting for others and that is what petitioning the court depends on. You are waiting on the judge to grant you a court order and appoint an intermediary. Then you are waiting on the intermediary to provide you with you non-identifying information and if you have requested a search, you are waiting for her to conduct the search.

I am... more

Sometimes a city directory is also called a criss cross directory or polk directory. They can be a wealth of information to the past, present, and future for anyone who is searching and can help you find who you are looking for.

A company called R L Polk has been making these directories for over 150 years as well as other lesser known companies that also make county directories.

City directories will likely be utilized sometime during the course of your search. You can use them to find out more about the doctor that delivered you, the attorney that your parents used, the agency that handled the adoption or the hospital where you were born.

City Directories are... more

In most cases, a baby born to an unmarried woman or who has arranged an adoption plan will not have a birth announcement in the newspaper. However, mistakes have been known to happen, so it may be worth while to make copies of the birth announcements for babies born on your birth date at the hospital or in the city or town of your birth. Furthermore, additional inquiries and information, particularly from the hospital of your birth, might require you to rule out certain names of babies who share your birth date, so the announcements can come in handy regardless of whether or not you are listed. As with any other piece of information that requires you to search in the area of your birth and/or... more

The Adoption Decree or Order of Adoption (your adoption might have come with one or both), is generally the final order of adoption. Many times the Adoption Decree can contain some potentially upsetting and draconian language for adoptees adopted several decades ago, or even more recently. Often, the decree announces that the adoptee, haa been 'abandoned' or 'rejected' by your natural mother. The adoptee, might be referred to as illegitimate or in other derogatory terms, until the end of the document when you are judged to have, by virtue of your adoption, obtained "all rights, privileges and immunities of children born in lawful wedlock." take all of this in stride, and write it off to sheer... more