On Sept. 15th the “Scoop Independent News” website at http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0609/S00180.htm an article discusses how 41,000 have sough reunion since 1985 when the adoption act was enacted in New Zealand.

At a international conference on adoption in NY Julia Cantrell was presenting at Fordham University in the Bronx.

New Zealand was the first country to give rights to both adopted persons over the age of twenty one and to natural parents to obtain identifying information from official records.

According to Cantrell “since the act was enacted, 32,000 adopted persons and 9,000 natural parents have applied to the Child, Youth and Family seeking identifying information.” Cantrell was also quoted saying “The statistics reflect an initial flood of interest from those intending to seek information after the Act came into law and then applications have steadily tapered off.”

Julia Cantrell is an adoptee. She is the first New Zealand adoptee expert to be invited to a major world adoption conference in the United States. Cantrell shared at the conference that the goal for New Zealand changing their laws in 1985 was to allow adoptees to trace their natural families.

According to the article, in the 1960’s and 1970’s there were thousands of adoptions that took place. The population in New Zealand is nearly four million and the belief is that over half of the population is affected in some direct way by adoption.

Cantrell as discussed at the conference her traumatic journey of searching the UK and the USA for her natural parents. The article is unclear as to whether or not she has completed her search and if so, whether or not she has a relationship with her natural family.

New Zealand has led the world in opening adoption records, and although it has been over two decades they recognize that adoption search and reunion is complex with intense emotions and misunderstandings.