How to Look Up Adoption Records
In the United States, it is estimated that around 2% of the population, about six million Americans, are adoptees. Which means that 1 in 8 Americans will be linked to adoption. As a result of this, a large proportion of adoptees will at some point in their life have researched how to look up adoption records in a bid to search for their biological parents, siblings, or even children.
However, when it comes down to the reasons for starting an adoption search, the most common is simply down to genetic curiosity. It is after all a desire to find out who they really are, where they originally came from and what their biological parents, siblings, or children look like.
One thing to bare in mind is that when starting an adoptive search, it is important to realise the road ahead will be an emotional adventure. However the end results and rewards of finding out who you are will be well worth the tough and long road you are about to undertake.
But where does one start? The following steps will help you in your search:
- The most important thing to do first is write down all that you know about yourself. Write down all that you know about your birth and adoption, including the hospital you were born at and the agency that handled your adoption.
- The next step is to turn to your adoptive parents. In some cases, this may prove difficult and uncomfortable. However it is important to approach them with your questions as they can provide any possible clues that will help in your search. Make sure that you write down whatever they say, no matter how unimportant you think it may be.
- Make sure to gather all available documents from your adoptive parents. If this isn’t possible, contact the appropriate government official where you can obtain official documents such as the petition for adoption, the final decree for petition and your amended birth certificate.
- Contact your Agency or the State that handled your adoption for the non-identifying information. The information that you obtain will provide you with more clues that will benefit in your search. However the amount of information that can be provided will all depend on what was recorded at the time of your birth and adoption. Non-identifying information may include details on the adoptee, adoptive parents, and birth parents such as: medical history, health status, cause of and age at death, height, weight and eye colour, ethnic origins, level of education, professional achievement and religion. Other information may include the parents age at the time of birth, the age and sex of any other children, hobbies, location and the reasons for adoption.
- Next register on the State and National Reunion Registries, also known as the Mutual Consent Registries. These registries allow each member of the adoption triad – the birth parent, the adoptive parent, and the adoptee or child being adopted – to provide information in the hopes that they will be matched with another who is searching for them.
- Join an adoption support group. As part of the support group you will find the relevant emotional support, information on any current laws, search techniques and any relevant up-to-date information.
- Another way of finding out how to look up adoption records is through a Confidential Intermediary (CI). A CI acts on the behalf of a member of the adoption triad to make contact with the other members involved. The CI determines the willingness of each member involved to find out whether or not the confidential information that was part of the adoption agreement can be waived fully or partially. One thing to bare in mind with the CI is that a fee is involved. However if you are serious about the adoption search and have the financial resources available it may be an idea to consider the services they offer.
This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under Birth Records. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
[...] an adoptee and you have no idea of where to start, the challenge may become overwhelming. Some background records sites help you learn how to manage the complicated search process. You may have to look up government [...]