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Help Files
Adoption Research |
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Help Files
Adoption Research |
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Adoption Research The subject of adoption can be a very sensitive subject with people. Adoptees are becoming more aggressive in asserting their rights to have complete access to their background just as any other citizen of the United States. The courts are now beginning to acknowledge that adoptees have the same legal rights as other Americans, but it has been a long battle. Adoptions make genealogical research much more complicated, even though the legal adoption process is quite lengthy and generates a large amount of records and documentation. Court records for adoptions usually include most of the following documents: consent forms to adopt; consent forms for adoption; decrees of adoption; original birth certificates; amended birth certificates; and various miscellaneous papers unique to the specific case at hand. Until recently, adoption records were sealed by court order and inaccessible to the public. Adoptees have been the one group of citizens who are legally blocked from knowing the identity of their birth parents. This has left them two choices: accept their adoptive parents as their only parents and dismiss their natural curiosity about their biological parents or challenge the existing legal system and risk alienating their adoptive parents. The legal system until recently made no effort to accommodate the rights of the adoptee except in rare situations. Some adoptees have no interest in finding their biological parents and when they become interested in genealogy, they concentrate on the lines of their adoptive parents. Others seek and collect information on both their adoptive and biological parents. Most adoption situations arise when women, usually single mothers, find the task of raising their children unbearable for a variety of situations. Courts and child welfare agencies have a legal say in how adoptions are arranged. Their philosophy has been that the well-being of the mother giving up the child and the well-being of the child who becomes adopted are both best preserved when the adoptive parents can become the child's parents in reality. Some adoptive children never find out they were adopted until decades after the fact. The state, courts, and the adoption agencies themselves all have historically combined to keep the truth hidden from the adoptive child. In most cases, with enough determination, patience, and some luck with the legal system, the birth parent of an adopted child can be tracked down. The search is often difficult, and the adoptee must realize in advance that it will sometimes uncover death, prison, or other problematic situations. Some birth parents will go to any lengths to remain anonymous. Some biological parents who later had children under different circumstances, never tell their subsequent spouses or children that they have another child out there somewhere. Sometimes, the search is initiated by the biological parents and the children reject them in the same manner. Today, the legal debate and public interest have caused many changes in how society views adoption and the rights of adoptees to know their real birth history before the adoption took place. The growing cost of health care in the United States has played a major role in this change. Adoptees have also begun filing lawsuits about their "civil rights" being violated and have won several cases at various levels of the judicial system. Increasingly, states are opening Adoption records by passing laws which acknowledge that an adoptee has the right to a copy of the original birth certificate listing the biological parents' names. Those with medical problems linked to their heredity are seeking and being awarded relief from legal and political arena. Even in states where the adoption records are closed, adoptees have been able to force biological parents to fill out health questionnaires while keeping their names anonymous, or arranging a one time meeting to discuss medical problems. If you as an adoptee fit this type of situation, you should talk to an attorney who can investigate what rights you have under a particular state's laws regarding an adoptee's right to be provided with needed hereditary and health-related information. There are several organizations on the state and national levels that serve as registries and support groups to assist adoptees and birth parents in finding each other. Two of the larger national organizations are: Several states now provide an adoption registry, operated through the state vital records department. For a fee, they will feed search registrations into their database. If both a birth parent and an adoptee register for information, the department will arrange a contact. The International Soundex Registry accepts registration from parent and child reunion seekers. The identities of both parties is again kept secret unless both parties are interested. Children must be of legal age in order to register. If both parties are registered and want to find each other, the reunion process is implemented. The address is: International Soundex Reunion Registry The continued advancement in Internet sources has created a new medium where adoptees and birth parents can locate each other. Search engines such as Webcrawler, Yahoo, Excite, Alta Vista, or Infoseek are the main databases to facilitate your search. You will enter the word ADOPTION as your search subject. You will see numerous Web sites that will give you many options for searching and guidance. These advances make adoption searches from the 1950's onward much easier. Prior to the 1950's, your chances for success become much more difficult. In previous generations, society and the legal structure were very antagonistic towards unmarried women who had children. The children were also victims of this same negative image. One common solution was for the expectant mother to go away from the community for an extended visit somewhere, deliver the baby, give it up for adoption, and return home without anyone knowing the circumstances. If this sounds like the problem your facing, the answers usually come from pursuing clues regarding possible dates, places of birth, and adoption. The remote western states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, & New Mexico were very popular areas at one time. You must search for birth records for the time period to find out which mothers delivered around the time birth date of the adoptee. Church baptism or christening records may be helpful. You may face the prospect of having to make educated guesses about the adoptive parents' distant relatives-often a family arranged for a very distant relative to adopt the child, especially if that family had problems bearing children of their own. Sometimes the adopted child's name includes a name linked to the birth parents. Another source of clues can be the family rumor mill. The older relatives might remember hearing rumors about where an adopted child came from. Old letters or unexplained pictures, drawing, or photographs relating to the place or time period in question might also contain useful information or hints of use to the researcher. The subject of adoption can be compared with abortion, religion and politics. The very mention of the word can stir up emotions to the boiling point at a moments notice. Adoptees have been one of the most discriminated against groups throughout human history. In the United States, adoptees have only begun to have theircivil rights recognized and acknowledged by the courts since the early 1980's. The most significant contributor to this turn of events has been the medical community. Managed health care and HMO's have caused a great deal of controversy among the general population, but in an ironic twist, have paved the road to more freedom of access for adoptees. The reality of having no information about their medical or social background never really hits home until a patient hears their physician ask about the medical history on both sides of your family. One frequent rebuttle, which adoptees have frequently used in their court arguements: "How can I tell you about my medical history, when nobody will allow me access to my records"? In recent years, the growing political power of various adoptee political action groups coupled with rising medical costs and the emphasis on "preventative medicine" have combined to seriously breech the wall of secrecy around many of the "sealed" adoption records. This is significant because some biological parents have found themselves hauled into court to force them to fill out medical forms or to show cause why they should not be prosecuted for murder since they did not provide a medical history before the adoption took place, and subsequently a child the adoptee had died! Key elements for a successful search: Courage. Judges find themselves in the difficult position of balancing the current rights of adoptees vs the legal/moral climate that existed when many of these original adoption proceddings took place. Key Element: The biological parents would remain anonymous. The pregnancy was a mistake, and both the judge and parties involved felt that by putting the baby up for adoption vs abortion was showing the ultimate in mercy to everyone involved. It seldom occured to anyone to ask for medical information from the biological mother and father (if he could be identified). Fact of Life: Many biological parents are initially distraught and bitter when first confronted with the reality of being dicovered. This is especially true since they were told by the attorneys & judges that the law was designed to protect their identity, and by placing the child up for adoption, this was best for the child. They now feel the past is being dragged out of the closet and they will go through the nightmare again! Perseverance. Research Skills. Financial Support. How to begin your search: 1. Try not to offend the people who raised you and love you. This is easier said than done. Some adoptees wait until their adoptive parents are dead, but this can also hurt your search later on as possible clues either vanish, or people that were familiar with the situation also die. - explain your reasons (your desire to know is NOT a rejection of the people who raised you). In some cases, your adoptive parents, relatives, and local clergy at their church may know some or all the details about your adoption. - ask them for help (some adoptees use the medical argument as their most effective tool). If you as an adoptee intend on having children, it is wise to use this as a reason for getting information.Many adoptees now entering their child-bearing years will only have children once this process is complete. Prior to the 1980's, it was a common occurance among many that if they became pregnant and could not gain some access to their medical histories, they would have abortions. - only resort to legal threats as a last resort. If you must go this route, you can forget about any possibility of a happy reunion. Some do this to get "even" with the biological parents for rejecting them.
- See if the pastor of the church your parents attended during this period is still alive, or if congregational/parish records exist. Some churches will require the adoptive parents to furnish some information about the original parents because of various peculiar religious doctrines (this is particularly true some extremely conservative fundamentalist or ethnic churches). - Look for old diaries and photo albums (home sources). - Look for old legal folders. Some adoptees have accidently uncovered information in old legal files which their parents were given by the lawyer who handled the case after he retired. 3. Adoption Reunion Registry's. & Support Groups. Many states have a reunion registry. This is a file of birth parents and adoptees over the age of 18 or 21 (depending on state law) who are seeking each other. Reunions are possible when both parties have signed up, allowing the state to hand over names and addresses. Several states have "search and consent" rules, which permit adult adoptees to contact state social service departments and request a formal search for birth parents. There are a number of local and national organizations which serve as information and referral sources for adoptees. They can provide you with support and advice on how to deal with the many legal and emotional problems you may encounter. Most of the "Happy" reunions you hear about occur when this avenue is successful. 4. Try to do your own research in person. Some adoptees try to do their research long distance or hire private investigators. When the investigators check records or you send letters, the comment "the records don't exist" will begin sounding like a broken record. When someone other than yourself begins checking old court, hospital, and even vital statistics records at the state level, this is a very common answer. This is especially true when the questions are handled by mail. Many adoptees who actually go to the hospital, courthouse, or state archives later find the records do exist. If you call many courthouses and ask about old records, they will tell you about "courthouse fires". However further examination will show that for a wide variety of reasons, not all records have been kept at courthouses at one time or another. Many professional genealogists will follow the following strategy: Go to the courthouse and simply ask where the birth, death, marriage, etc. records are. They DO NOT mention years or give any additional information. The clerks who are usually buried with their own daily tasks, are only too happy (in most cases) to pint you in the right direction and get you out of their hair. 5. Legal records. All adoptions left a paper trail. All children born are normally issued a birth certificate. This is even true with children who are immediately put up for adoption. Most adoptees have what is called an amended birth certificate where the adoptive parents are listed. This supersedes ( not eliminate) the original certificate which has the name given at birth, ethnic and religious background, along with medical and social information. Your number one goal should always be to obtain a copy of the original birth certificate which was issued before the amended one was compiled. Many of the growing number of adoptive rights organizations are filing petitions saying that this basic information is a civil and human right which superseded the clauses of secrecy which were contained in most historical adoption contracts. These groups are becoming increasingly confrontational which has had both a good and a bad effect: POSITIVE--It has focused attention on the reality that adoptees do not have many of the basic civil and human rights (in relation to knowing their medical and social background) that all other citizens enjoy. NEGATIVE--Some adoptees have become very bitter when they are rejected during the search process or the reunion attempt turns sour. This bitterness escalates into a legal confrontation, especially if it appears that the adoptee has lived a life of poverty and the adoption was merely for "convenience" and "career" considerations. These adoptee focus groups are increasingly attempting to force a case before the Supreme Court to settle the issue once and for all. Their goal is to completely open (unseal) ALL adoption proceedings. 6. Pursue all tangible leads. In previous eras, adoptions were a manner of secrecy. Many unplanned pregnancies were considered "blights" on the family name, or could endanger the reputation of someone. Woman sometimes chose the most remote states or large states far away from their home to have the baby and then place he/she up for adoption. Many churches or local lawyers had invisible networks of places to refer the women to. Many of these trips were masqueraded as "vacations" or "visits to the grandparents". Check them all out. Anytime you find something where the person stayed for between 4-6 months, this could be a candidate, especially if it was in the western states (Montana, Iowa, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, or Arizona). 7. One final note: new laws today prohibit agencies from completely "hiding" the past from birth parents or adoptees. Some mothers now sneak out of the U.S. or abondon their children in remote areas, churches, or shopping centers in other states. (St. Francis or Edison Mall) Compiled by Bryan L. Mulcahy, Reference Librarian, Ft. Myers-Lee County Library, 7/21/99. |
