Adoptees United Inc. Upcoming Events

 Join Us for Two Upcoming Events

We're excited to announce two upcoming events in November: November 9: Adoptee Rights: A Legislative Overview; November 29: Who Do We Mean by "We?": The Voices of Adoptees The November 9 event will review what legislatively developments around adoptee rights in 2021, what bills still remain active, and what you can do now and in the coming year to help move the legislative needle toward equality for all adopted people.

https://adopteesunited.org/adoptee-rights-legislative-overview/

Registration: Legislative Overview

ADOPTEES: Petitioning a Court for Birth Records

We're excited to announce an upcoming online event that features adoptees who have successfully obtained court orders in their states to release their own records, including birth records and, in some cases, adoption agency records. Join us on Sunday, March 21 as I talk with Rudy Owens and Courtney Humbaugh about their experiences in seeking court orders to release their own records in Michigan and Georgia. We'll discuss the ins and outs of the legal process, whether or how to work with an attorney, and what it looks like when an adopted person seeks a court order to get his or her own birth and adoption records.

I'll also chime in on my own experience in the District of Columbia as well as what the process looks like as an attorney in Minnesota and other states. - Attorney Gregory D. Luce

The event is Sunday, March 21, 2021, at 1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern. Details and registration are here

 LINK 

What can an adoptee do? I want my #OBC

These adoptees are Native Americans and opened their adoptions. That should give you hope.

 

By Trace Hentz (blog editor)

As adoptees, we all face the same questions: How do we open our sealed files and how do we find out who our tribal nation is and when can we meet our relatives?

The first place to start: KNOW that state where the adoption took place. What is their law governing your rights to your own adoption records? LOOK

Second: Get your non-identifying (Non-ID) from the state where you were adopted. Non-identifying information includes birthparents age and (in recent years) medical history at the time of the child's birth; their physical description (height, weight, eye color); heritage (religion, national origin, race); number of other children, and whether they’re adopted. More detailed data is collected describing your birthparents, not adoptive parents. 

Do not be discouraged if you will need to get a court order and pay to get your adoption file, in many states this is the law... The states that are closed do not make it easy.

I found out in my own search that none of this is easy -- but it can be done. 

PLEASE READ: https://blog.americanindianadoptees.com/search?q=court+order+to+open+adoption+

 https://blog.americanindianadoptees.com/search?q=court+order+to+open+adoption+

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: VISIT:  https://adopteerightslaw.com/

Adoptee Rights Law Center PLLC
Gregory D. Luce
PO Box 19561
Minneapolis Minnesota 55419
T: (612) 221-3947
E: info@adopteerightslaw.co

Luce has created an Adoptee-Driven Law Center:

Original Birth Certificates

Some states recognize adult adoptees' unrestricted right to obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. I represent those who are denied that right.

Citizenship

Intercountry adoptees may not have received United States citizenship—or may have trouble proving it—even after being adopted in the U.S. decades ago. That's wrong. I advocate to correct it.

Personal Information

Adult adoptees are entitled to their own personal information, which may include information that is in an agency, court, or other locations. I help adoptees get what's rightfully theirs.

The OBC: Data, Information, and Maps

10	unrestricted
21	compromised
20	restricted
51	All 50 States + DC