IOWA: adoptees can get their files

WHAT STATES have open access to adoption records and your OBC (original birth certificate) - 9 states currently allow for unrestricted access to OBC  ::  read here

Access to Original Birth Certificates

IOWA Adoptees may now receive a noncertified copy of the certificate of birth prior to adoption

HF855 was signed into law on May 19, 2021. This new legislation allows an adult adoptee to apply for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption immediately. If the adult adoptee is deceased, an entitled family may apply for the record.

Beginning January 1, 2022, any adult adoptee 18 years old or older may apply for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption. If the adult adoptee is deceased, an entitled family may apply for the record.

• Proper application, proof of identity and entitlement must exist before a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth may be issued to any party.
• Contact preference forms and medical history forms may be on file for the biological parent(s) named on the record. If the contact preference forms and medical history forms are on file, the forms will be released with the noncertified original certificate of birth.
• Biological parents may state their preference to release their identity and option for contact, or for their identity to be redacted from the original certificate of birth prior to adoption.
• An original noncertified certificate of birth prior to adoption may be released regardless of any contact preference forms being filed when proper application has been made and proof of entitlement exists.

 

EXPECTED PROCESSING TIME TO COMPLETE COPY REQUESTS SUBMITTED IS 6 TO 8 WEEKS

•  Biological Parent Contact Preference Form
•  Biological Parent Medical History Form
•  Application to Request a Noncertified Copy of Original Certificate of Birth Prior to Adoption

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What does Iowa Code section 144.24A allow?

• The new law allows an adult adoptee to request and receive a noncertified copy of their original certificate of birth that was created prior to their adoption. Biological parent information is listed on this document. 
• The new law allows biological parents to file contact preference and medical history forms with the Bureau of Health Statistics. These forms shall be released to the adult adoptee or entitled person upon proper application.

Who else can request a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth for an adoptee?

• An entitled person may request and receive a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption if the adoptee is deceased.

Who is an entitled person? 

• An entitled person is the spouse of the adopted person who is deceased, or an adult related to the adopted person who is deceased within the second degree of consanguinity. The second degree of consanguinity is applied to individuals after adoption.

Who is within the second degree of consanguinity?

• The following individuals are within the second degree of consanguinity of the adult adoptee: children, parents, grandchildren, siblings and grandparents.

Can an original noncertified copy of a birth certificate prior to adoption be released if no contact preference form has been filed?

• Yes.

If I am a biological parent listed on an original certificate of birth prior to adoption, when can I filed a contact preference form and medical history form?

• The Bureau will accept contact preference forms and medical history forms immediately.  If the contact preference form and medical history form is submitted to the Bureau of Health Statistics after the release dates noted above, adult adoptees or entitled persons may have requested the original certificate of birth prior to adoption. Contact preference forms and medical history forms are provided with the noncertified original certificate of birth once filed.

 

Applications for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption, contact preference and medical history forms will only be accepted via mail or in-person at the Bureau of Health Statistics. These forms will not be filed at any other issuing office.

 

Mail contact preference and medical history forms to:

Iowa Department of Public Health
Bureau of Health Statistics
Lucas State Office Building
1st Floor, 321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, Iowa   50319-0075

What you need: Court Order Petition

 written in 2012 for this blog (Nation Adoption Awareness Month - #NAAM)

What you need: Court Order Petition

Hi! I wrote about this in my memoir One Small Sacrifice but I am going to post it again. (p.s. what is in your adoption file will AMAZE you)

Since it's National Adoption Awareness Month and we still need our information, adoptees can petition the state court for your adoption file! You get a court order to request a copy of your adoption file! A judge has to agree to release it to you!

You have to pay for it ($75-100+) but what is in the adoption file are documents about your birth, your social worker, where you were placed in foster care, who they were, and even doctor appointments you had prior to your adoption.

What is in my adoption file:

1 - State of Wisconsin Order for Hearing and Investigation, where my adoptive parents petition in writing to adopt me: Laura Jean Thrall and the court ordered Catholic Welfare Agency of Superior, Wisconsin and the State of Wisconsin to investigate, as required by law.

2 – The letter to my parent’s lawyer from the Wisconsin State Supervisor of Adoptions, Division for Child and Youth who wrote, “According to our incomplete record, it appears this child was committed permanently to the Catholic Child Welfare Bureau and that agency placed this child in this home. If that is true, no action is necessary on the State Dept. of Public Welfare. We are sure that if our assumption is incorrect, the agency will so notify us and appropriate action of the state dept. can be taken upon receipt of the investigator’s report.” Dated June 9, 1958.
ALSO in my file, the state of Wisconsin sent a letter to the Judge in Superior, Wisc. acknowledging the date of my adoption hearing: June 24, 1958. The investigator was the Catholic Welfare Agency who had complete control of me.

3- Report: Movements of Child while Under Care: Catholic Infant Home, Foster Care in Superior (with their name and address) and Foster-Adoptive Home (DeMeyer).

4-Certificate of Baptism: First Baptism: 9-18-56 (requested by my mother Helen) and a New Baptismal Certificate was issued on 2-21-1964. Wow – Catholics get this done quick and recorded. Up on the top of the form is Legal Status: Illegitimate and Mother’s Name: Helen Thrall. My Birthplace: St. Paul, MN. In my adoption file is the signed “Certificate of Baptism, Cathedral of St. Paul,” listing my adoptive parents and my new name! It is signed by Rev. Barr and dated March 10, 1959 when in fact I had been baptized in Sept. 1956. This falsified baptismal certificate and my amended birth certificate are two fake documents made to hide my adoptee status – in case my parents decide not to tell me I am adopted.

5- Hospital Discharge Report: The Physical Record of Mother. She was admitted to the Catholic Infant Home on May 23, 1956. Her home address is in Chicago, IL. She delivered on 9-9-56. She stayed in the hospital 5 days until 9-14-56. Children living: One. (This is the proof Helen had already had a child who was also given up for adoption before me!) Delivery: Normal, spontaneous (Helen had an lml episiotomy with no complications). On 5-25-56, Helen’s blood work: Her RH factor was positive. Helen was allergic to penicillin. No Sauk Vaccine given. (I am also allergic to penicillin.) ALSO: The Child (me) Physical Report: full-term, 10 lbs., 3 oz., 21 ½ in., Head Circumference 14” and Chest Circumference 14 ½ in. I was discharged from the hospital on 9-26-1956 as a normal female infant. Social Worker: Miss Underhill.

6- Catholic Infant Home Report – Their Address, Nurse: Sister Enid, Physical Exam at Birth and Physical Exam on Discharge from Hospital to Infant Home, 2 doctors signed. Feeding: Similac every 4 hours. (Obviously no breast milk for me!)

7- Medical Exam (Infant to Two Years, Wisconsin Child Center) – Laura Jean Thrall in Foster Care, General physical: Ok with Mild eczema on face. March 12, 1957.

8- Medical Exam – July 15, 1957 – now named Tracy DeMeyer, General Development: Normal and lists all the various immunizations and vaccines I had. (My adoptive mother told me I was covered in rashes and bald on the back of my head when they got me.)

9- State of Juvenile Court, Vilas Country, Wisconsin, Parental Consent to Termination of Parental Rights, dated December 5, 1956. Miss Alverna Underhill (social worker) is the witness. "Father’s consent is not necessary In case of illegitimate child." Signed by my mother Helen Thrall.

10- Leo Block, Director of Catholic Welfare Agency appears before Judge Robert Curran on May 28, 1958, in the matter of Adoption of Laura Jean Thrall and Mr. Block consents to my adoption on this legal form. Block’s reason for consent: for the best interest of the child.

11 – Form letter: Request to the State of Minnesota Dept. of Public Welfare on April 9, 1958, states that Catholic Welfare Agency needs a copy of my birth record to be used as proof of birth to protect the interest of this child at the time of placement of adoption. Required fee enclosed $1.00. Signed Jean Johnson, Supervisor Protection Unit. Certified Photostat April 16, 1958 sent to Social Worker Miss Underhill.

12- Copy of Investigation, submitted by Catholic Welfare Agency, done March 17, 1957 through May 28, 1958 to the County Court in Wisconsin. Describes The Child (me) and Mother of Child (Helen). INFORMATION NECESSARY FOR CHANGING BIRTH CERTIFICATE in bold type. This is the story I wanted – all the details and dates.  My first months, Helen’s life, and my adoptive parents life and their desire to adopt me, was revealed on four typed pages.

This is what to expect: PAGES of legal documents, reports, letters, stories, arrangements, explanations, descriptions, maybe even a Baptismal Certificate, places and dates.

The BUREAUCRACY they created for each adoptee, all the paperwork, judges, lawyers, social workers, no wonder they don't want to change their system - it's jobs and generates billions of dollars each year!

Every adoptee needs to read their file.

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

Adoptee looking for birthmother wants access to OBC in Minnesota

Minnesota woman looking for birth mother wants access to birth c - KMSP-TV

By Trace Hentz



I was born in Minnesota and handled by Catholic Charities.

This story was me at age 22.

I bypassed the archaic laws and found a kind judge in Wisconsin who let me read my sealed adoption file. I could not keep copies of anything, of course. So I looked at the papers with young eyes, not even knowing what I was reading. I kept those notes and memorized them. Those two pieces of paper went with me when I moved. I still have them. (The pencil notes have faded now.)

I found my mother first, but it took YEARS to find her and ask her who was my dad.

So I have to ask Minnesota why would you not release my original birth certificate to me now? Why would you refuse me when I have met my birthfather who has since passed? And my birthmom Helen has passed too!

What gives Minnesota the right to refuse adoptees our own documents of identity?

Minnesota was one of the traffickers of babies, using the Indian Adoption Projects, as I wrote in the books Two Worlds and Called Home. They have plenty to hide, which is probably why they have not unsealed their adoption files.

Minnesota's adoptee access bill

-99.5% of MN-born adult adoptees would be able to receive their original birth certificates by request from Minnesota Department of Health Vital Records.

-The remaining .5% of adoptees who have an affidavit of non-disclosure attached to their birth certificate would have an appeal process through the court.

-Birthparents will continue to have the option of filing a non-disclosure. (Only 1 non-disclosure was filed during 2010-2014.)

-Birthparents will be able to state their preference for contact (“Yes, I would like contact”, “No, I do not want contact”, or “Yes I want contact, but through an intermediary.” This contact preference option has been added to many states that have recently passed access legislation and helps
the adoptee know if reconnection is desired and includes a birthparent’s contact information.)

For more information on the bill go to http://mnadoptreform.org/

Current Minnesota statutes: Access to original birth record informatio

States With Open Adoption Records (UPDATED)

This is not an endorsement for OMNITRACE (2014) | States With Open Adoption Records
Read this: http://www.womensvoicesmagazine.com/family-section/search-angels/#.VJbI94DAN8

There are several states that have open adoption records.  In these states, an adult adoptee can get an original birth certificate and in some instances more adoption record information. If you are an adoptee looking for your birth parents in an open adoption records state, please request your open adoption records.  However, when you obtain your original birth records, your search might still be difficult.  Having information such as your birth mother’s maiden name and perhaps her old address is a great start, but you will still need to get her current name and address information.  Your birth mother might have changed her name several times, or she might not live in the state where you were adopted.

Here is a list of states where adoption records for all or some years are open.  In some states, birth parents can sign a no-contact veto:

• Alabama – Adoption records are open. 
• Alaska – Adoption records are open. 
• Colorado – Adoptions records are open for adoptees whose adoptions were  finalized between 07/01/1951 to 06/30/1967 and 09/01/1999 to present.
• Connecticut – Adoption records are open for adoptions finalized after 10/01/1983.
• Delaware – Adoption records are open.  Birth parents can sign a no contact veto. 
• Illinois - Adoption records are open. 
• Indiana – Adoption records prior to 1940 may be open.  OmniTrace is currently investigating how to request the original birth certificate.
• Iowa – Adoption records are open prior to 07/01/1941.
• Kansas – Adoption records are open.
• Maine – Adoption records are open. 
• Maryland – Most adoption records prior to 06/01/1947 are open.
• Massachusetts – Adoption records are open for birth years prior to 4/14/1974. 
• Michigan – Adoption records are open if the birth parent’s rights were terminated prior to 05/28/1945 or on or after 09/12/1980.
• Montana – Adoption records are open for adoptions finalized prior to 2/2/1967. 
• New Hampshire – Adoption records are open. 
• New Jersey – Adoption Records (original birth certificate) will be open (FINALLY) in 2017.
• Ohio – Adoption records are now open for adoptions finalized prior to 1/1/1964.  Post adoption records (original birth certificates) will be available on March 18, 2015.
• Oklahoma – Adoption records are open for adoptions finalized after 11/01/1997
• Oregon – Adoption records are open. 
• Rhode Island - Adoption records are open. 
• Tennessee – Adoption records are open.  No-contact vetos are available to birth parents if the adoption was finalized after 1951.
• Vermont – Adoption records are open for adoptions finalized after 07/01/1986.
• Washington – Adoption records are open as of July 1, 2014.

Canada:

• Alberta – Open.
• British Columbia – Open. 
• Newfoundland – Open.
• Ontario – Open.
• Manitoba – Opening 2015.
• New Brunswick – Opening soon.

Changes coming soon:

• Colorado – Access to original birth certificates as of 01/01/2016 for all birth years. 
• Ohio - Ohio Post 1964 Opening 03/18/2015! – Adoption records will be open to adoptee when age 18 years or older, effective March 18, 2015, with the recent passage of Senate bill 23. Biological parents will be able to file a name redaction request form between March 18, 2014 and March 18, 2015.
• New Jersey – Access to Original Birth Certificates beginning 01/01/2017

Please note, if you were born in a state that does not have open adoption records, don’t be discouraged. OmniTrace has many ways to solve birth parent searches involving closed record states.  In fact, some of our best states for searching are closed record states.
Also, there is pending legislation in a number of  states where adoption records may become open.


This information was posted at OMNI TRACE who charges you the adoptee to search. I am not endorsing them or their services. If you google search your state of birth, there are State Adoption Services and the forms you will need and what they will charge you ... Trace

One day the world will wake up

Lost Daughters: On Being Generic Ethnic

It is important for all adoptees to know their ancestry, VERY important. Please read this great post on Lost Daughters (click on title) by an Illinois adoptee.
Sadly, the adoption world continues to ignore adoptees in this regard, and fails to see the importance of our medical history which is clearly so necessary and essential to every human being - yet sealed adoption records leaves us adoptees out in the cold and in the dark.
Some day, one day soon, the world will wake up. I mean it. One day the world will see adoption for what it truly is - a farce, ridiculous, barbaric and demeaning for the adoptee.
I wait for that day.
Trace

Using the Indian Child Welfare Act to petition court

A friend sent this and I wanted to share!  If you are thinking of opening your adoption and know the state you were born, the INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT can be used to petition the courts and judge to get your tribal information:

Excerpt:

One section of the ICWA is of particular interest to adoptees. Section 1951b states "Upon the request of the adopted Indian child over the age of eighteen, the adoptive or foster parents of an Indian child, or an Indian tribe, the Secretary shall disclose such information as may be necessary for the enrollment of an Indian child in the tribe in which the child may be eligible for enrollment or for determining any rights or benefits associated with that membership. Where the documents relating to such child contain an affidavit from the biological parent or parents requesting anonymity, the Secretary shall certify to the Indian child's tribe, where the information warrants, that the child's parentage and other circumstances of birth entitle the child to enrollment under the criteria established by such tribe."

Essentially this section directs the State to give adult adoptees of Native American heritage who request it, their birth information, so that they may enroll in their tribes. The section does allow for birthparents to file a veto, but even then the adoptee is entitled to tribal notification so that they may process their tribal rights and privileges. You can read the entire ICWA on the Web (use google search).

There are a few problem areas with using the ICWA.  Many adoptees are of enough Native American blood to qualify for enrollment in their tribes, but there is nothing documented that verifies that information.  Before a judge will open a file under ICWA s/he will often demand some sort of proof that the adoptee is NA at all, proof that most adoptees will simply not have. But in other instances, the agency that handled the adoption, or the court file itself, will contain notations that you, the adoptee, do have NA ancestry.

If you have received non-ID from a source that states this, include a copy with your court petition. You will also need to include a copy of the ICWA in order to make the judge's work easier and predispose him/her to wanting to help you. If you have any information at all that you are even the smallest bit Native American, you should use the ICWA in your petition. Include affidavits from family members (adoptive and birth) who have told you that you have Native American blood, as well as any 'official' agency or other documents to support your claims. Remember that most tribes have small blood quantum requirements, and you should not feel guilty about using the ICWA. The intent of this law is to ensure that those of us who are entitled to tribal membership by birthright, have the *choice* to join our Native American communities.


[ADOPTEES: please contact the adoption agency, if you know who it was, or ask your adoptive parents what they were told and ask them to request the entire adoption record in the state you were adopted. WHY?? Since your adoptive parents signed papers to adopt you - they have a right to request a copy of your file and adoption records.  If you are 18, you are an adult and can petition the courts. The Indian Adoption Projects was a secretive measure to assimilate children and change us - but it doesn't work - you are still Indian, no matter where you were raised... Indian Blood is loud... Contact me if you need to know the laws in your state and contact NICWA and request all the information they have to help adoptees... Trace]

National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA)

5100 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 300
Portland, Oregon 97239
Telephone: (503) 222-4044
Fax: (503) 222-4007

Hours: Monday—Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

BLOG WEEK: My beautiful sister Teresa

Teresa (1961-2012)

Meeting and getting to know my sister Teresa was the greatest gift in my life. I met her in 1994 when I met my dad Earl for the first time. She died yesterday at age 50.
I always wanted a sister and she was the very best for the past 18 years. I will be attending her funeral and conclude BLOG WEEK "Adoption Establishment" with this.

1. Getting to meet siblings is life-changing.
2. Knowing my first family and siblings helped me go full circle on my adoption journey to healing.
3. Finding family who looked like me and loved me unconditionally was priceless.

I am glad I never gave up the search for my first family. My reunion happened 16 years after I started looking for them. I don't regret opening my adoption, despite the laws that prevented me and unwritten rules that said I should never search because it would hurt my adoptive parents.

Adoptees, please start your search if you haven't. FIND YOUR FAMILY! Write your legislators and tell them to open your adoption records. Contact Soaring Angels on Yahoo Groups and get your non-id paperwork. Don't wait, start today.

Trace/Laura Thrall-Bland

(I have a few more BLOG WEEK posts scheduled in the next few days)

Help for Minnesota Adoptees (I am one, too)

I am an adoptee who was born in Minnesota in 1956.
When I was searching, I did call Catholic Charities since they handled my adoption. This was in the late 1970s and they, of course, were shocked I was asking for my birth certificate and wanting to know who my parents were. They didn't slam down the phone but they were no help at all - but times have changed somewhat since then and this is the  link  to contact Minnesota for access to your birth records and birth certificate.
It is "conditional" access - which means your birthparent has had to file a consent form - and if they have done that, the adoptee will be able to have a certified copy of the original birth records. (read below)
You can check my blog here about what was in my adoption file from Wisconsin; the judge ordered an investigation before my adoption was finalized and the investigator had to get a copies of my files which listed days spent in a Minnesota Catholic orphanage, other records from Minnesota, my foster care address in Wisconsin - prior to my being legally adopted. (Yes, states did transfer children around like Minnesota-Wisconsin-Illinois). I was born in MN but adopted in Wisconsin - which meant I had two places to look. A Wisconsin judge let me read my files in 1979.
In 2010, I did contact Minnesota to request a copy of my original birth certificate. Because records are still sealed, they said NO. My birthmother Helen died in 2007, so she obviously will not ever give her consent.
This also presents a problem since the government will be refusing to give certain people with strange-looking birth certificates a driver's license in the not-too-distant future. (REAL ID ACT OF 2005)
My friends at Soaring Angels on Yahoo Groups (search angels for adoptees & birthfamilies) posted this so I wanted to share it with adoptees who need help in Minnesota!

Access to Original Birth Record in MN


A child, age 19 or older who was adopted, may request a non-certified copy of the original birth record. To request a non-certified copy, complete the Adoptee's Request for Original Birth Record Information and Search for Affidavit of Disclosure or Non-Disclosure( Interactive PDF: 60KB/1 page)
<http://www.health. state.mn. us/divs/chs/ osr/disclosesear chnew.pdf> . 
Mail the completed form with a fee of $13 to the Minnesota Department of Health, Central Cashiering - Vital Records, P.O. Box 64499, St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0499.

If a birth parent has given permission to release the original birth information to the child, MDH will send the child a non-certified copy of the original birth record. If no Affidavit of Disclosure or Non-Disclosure
has been filed, MDH will notify the child that a non-certified copy of the original birth record cannot be released at this time. MDH will also notify the Department of Human Services for the purpose of conducting a search for
the birth parent(s) according to Minnesota Statutes, section 259.89. The search may take up to six months. MDH will contact the child when the search is complete.

Searches for Information about Siblings or Parents who were Adopted
The Minnesota Department of Health does not retain adoption information. The Office of the State Registrar retains:

1) current birth records that include the post adoption names of adopted persons and their adopted parents; and
2) the original birth record that includes original birth information.

The original birth record may be released only:

1) by court order
2) to the adopted person if the parent(s) named on the original birth record have been given permission; or
3) to a parent named on the original birth record.

Other than releasing the original birth record as described above, the Office of the State Registrar does not provide post adoption services and cannot help with searches for information about siblings or parents. If you are looking for information about a sibling or a parent who was adopted, please contact the adoption agency or the Minnesota Department of Human Services at 651-431-4682 or write to: Minnesota Department of Human Services, Child Safety and Permanency Division, Adoption Assitance Program, P.O. Box 64944, St. Paul, MN 55164-0944.

THE ADOPTION MACHINE: No Wonder Adoption Agencies are Nervous About OBC Access! (from my archives)

by Jo Swanson, October 25, 2010 

I was looking for a quote in my 1989 'mini-book' The Adoption Machine and came across something I had forgotten about. It fortifies what we've known all along about why agencies fight so hard to keep adoptees and birth families from locating one another. The agency is in Michigan - it's the one my daughter was placed through. I'll quote directly from the book:

A birthmother who placed her child through our same "Christian" agency contacted me for search help. She had kept in touch with her social worker throughout the years, even after the woman retired, as a way of somehow staying connected to her child. In recent visits, the former social worker had become quite upset about the birthmother's desire to be reunited with her daughter. "Give it up," she admonished her, suggesting that she was merely having a "bad day." "Cheer up! You have another family now! Besides, I checked the phone book recently, and the family isn't living in the area anymore."

Mother and daughter did meet, however, and upon comparing information provided to each by the agency at time of placement and later with the real story, found:

Claim: Birthmother was told by her social worker at time of relinquishment that her infant was perfectly normal and healthy.

Fact: Records indicated the child was diagnosed in the hospital, right after birth, as having a severe hearing impairment (95% loss), possibly due to exposure of mother, unknowingly, to German measles during pregnancy.

Claim: One year after relinquishment, birthmother was sent a letter by the agency, informing her that her child was "in a happy home" and that the adoption was finalized.

Fact: At the time the social worker wrote that letter, this child was back in foster care after a failed adoption. "The adoptive mother was having a nervous breakdown and couldn't handle a handicapped child." A second placement had been made at thirteen months, and fortunately it was a very good placement.

Claim: The adoptive family no longer lived in the area.

Fact: Adoptive father was deceased, but the mother still lived in the same home as at the time of adoption, and was still listed in phone directory. (Adoptive mother was supportive of her daughter's desire to meet her birth family.)

Claim: The adoptive couple had been told by the agency social worker after placement that the child's birthmother had died subsequent to the birth! (Common practice, we now know, as was telling birthmothers their infants died before or after birth.)

Fact: This agency social worker had spun so many lies that she was in a virtual panic that the two parties might actually meet one day and learn the truth!

     We're getting the truth out drop by drop. But we've been doing it for so many decades - when will legislators begin to "get it" and realize how power has been abused by adoption brokers at the expense of children and their mothers?

[Lies...This is one example of the difficulties in dealing with the adoption industry, social workers and lawmakers on passing unconditional "no consent clause" access to our OBC (original birth certificate) and our adoption records...   Trace]