Adoption Documents:What they are, where they are, what they mean, and how to get them

Hopefully, you will have started reading some of the search books that I referred you to in 'Initiating a Search'. You will have likely discovered that in the vast majority of instances, your adoption file, which resides in the court that finalized your adoption, is sealed. What this means is that the file can only be opened by court order. A court order can be obtained by petitioning the court. What the court will require in order to agree to open your file varies widely. Many states have a 'good cause' clause written into their adoption laws and it is up to the individual judge to determine if you have good cause. A few judges around the country are happy with your sense of curiousity, others have been known to deny petitions even in cases of extreme medical distress. The use of the Indian Child Welfare Act in your petition is also a possibility.

In most cases, a direct petition to the court to open the entire file, will fail, but it is worth pursuing as one can never be certain. Another way to have your file opened in some states is to have the file opened to a third party approved by the court, often called a Confidential Intermediary. It is my recommendation that one not utilize the services of a CI until they have exhausted all other options. Even if your petition to have your file opened is denied, nearly everything contained within the adoption file can be obtained from other parties, which will be the focus of this post.

The following documents are usually part of your court file, depending on the circumstances of your adoption:

1. Original birth certificate
2. Petition to adopt
3. Final decree of adoption
4. Your adoptive parents homestudy
5. various reports from the agency or lawyer such as intial interview with birthparent(s), their medical history, biographical information
6. signed relinquishment (sometimes called consent form)

These documents and the information contained within them, along with your hospital records and 'non-identifying' information available to most adoptees, will form the cornerstone of your search. If you do not know from your initial inquiries what court your adoption was finalized in, the best place to start is in the county where your adoptive parents were residing during your adoption. Contact the Family Court in that county and ask them if they can verify for you if your adoption file resides in their court. Sometimes, in small, helpful counties, you'll be given the information over the phone, at other times, they will require you to submit a written request.

1) Private or Agency

Hopefully your initial inquiries will have established whether you were the product of a private adoption, or whether you were adopted through an agency. In the cases of a private adoption, usually your adoptive parents will have arranged to adopt you through a family doctor, family friend, minister, or family member. They will have hired an attorney and the adoption will have been handled through the attorney and finalized in a court of law. In an agency adoption, your parents will likely have contacted an agency with their decision to adopt, sometimes they will have been placed on a waiting list, and are matched with a birthmother and/or child who also had contacted or was brought to the agency. In the States, some adoptions, which are sometimes referred to as 'welfare' adoptions, were arranged through the State's Department of Social Services, or Department of Children and Family Services. Even in the case of an agency adoption or DSS adoption, your parents will have utilized an attorney for the finalization procedure. Usually your adoptive parents will have chosen and utilized their own attorney, although it has been my experience that sometimes the adoptive parents were referred to specific attorneys by the agency. Some countries only arrange private adoptions, others only public adoptions. You should research the adoption laws and regulations of your state, province, or country as detailed in 'Initiating a Search', if you are unable to find out what agency to contact with regard to your adoption records.

2) Non-identifying information

"Non-identifying information" in this instance refers to a specific set of information given to an adoptee about their adoption and birthfamily. A very few states define within their statutes what constitutes non-identifying information, and makes provisions for its release through agencies and courts. In states or provinces or regions where non-ID is not defined, it is up to the court or agency responsible for compiling and releasing the information to determine what to give you, if anything. Generally 'non-ID' will include some or all of the following about one's birthparents:

• ages
• occupation(s)
• level of education
• race and/or ethnicity
• religion
• physical description
• hobbies
• talents
• marital status
• medical history
• circumstances surrounding the adoption

Other things that a lucky few may receive include the first names of the birthparents, medical history, ages, and physical description of the extended birthfamily.

Where you get 'non-ID' will depend on several things. For private adoptions handled in the States, you must apply to the court that finalized the adoption. For 'public' or 'agency' adoptions, you should contact the agency directly AND also apply to the court, as sometimes you'll get more information from one than the other. To find out if your state defines non-ID or makes provisions for it at all, you may read an up-to-date summary of state laws brought to you by Bastard Nation.

There is nearly always a fee and a wait involved for non-identifying information. In the States, for agency non-ID you can expect fees to start around $50 and go up to $250 depending on the agency. Court fees for non-ID are usually less, around $40-60. The wait will vary from 1 week (unusual) to years, but is usually somewhere around 3-6 months. How ever you apply for non-ID, whether it is a court petition or a written request to an agency, I highly recommend that you specifically state what information it is that you expect, even if your state defines non-ID. In Washington State, for example, even thought the law entitles you to the first names of your birthparents, you will usually not receive them unless you specifically ask and often then you will only receive them over the phone. Ask for first AND last names, ask for residence, last known address, ask for the name of the school or college your birthparents attended and what they majored in, ask for the moon, but don't expect to get it. The more you ask for, however, the more you're likely to get.

Do not inform the person or agency compiling your non-ID that you intend to search for your birthparents. It is best to maintain that the non-ID is meant to answer some questions that you have and you expect it to end there. If you have written for non-ID in the past and received it, it is a good idea to write again if several years have passed, or if adoption laws have changed. Each year in many places, social workers and judges provide more and more in the way of 'non-ID'. My most recent non-ID, obtained 5 years ago, was three pages long, and included detailed information about my birthmother's jobs that would have been crucial for me had I not found so fortuitously shortly after having received it. Lesli LaRocco(lll6@cornell.edu), on the other hand, recounts her experiences in obtaining non-ID:

"I wrote to Cook County Social Services; they had no record of me, but suggested that I write to the Cook County Circuit Court for non-id. I did so, and within a month, had my non-id. The judge had ordered by original birth certificate and gave me what was allowed:

• My date and time of birth
• My place of birth (listed as Maywood; note that the Final Decree says Chicago, my amended certificate says Maywood, and this says Melrose Park; Melrose Park is correct)
• Single birth
• No previous births listed
• Birthmother was 24 years old
• Birthmother was born in Grundy, VA
• Her race was Caucasian

The judge goes on to say that my birthfather's name was "omitted," but his age is listed as 34, but there is no other information about him."

Continue to section two of Adoption Documents

This post was authored by Shea Grimm except where otherwise indicated. It may be copied and distributed freely, in whole or part, as long as it is not sold, and as long as this notice is kept intact.