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Open Adoption Records Access Varies Across the US
The ‘open adoption records’ policy is different amongst US states. Some do
not allow it at all, while others allow them with certain restrictions.
To open adoption records is currently not allowed for adopted individuals in
45 US States. What happens when an adult who is adopted applies for a certified
copy of an ‘original’ birth certificate is that he or she will receive a
document that reflects only the names of the adoptive parents.
Moreover, the amended certificate will only contain the adopted individual's
name as chosen by the adoptive parents. No trace of any data from before
adoption will be reflected on the certificate.
This is true across ALL states if an adopted person goes through the same
process in getting a copy of the birth certificate as those who are not adopted.
Open Adoption Records - Which States Offer Them?
An open adoption records policy, however, exists in certain states, which have a
different procedure for adopted individuals. However, these states allow only
adopted people to open their own records, excluding both sets of parents, birth
AND adoptive.
The records comprise the Decree of Adoption; data regarding birth mother/father/
family compiled when interviews toward placement were conducted; and the
Original Birth Certificate bearing original birth and parents' names.
Five states offer unrestricted access to adoption records - Kansas (never
closed), Oregon (1958), Alaska (late-1970s), Alabama (2000), and New Hampshire
(2004).
A number of states, however, also offer open records, albeit with certain
restrictions, such as parental permission even when an adopted person is an
adult or only for those born during specific years.
If an adopted person wanted to obtain access to birth records in, say,
California, where such documents were closed in 1936, he or she could only do it
via court order. But showing “good cause” is required, which can be a problem
since “good cause” is relative in a court of law.
Some courts have granted an adopted person's request to open records due to a
medical emergency, such as the dire need for a kidney or bone marrow donor. When
presented with such a reason, states like Florida will order an intermediary to
look for the birth parents and inquire if they would allow adoption data to be
accessed. However, even in the face of such an emergency, courts in certain
states have been known to reject petitions to open adoption records.
Over the Internet, registries that help adopted people find their birth parents
(and vice versa) exist. But for the search to work, both parents and children
will have to register – which can be difficult since online registries are many,
and one or the other party may not even know that such a registry exists.
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