How do I find my birthparents?

LaurieDB

Under the law, you can receive non-identifying information about your first parents. Although it doesn't give full names, this information can yield some very helpful clues. You can contact the agency that handled your adoption about this, or you can contact the state agency about it. In California, the state agency is:

California Department of Social Services Adoptions Branch
744 P Street - M/S 19-31
Sacramento, CA
95814
(916) 322- 3778
FAX (916) 445-9125
Toll Free 1-800-KIDS- 4-US

In Arizona, it is:
Department of Economic Security Division of Children, Youth and Families
https://www.azdes.gov/ASPNew/default.asp

If your adoption was finalized in Arizona, there is a great online search and support group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arizonasearch_support/

Arizona also has a confidential intermediary (CI) system that I would only suggest as a last, last, last resort. It can be quite costly, but the real problem here is that the CI system has notoriously caused more trouble than they are worth for many (although not all) people. Here is some information about it:

Using a Confidential Intermediary: The following parties may use the services of a confidential intermediary:

Birth siblings age 21 or older; adoptive parents or legal guardians of adopted adults age 18 or older; adopted adults age 21 or older; the immediate, adult relatives (age 21 or older) of a deceased adopted adult; birth parents; or birth grandparents if birth parents are deceased.
A confidential intermediary must obtain written consent from both parties before releasing information. Adoptive parents may file an affidavit that prohibits the confidential intermediary from contacting the adopted adult unless the adoptive parents remove the affidavit or the adopted adult files an affidavit stating that he or she knows he or she is adopted and wishes to make contact with the birth parents. Birth parents can file an affidavit prohibiting contact with birth siblings.

To use the CI system, contact:
Arizona Confidential Intermediary Program
Arizona Supreme Court
Attn: Torin Scott
1501 W. Washington
Phoenix AZ 85007
(602) 542-9586 or (602) 542-9580
cip@supreme.sp.state.az.us
http://www.supreme.state.az.us/cip/ ( to open this link in another page, right click it and select â€œopen in a new pageâ€ )

__________________________

If your adoption finalized in California, you can go here for resources:
http://www.geocities.com/californiaadoptees/index.htm
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/9606/states/CAopen.html

Heather B

In most countries of the world blood relatives of adoptees are free to contact each other.

However, in the USA there remains a very archaic system of sealed adoption records - hopefully soon they will catch up with the rest of the civilized world and restore the rights of all it's citizens to the freedom of association promised to them under a democracy.

Anyway, if it happened in the USA (as mine did) there are a handful of States where hard-working Equal Rights activists have brought about changes in the law, but unfortunately 44 States remain sealed.

The good news is that sealed records don't stop people searching and they don't stop reunions (they just violate people's rights) I digress

So, let us know which State and you will get some real good answers from people here who know the ropes.

In the meantime sign up with the biggest worldwide reunion registry:

http://www.isrr.net/

This one too http://registry.adoption.com/

The State should have one also but they usually exclude people born in one State and adopted in another and, of course, deceased people can't register. Many people just don't know about them (what I'm trying to say is that they are not overly successful)

But don't rely entirely on registries. My mother never registered - she just didn't know about the registries and had been told to go away when she looked for me via the agency (as too was I)

We found each other anyway, with little more than a birthdate and City. Best of luck

ETA: Excellent search group for you: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arizonasearch_support/

zx124

If you email me at zx124@yahoo.com i can talk to you more about this. The reason that i want to do it in private is because I was also adopted and my adopted parents didn't help me. I want to tell you what I did to find to find them.

estofik

You can look into a private investigator. There are also alot of find your birth parents websites online. You can also try public records websites.

kapuwolf37

There's a bunch of internet sites where you can connect with your birth parents if they register. Do some research on that.

Curiouse carrie is merry

try contacting the lawyer that handle your adopten they might know

diana23056

If you know their names of your mother or father then there are some web-sites you can look at. Or if you know any names of your birth parents family at all?
http://www.whitepages.com/
http://www.zabasearch.com/
http://www.anywho.com/
Sorry that i don't know how to help if you don't know you parents name.
Best of luck!!!

Ghostwriter1959

Yes it would start with your birth certificate, though it does have your adopted parents names on it, the other information with the exception of possibly your name is all Original. The time, place, location, hospital, etc., are all about you when you were born. Those are clues which doing some research through the local newspapers of that time, the hospital's standard live birth records, and some other information it is possible to piece together who your birth parents are or were.

Though there are times when it all does lead to a dead end, many times the little bits of information are what make it worth the challenge and interesting to research.

Good luck and wish you the best. I do this as a hobby researching for family trees, family history, and other information as a hobby. If I can be of assistance feel free to drop me a note and I will see what I can do for you as I have time.

Check, Please.â„¢

Look at your birth certficate, it will have your info.

(sorry, not an expert on this, never been adopted)

jazz

umm not sure...

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