American Adoption Congress supports state-by-state legislative efforts to obtain access for adult adoptees to their original birth certificates. AAC prefers unrestricted access to this document for all adult adoptees but will accept compromise legislation if, in the opinion of AAC and local supporters, such a compromise is necessary to obtain the greatest access for the greatest number of adopted persons.
New correct Legislative Terminology: PDF file Word file
Sample resolution and information to present to legislators.
Click here to access the 2010 State Legislatures Session Calendar.
This map will provide an overview of birth certificate access for adopted adults in all states.
ALABAMA - ACCESS STATE
In Alabama, the original birth certificate (OBC) is made available to adoptee, age 18 or older, upon request. Birth parents may file a non-binding Contact Preference Form, requesting direct contact with adopted adult, contact through an intermediary, or no contact at all.
Alabamians Working for Adoption Reform and Education (AWARE), a grassroots, volunteer citizens' organization composed of adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents and other supporters nationwide, announced the passage of HB-690 on Monday, May 15, 2000 by the Alabama State Legislature.
HB-690 reopens birth and adoption records to Alabama adult adoptees and ends a 9-year roadblock enacted in 1990 as part of a sweeping overhaul of the Alabama Adoption Code. Prior to January 1, 1991, adult adoptees in Alabama had been able to view all of their adoption records upon request. Governor Don Siegelman signed the bill into law on Thursday, May 25, 2000. HB-690 provides for the release of sealed original birth certificates on written request to any adult who has one filed at the Department of Vital Statistics due to adoption, foreign birth, or legitimation. In addition to the original birth certificate, HB-690 also provides for release of the court documents pertaining to the adoption which are contained in the sealed file at the Department of Vital Statistics. In contrast to the pre-1991 situation, adult adoptees will now be able to receive and retain copies of some of their adoption-related documents. Documents held by private adoption agencies or the Department of Human Resources, however, are not impacted by this bill.
To contact AWARE, please call Sandra Pears-Wilson, President, at (205) 368-4627 or (205) 320-0335, or email her at msmarvin@hiwaay.net. David Ansardi, Vice President, may be reached by voice mail at (413) 793-4991, or by email at David_Ansardi@mindspring.com. For more information about AWARE, please visit: www.alabama-adoption.org
CALIFORNIA
The California Adoption Reform Effort (C.A.R.E.) advocates for AB 372 (Ma) began in January with the goal of opening as many birth records as possible for adopted citizens in California.
In April, the bill passed unanimously out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, but in May, was put into suspense in Appropriations. The current fiscal crisis in the state has dominated the California legislature in the weeks since. In the current climate, any cost for enactment would most likely prove problematic.
Other hurdles include existing statutes which created a disclosure veto
(http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/AD908.PDF) and a confidential intermediary process for sibling reunification (http://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/AD904A.PDF). Amending these retroactively requires a costly mechanism.
Awaiting clarity on the fiscal situation, C.A.R.E. continues to hold to their mission of providing access to original birth certificates for as many adopted citizens as possible.
COLORADO
A Colorado Circuit Court on April 16, 2009, ruled that adoptees can get their birth certificates and adoptions records for adoptions finalized between July 1, 1951 and July 1, 1967. The court also held that, for adoptions finalized prior to July 1, 1949, legislative history contains no indication that the new law sealing adoption records, which took effect on that date, was intended to be applied retroactively.
In the first year (June 23, 2009 - June 22, 2010), the Colorado Department of Vital Statistics has processed 836 requests for original birth certificates.
To read the opinion in its entirety, go to: http://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts
Colorado now offers adoption triad members a form to complete to petition the courts for access to birth records. http://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut will be attempting to introduce an all inclusive bill with the help of Rep. Barbara Lambert, the Connecticut Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents and the Connecticut Council on Adoption.
Contact: Paul Schibbelhute pschibbe@aol.com or
Jane Servadio janerino@optonline.net
DELAWARE - ACCESS STATE
Original Birth Certificate Available to Adult Adoptees
Effective January 18, 1999, adoptees age 21 and older born in the State of Delaware can may apply for a copy of their original birth certificate. Go to www.dhss.delaware.gov/dph/ss/vitalstats.html for applying by mail or telephone. Click on the link to VitalChek Network for more information or click on Adoptee’s Birth Certificate PDF version to print out the form.
Birth parents wishing to block release of identifying information must file a written notarized statement to that effect with the Office of Vital Statistics. Such statements must be renewed every three years.
Vital Statistics will make a reasonable effort to notify a birth parent when an adoptee applies for birth records. If no disclosure veto statement is filed, the original birth certificate will be released to the adoptee 65 days after the initial request. For additional information, please contact Carolyn Hoard.
HB5428 has passed.
The bill will provide access to OBC's for adoptees age 21 or over. A birth parent of an adoptee born after 1945 can veto disclosure of the birth parent's identity so long as the birth parent is alive. If a birth parent has vetoed disclosure, all identifying information about that birth parent will be deleted from the OBC received by the adoptee. A veto by one birth parent does not prevent disclosure of the identity of the other birth parent. The form of the disclosure veto will be one of several options on a so-called "Birth Parent Preference Form."
Requests for OBC's and disclosure vetoes will be filed with the Registry, but adoptees need not register or pay the registration fee in order to get their OBC's. Fee and filing requirements for the OBC will be the same as those required of non-adopted persons requesting copies of their birth certificates.
Disclosure vetoes are ineffective after the vetoing birth parent dies. CI program continues primarily to determine if vetoing birth parents have died.
A one year public information campaign will inform adoptees and birth parents about changes made by the bill, primarily through messages enclosed with drivers' license and auto registration renewal notices.
Indiana advocates, HEAR - Hoosiers for Equal Access to Records, hoped to introduce legislation that would provide a release of identifying adoption information. In the short 2010 legislative session, the bill was not picked among the roster of proposed legislation to consider. HEAR will continue education and advocacy among legislators in advance of the fall session when efforts will begin anew to launch a new bill.
Contact: Melissa Shelton - melyadopt@gmail.com
Pam Kroskie - kroskie5@comcast.net
KANSAS - ACCESS STATE
Adoption Records Were Never Sealed
Kansas adoption records have NEVER been closed. The records have always been accessible to adult adoptees (in KS that is age 18); the original birth certificate (OBC) comes from KS Vital Statistics and the adoption record comes from KS Social and Rehabilitative Services (SRS) Children and Family Policy. The often stated confusion arises from the fact that this was not clearly spelled out in the law and, in the early 1950s when many states were closing their records, the KS legislature passed a 1953 law that clearly spelled out that the records belong to adult adoptees.
The OBC is available only to the adult adoptee. The adoptee's descendants cannot get the OBC (which many want when the adoptee is deceased). The OBC is stamped, in red, VOID so that the document cannot be used for fraud. It has only been in the past 15 years or so that this has been done. The same form and fee, is used for ALL Kansans whether adopted or not adopted. This form may be accessed at: www.kdheks.gov/vital/birth.html
If an adoptee is born in KS but the adoption was completed in another state, they still get the OBC. If the adoptee was born elsewhere but the adoption was completed in KS, the adoptee can still obtain the state adoption record but the OBC stays with the state (and their laws) where the adoptee was born.
Birth parents/siblings can request a search, though SRS, and forward their identifying information to the adult adoptee. It then is the decision of the adoptee whether or not to directly contact that particular birth family member. Identifying information about the adult adoptee cannot be released to any birth family member without the written, notarized consent of the adoptee. For a Kansas state adoption record form for all adoptions completed in Kansas, click here. At the present time there is no fee for the Kansas adoption record or for requesting a search for a birth family member or adoptee.
59-2122 Files and records of adoption
(a) The files and records of the court in adoption proceedings shall not be open to inspection or copy by persons other than the parties in interest and their attorneys, and representatives of the state department of social and rehabilitation services, except upon an order of the court expressly permitting the same. As used in this section, 'parties in interest' shall not include genetic parents once a decree of adoption is entered.
(b) The department of social and rehabilitation services may contact the adoptive parents of the minor child or the adopted adult at the request of the genetic parents in the event of a health or medical need. The department of social and rehabilitation services may contact the adopted adult at the request of the genetic parents for any reason. Identifying information shall not be shared with the genetic parents without the permission of the adopted adult. The department of social and rehabilitation services may contact the genetic parents at the request of the adoptive parents of the minor child or the adopted adult in the event of a health or medical need. The department of social and rehabilitation services may contact the genetic parents at the request of the adopted adult for any reason.
HB 444 has been signed by the governor. The bill establishes a means to gather birth medical history to be released in a non-identifying way; describes conditions of disclosure through the court in cases of inheritance rights, medical necessity or registration with the State Registry; and extends State Registry participation to parents or siblings of deceased biological parents, adoptive parents of a minor or deceased adopted person.
Adoptee access bill enacted in Maine
Access Legislation was enacted on January 1, 2009, allowing adults to get their original birth certificates.
Statistics reflect findings in other access states.
• No harm done to any party
• Few birth parents state a preference for no contact
• Fulfillment has no fiscal note for the state and the process of fulfillment has gone smoothly.
Three months past enactment in Maine, 542 requests for original birth certificates have been received of which 24 birth parents (23 birth mothers and 1 birth father) completed Contact Preference forms. Fourteen birth mothers requested contact, 8 requested no contact; one expressed no preference, and one submitted a medical history form only
without the contact preference form.
please visit: www.obcforme.org
Media Release - New Law Affects Maine Adoptees
MASSACHUSETTS - PARTIAL ACCESS STATE
Massachusetts Senate approved legislation (SB63) on May 1, 2007, allowing adopted people 18 years or older born before July 17, 1974 (when records were sealed) or after 2007 to obtain their original birth certificates.
On September 6, 2007, the Governor signed the access bill. It limits access to the years before birth certificates were sealed in that state, and it will provide access for future adoptions. Adults, 18 and over born on or before July 17, 1974 or on or after January 1, 2008 as well as their adoptive parents will be given access, with those born between these dates denied acces.
Click for: Application for a Non-Certified Record of Birth Prior to Adoption
MICHIGAN
Two bills were merged and reintroduced as HB 4006 for the new legislative session on January 27, 2009. “Tie-barred bills” must pass together. HB 4006 allows an adopted person to get a copy of his or her original birth certificate upon reaching age 21, and allows the birth parent to insert a contact preference form in the file with the sealed birth record, indicating a desire to be contacted or not should the adopted child obtain the birth records is currently stalled. Also included is a disclosure veto and a central state adoption registry for birthparents. No hearings have been scheduled in the House because of more pressing issues impacting the state.
Michigan triad members are encouraged to write to their new legislators.
Contact Dee Lindeman - deelindeman@yahoo.com
Governor Tim Pawlenty came up with a compromise that was unacceptable to advocates including no release of the original birth certificate if the birthmother was deceased and a return to veto system using agencies as intermediaries. The advocates pulled the bill.
Contact Carrie Blesener at cblesener@juno.com www.adoptreform.org
MISSOURI
Missouri’s HB 1692 is an omnibus bill with a contact veto, requires medical update from birth parents and if state can’t find birth parents, adoptee must pay agency to do search. OBC is released for those with deceased birth parents but their relatives can stop the release.
Contact: lewisif@aol.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE - ACCESS STATE
The state celebrated a year of access in June, 2007 with original Birth Certificate now available to adoptees, 18 and older. New Hampshire, like all states with adoptee access, has issued many original birth certificates with no harm resulting to any party. For more information, log onto: www.sos.nh.gov/vitalrecords
After a thirty year effort by New Jersey advocates, Senate Committee Substitute for S799/S1399 passed the Senate in March and was released from the Assembly Human Services Committee on June 14 for a vote by the full Assembly. When passed into law, the bill would give access by adult adoptees (or the parents of minor adoptees) to a copy of the adopted person's original birth certificate (OBC) upon request. Mothers who surrendered children to adoption before enactment will have a year following the bill's passage to file for removal of their name and address from the copy of the OBC released to an approved party. As the new governor's position on the bill is unknown, advocates and prime sponsors agreed that understanding his position is essential before the Assembly vote. Advocates will meet with his staff during the legislature's summer recess and anticipate a favorable vote on the Assembly floor in the fall. Further information may be found on www.nj-care.org and NJCARE's Facebook page.
For updates on bill status, please go to www.njleg.state.nj.us
NEW YORK
The New York S5269 was expected to be heard by the Senate Health Committee soon but has been delayed. The bill has the support of Senate leadership and a new Democrat sponsor who is Chair of the Children & Families Committee.
Contact: Joyce Bahr unsealedinitiative@nyc.rr.com
NORTH CAROLINA
Expand Access/Confidential Intermediaries
HB1463, a bill to expand Access/Confidential Intermediaries, is being held over from a previous session. It is on the calendar to be heard on the Senate floor on May 19, 2010. Supporters want North Carolina citizens to elicit support from Senators before that date.
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/
For more information please contact Roberta MacDonald at nccar@mindspring.com
Website: http://adoptionreform-nc.org
OHIO – PARTIAL ACCESS STATE
Ohio advocates are preparing for their next access to records bill. Currently adoptees born and adopted in Ohio prior to 1964 may have access to their original birth certificate and court file upon request through Vital Statistics. Adoptees adopted after September 18, 1996 may have access to these same documents when they turn 21 (and their adoptive parents can when the adoptee is 18-20 years old). In adoptions after September 18, 1996 a birthparent’s identity maybe withheld on these documents if the birthparent has denied release. Records are sealed in adoptions between 1964 and 1996.
Anyone with an Ohio connection who wants to help lobby for passage (either a current OH resident, or a member of the adoption constellation who relinquished, or was born or adopted as a child in Ohio) is encouraged to contact Betsie Norris at betsie.norris@adoptionnetwork.org
OKLAHOMA
An Interim Study, 2007 H-052, occurred in August 2007, was attended by the Oklahoma legislators serving on the Health & Human Services Committee and spearheaded by Oklahoma Rep. Jeannie McDaniel. McDaniel hopes the Study will lead to the introduction of access legislation.
Oklahoma’s committee is being formed to conduct an interim study hearing as a first step towards legislation.
For more information, contact Samantha Franklin at sfranklin568@yahoo.com.
OREGON
Ten Years Since the Passage of Measure 58
In 1998, Oregon voters approved Measure 58, which granted adult adoptees access to the Original birth certificate. Oregon’s results serve as a prototype for what other states can expect when access legislation is passed. The release of 9267 birth certificates to Oregon adoptees during the past decade has resulted in no harm done to any party, including birth parents.
To access the history of the lawsuit that upheld Initiative 58 and to see the results of the Initiative click here.
The Does v. Oregon Decision upholding Initiative 58. (PDF 
)
HB 1978 pending in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is an unrestricted bill that would allow adopted adults born in Pennsylvania to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate.
Anyone with an adoption connection to Pennsylvania or are a resident of Pennsylvania – who supports this legislation – please send your name, address and email to choard@comcast.net for updates.
H7877 passed in the Rhode Island House unanimously 63-0 and now advances to the Senate HHS committee.
http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText10/HouseText10/H7877.pdf the bill includes a disclosure veto.
For the 2010 session, S152 has been introduced by Senator Stanford Adelstein to release a non-certified copy of the original birth certificates to adoptees, 18 and older, without a court order. The state already provides a Contact Preference form for birth parents to complete. Under S152, the state will not do further outreach to birth parents.
For more information contact Lynne Banks – lbanks8928@sio.midco.net
TENNESSEE
Successful Court Battle to Open Records
On September 27, 1999, the Supreme Court of Tennessee at Nashville issued an opinion in the case of Promise Doe, et al. v. Donald Sunquist, et al., and upheld a new adoption records law that was to take effect July 1, 1996. After more than three years of litigation, the Supreme Court concluded that the disclosure of adoption records created on or after March 16, 1951, does not impair the vested rights or violate the right to privacy under the Tennessee Constitution. This ruling by the Supreme Court allows the Department of Children’s Services to begin processing requests for services to persons eligible to have access to their adoption records. The Department is able to act under provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated §36-1-12(c) to provide access to adoption records, sealed adoption records, sealed records, post-adoption records, or records from any other information source that were created on or after March 16, 1951. Adoption records may be released pursuant to court order as provided in Tennessee Code §36-1-138.
If any adoption was attempted or occurred before March 16, 1951, the law affecting services available to eligible persons was effective July 1, 1995. Adoption records for eligible persons are available to those surrendered for the purpose of adoption; for adoptions which were filed and dismissed or not completed, and the record was closed or sealed prior to March 16, 1951; and for any records maintained at any time by the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The adoption record includes sealed adoption records, post-adoption records, court records, adoption agency and Department of Health vital records.
For more information, call the office of Post-Adoption Services at 615-532-5637. Details of the Tennessee court case, including legal documents, affidavits, and research, can be found here.
TEXAS
TxCARE legislation died this past session and until a new governor is instated, plans are on hold.
Website: www.txcare.org
Contact: Shirley Dodson - sdodson@mcginnislaw.com
WASHINGTON
SB 6320 died in the Human Services and Corrections Committee during the short 2010 legislative session when the Chair declined to move the bill to the executive session for a vote. WA-Care advocates plan to resume meeting with legislators as soon as the short session ends mid March.
Contact Jodi McBride at 360.357.6681, tomjodijgb@comcast.net or wa-care@wa-care.org. Please visit www.wa-care.org on Twitter and/or join their Facebook.
