[mrosey]

I'm still a little confused. You mentioned that for all of those services a waiver of confidentiality has to be signed by all parties. But if that were true, there wouldn't really be a need for a confidential intermediary search because both parties would have agreed to contact. Do you need a waiver signed by all parties for an intermediary search? Also, if NJ has a law regarding the Intermed. search, does that mean that the Catholic Charity Agency has to perform one if requested by one party? Thank you so much!

[tahphelan]

Originally Posted by thesearchguru

Welcome to the Search and Reunion Message Board!

Many times the birthmother went to a maternity home and then an adoption agency facilitated the relinquishment and adoption proceedings. You might contact Catholic Charities for more information:

Catholic Charities in NM verified this is the case for me. They did not have the name of the maternity home and very little nonid info since they only handled the relenquishment. If I could find out which home was used, would I be able to get more nonid info? Also - how would I ever find out which maternity home it was?

[Mary Lu]

Through the reunion registry on this website, I recently found my daughter. All the information we shared was consistent and we had several online chats that confirmed our relationship. I was dubious about contacting Catholic Charities in DC for confirmation about my daughter, who lived at St. Anne's until she was adopted, but I was pleasantly surprised when I did call and spoke to a very helpful social worker. She immediately sent out the paperwork I needed to initiate the process of unsealing our adoption records.

However - it cost $500 and up to 8 months for a "search" and we had already found each other, something she implied, although she could not confirm or deny without a court order. (In our case, since we already found each other, we decided to go the DNA route for confirmaion - a 5 day process at a lower cost.) Here's the process if you want to unseal the adoption records in D.C., based on the information received from the social worker at Catholic Charities:

1. File a motion with the court to unseal the adoption records (the Catholic Charities social worker provided the information for preparing a motion, so you don't need to hire an attorney)
2. The court appoints an intermediary - in our case, it would be the social worker at Catholic Charities who I spoke with that would initiate a "search".
3. The intermediary contacts and interviews the parties, and obtains the adoptee's and birth parent's permission to proceed with unsealing the adoption.
4. The intermediary makes a recommendation to the court.
5. The court acts upon the recommendation of the intermediary.

Again, I was very pleasantly surprised at the amount of support and encouragement - and even help - received from the social worker at Catholic Charities. It was the last thing I expected. So give it a try!

And keep checking the postings on the reunion registry - don't be put off by minor discrepancies, because some of the information could be flawed. For example, I had posted that the adoption took place in Maryland (where both the adoptive and birth parents lived at the time), my daughter had posted Virginia (where she was born), and we both were wrong because it was done in D.C. (according to the Catholic Charities social worker, who could not officially confirm or deny the relationship ). Also, I had failed to post the birth name, yet that is how I found her because she did post it. AND, it turns out we both were posted on the registry for several years but overlooked each other because of these discrepancies.

Good luck with Catholic Charities and the reunion registry! When the timing is right, I'm sure you'll find each other. Moms and their children belong together, and I think God is helping us "fix" the mistakes of the 60's and 70's with reunions in the new century.

[smithkitten69]

I was born in Jacksonville, FL 10/12/1960 female/white @ St. Vincents Hospital, Catholic Charities supposedly handled the adoption. I got my non id information from them but they are giving me a run around about telling me if I can apply for anything else. Is there a certain agency in Catholic Charities that I can contact, my information was got for me through a friend, a Bishop, who has since departed and knew my adopted family well, my adopted brother was a Priest. (also departed). Is Childrens Home Society part of Catholic Charities? I was told that there should be someone I can talk to but still havent found them, also the courts in Duval County refuse to accept petions to open adoption records through Catholic Charities without a mound of paperwork and lots of money(I don't have) Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mary
smithkitten69@yahoo.com

Originally Posted by thesearchguru

Welcome to the Search and Reunion Message Board:

For those people whose adoptions were facilitated by Catholic Charities you might want to contact them to find out what services are available to you through their agency. Contact the office in the city that processed the adoption paperwork. If you do not know the city location contact this office for inquiries:

Catholic Charities USA
National Headquarters
1731 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 549-1390


For adoptees requesting “non-identifying information” about birth parents here are some questions that you might ask:

A. Ages of birth parents at the time of relinquishment
B. Marital status of birth parents
C. Other siblings born before the adoptee
D. Physical description of birth parents
E. Ethnicity of birth parents
F. Occupation of birth parents
G. Education of birth parents
H. Information about aunts, uncles and grandparents
I. Reason for relinquishment

For birth parents requesting “non-identifying information” about the adopting family:

A. Ages of adopting parents at the time of adoption
B. Other children in the adoptive family, biological and adopted
C. Physical description, ethnicity, occupations and education of adopting parents
D. Confirm date of birth of relinquished child

Both adoptees and birth parents should ask:

A. If Catholic Charities maintains a “registry” where you can submit the information about the birth, relinquishment and adoption information.
B. If Catholic Charities provides a “Waiver for Consent to Contact Form” for both parties.
C. If Catholic Charities provides a “Confidential Intermediary” search service to locate the birth relative that you are looking for.

Many blessings on your search journey,
Colleen Buckner, THE SEARCH GURU
Moderator for Search and Reunion Message Board
California Adoption Search

Other great websites to check out:
Adoption Chat
http://www.adoption.com
Adopting - Adopt a Baby, Child, Infants, Kids, Older, Services, International, Information China -
Adoption Registry - Records, Reunion Registries, Adoptees, Search Reunite

[KaBo]

I was born in June 1974. I was adopted in November 1974 through Catholic Charities in Worcester, Massachusetts. At age 18 I received my "unidentifying information", which was basically the same information that I received from my adoptive parents. I filled out the mutual consent form in person at Catholic Charities, and they assured me that they would contact me - do you recommend following up with them at regular intervals? Also, can anyone comment on the adoption procedure in MA in 1974? I was in foster care for 5 1/2 months in Worcester, Ma, but was born out in Gardner, MA - extremely rural community in a small hospital called Heywood Memorial Hospital. My birth first and middle name was Amy Rochelle. Any help would be appreciated as my search is stalled.