Minnesota and beyond: seeking families and descendants of 46,000 adopted children since 1865

I love neighborhood newspapers. The Park Bugle serves the St. Anthony Park, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, and Como Park areas of St. Paul, Minnesota The September issue I picked up this week carried an article with joyous news of importance to many people. It concerns the families of children adopted through two organizations located here in Minnesota. 

The Children's Home Society is celebrating 125 years of service. It has joined with Lutheran Social Services in a celebration being billed jointly as “Family Reunion: Celebrating 275 Years of Adoption.” The event takes place on Sunday, September 21st.

One special part the article states is "Everyone is welcome, but organizers are issuing a special invitation to

Don't ever give up the search

You may have already seen this article or a variation of it. It really touched me. The headline in the Huffington Post reads "Minka Disbrow, 94, Reunites With Biological Child 77 Years Later." The reunion happened several years ago and now Minka is about to celebrate her 100th birthday with the daughter she gave up for adoption in 1928.

It's a real lesson about not giving up the search for family members that you lost contact with through adoption, split family, divorce, or other reasons. The person may still be alive as this article shows.

Click here to read the article.

New adoptees support service in Minnesota

The Minneapolis StarTribune carried a story today about adult adoptees and a new support service: "Adoptees Have Answers opened last year to offer services for and about adult adoptees, including support groups, public events and webinars."

Quoting from the article: The group aims to support adoptees but also to promote a better understanding of what it's like to be adopted. The hope is that parents, social workers, adoption professionals, therapists and lawmakers will be listening. "We believe there is a basic underlying situation, when a child and her original mother are separated, that has lifelong consequences," said Kate Maloney, manager of Adoptees Have Answers. "We need to be really, really sensitive to those lifelong issues."

Services and support aside, it's still a struggle for adult adoptees to find out more about their birth families and it's costly as the article alludes to. Costly to learn about themselves. Still this way in 2011. Sad.

Click here to read the full story.

Illinois adoptions: more access soon

"Illinois Department of Public Health officials are bracing for a flood of requests in November when a new law will allow thousands of adult adoptees to obtain their birth certificates. The law passed in Illinois last year could give some adoptees the names of their birth parents for the first time. Birth parents can remain anonymous and have their names redacted from any released birth certificate by filling out a form by Nov. 1."

This is from an article posted by the Chicago Tribune this evening.  A year ago I blogged about an earlier Tribune post that allowed those born before 1946 easier access to their original birth certificates. This new round takes place beginning this coming November and those born after 1946 will now get that same access unless the birth parents notified the state otherwise. The article states, "If biological parents fail to do so, the state will assume that the information is fair to release."

The article quotes Chicago radio personality Steve Cochran who is an adoptee himself who has made contact with his birth mother. At one time Steve was on radio station KDWB-FM here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Wouldn't this be a great type of legislation to spread from state to state? There are a few other states that allow some access to the original record.

Illinois opens up birth records to adoptees

Tonight the Chicago Tribune is reporting something that made me smile. Governor Pat Quinn plans to sign into law a measure allowing adoptees to access their original birth records. The signing is planned for Friday, May 21, 2010.

According to the article "The legislation allows anyone adopted before 1946 to get their full birth certificate information by filing a written request with the state adoption registry. Those born after Jan. 1, 1946, could learn the same information if they are over 21 and at least one birth parent has not requested anonymity."

This will also be helpful to many Minnesota adoptees whose births took place in Illinois, especially in the Chicago area.

Click here for the full story. The cost is $15.00. Click here for a link to the Vital Records section of the Illinois Department of Health.

Post-Adoption Research

If you are involved in such research, run, don't walk, to read an article by Debbie Mieszala, CG, in the October-December 2008 NGS Magazine. (This issue is volume 34, #4). The article is titled "Riding the roller coaster of post-adoption research." Debbie discusses the adoption triad (child, adoptive parents, and birth parents), respectful adoption language, possible records that were created, the two versions of a birth certificate, and gives the reader a search checklist. She does not avoid the emotional roller coaster that this research generally involves and gives tips on dealing with this issue and with making everyone as comfortable as possible.

If you are not a National Genealogical Society member, a public library, historical society or genealogical library in your area may soon have this issue on the shelf.