MINNESOTA! Birth records open to adult adoptees July 1
REGIONAL- Starting July 1, Minnesota-born adoptees, 18 years
and older, will have new access to their original birth records, a move
that promises to unlock deeply held questions about their biological
heritage. This access is part of a law passed last year which no longer
allows birth parents to conceal their identities from adult adoptees.
After
an adoption in Minnesota, birth records are changed to show the new
name of the adopted person and the adoptive parents, and the original
birth records and all related correspondence are sealed, making the
records confidential and only accessible under certain provisions laid
out in state law. Access to the records has prioritized the specified
intentions of the birth parents to restrict or share the information.
But
now the original birth record will be available not only to adult
adoptees, but also to an adoptee’s legal representative or relatives if
the adoptee is deceased.
Noncertified copies of original birth records may also be released to:
- ๐A birth parent named on the original record.
- ๐A representative of a federally recognized American Indian tribe for the sole purpose of determining an adopted person’s eligibility for tribal enrollment or membership.
- ๐A person with a certified copy of a court order directing the release of the original birth record to them.
The
law also introduces a contact preference form for birth parents,
allowing them to indicate their openness to being contacted. This form,
which includes space for a brief message, will accompany the released
birth record, though the decision to initiate contact rests solely with
the adoptee. Birth parents retain the right to alter their contact
preferences at any time.
Gregory Luce, a Minneapolis attorney and adoptee, framed the matter as one of human rights.
“I
think people are finally recognizing the human right to know who you
are and where you came from,” he said. “And making adoption secret in
this way is just an anachronism. It’s a human rights issue. It’s found
its day, it’s found its advocates, and it is currently now a real
movement.”
Part of the change is being driven by DNA and the increasing knowledge base about the role of genetics in influencing people’s physical, behavioral, and psychological traits, including genetically-linked health conditions. A heightened societal interest in genealogy has also informed the debate over open records, particularly with the proliferation of large voluntarily DNA databases maintained by companies like Ancestry that will find genetic matches with others in the database. Also important in the shifting norm has been the increasingly common practice of open adoption, where the birth parents’ identities are acknowledged from the very outset of the adoption process and open communication and relationships are established between them and the adoptive parents and the adoptee.
SOURCE: http://www.timberjay.com/stories/birth-records-open-to-adult-adoptees-july-1,21443
More information about the new law, as well as required forms and fees, are available on the Minnesota Department of Health website at www.health.state.mn.us/people/vitalrecords/adoption.html.
Native adoptees: There are SO MANY OF US, so please get the form and get it filed! You might be from Canada, via ARENA.
Trace (I am!)
don't forget THE COUNT 2024: https://thecount2024.blogspot.com/
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