Birth Parent/Sibling Search and Reunion
Adopted children may seek to reunite with their biological parents and/or
biological siblings at some point. The question of why an adopted person
or birth parent searches for birth relatives has many answers. Some
of the more common reasons include: general family information, family
traits and personalities, medical history information, and circumstances
of the adoption.State laws vary considerably regarding the circumstances under which information can be released. By collecting as much background information as you can during the adoption process, you may be able to satisfactorily answer some of your child’s questions until he or she is old enough or able to get more information on his or her own. When the time comes to search for more information, support groups on the Internet and in local communities can be helpful. The best preparation for initiating a search for birth relatives is finding out about searches others have conducted. The search and reunion process will likely involve some costs, such as communication and transportation. In some cases, it may be useful to hire a professional searcher, especially if information needs to be located in another state. RESOURCES—SEARCH AND REUNION |
