How-To Tips to Locate Birth Parents
By Ashley E. Smith
No matter how happy or successful an adopted child's life may have been at some point, they try to locate birth parents. For an adopted child, locating their biological parents says nothing about how they were raised. Even the most successful of families, will have children looking for their birth parents. For the adopted child, it is more about identity.
Why do Adopted Children Look for Birth Parents?
There are numerous reason that drive children to look for the birth parents. A few of the more common reasons include:
o Wanting to know why they were given away
o Some have hidden resentment and grudges
o Some adoptees are just curious
o Some need genetic information from the b. parents
Before Searching Consider the Cost
Surely, you have thought about what they look like, what they did, if they had other children, and if they would like you. Locating your biological parents could be difficult and it may not happen. You will invest time, money and more importantly your emotions. Not finding them could leave you with a sense of loss.
After careful consideration if you still want to locate your b. parents, then here are a few tips to help you find the family you've been looking for.
Birth Parent Searching Tips
Look through your adoption papers. Your adoptive parents should have a copy.
o Name of Hospital
o Name of Orphanage/Foster Care
o Adoption Agency
o State the Adoption was Initialized and Finalized
Talk to your adoptive parents.
o In many cases, they know the name of the birth parents.
o They could give you clues to help you locate other people to talk to.
Conduct your search on the Internet. It is faster and more productive than any other search.
o Search for adoption records.
o Petition for Adoption
o Amended Birth Certificate
o Decree for Adoption
Talk with the agencies.
o Ask about non-identifying information such as:
o Medical History
o Ethnicity
o Age at Adoption
o Geographical Location
o Education Levels
o Number of other children
o Register with State and National Registries so they can match you with existing adoption cases.
Locating someone after many years is not easy, especially since birth mothers often marry and change their name. However, with the help of online adoption searches, the task of locating your b. parents just got easier. Good Luck and Best Wishes in finding your birth parents.
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