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My Mother, Terry M Wall gave birth to her son and my brother, BABY BOY WALL, in the late 60s to early 70s in Michigan. She must have been 20 at the most but more likely 17 when she had our brother. My Mother searched for him before her death in 1999 only to find that it was a closed adoption from a childrens home and there was essentially nothing she could do. Baby Boy Wall now has 4 sisters who have been searching him out almost ten years with no luck. I send my blessings to everyone whose eyes fall upon this posting and hope we all find our families.
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[FONT="Verdana"]Have you contacted the court where your mother's parental rights were terminated? Michigan law has a confidential intermediary system, wherein you can petition the court for identifying information about your sibling. The confidential intermediary will contact your sibling (if they have not already signed the Mutual Consent Registry) to determine if your sibling gives consent for contact. That is how my son found me. Your Mother could have done this as well, although it doesn't surprise me if the agency stonewalled her. A lot of agencies won't tell you anything if you don't know the right questions to ask. I experienced this myself, wherein an adoptee wasn't getting any information and then I called the same agency on his behalf and they told me exactly what he needed to do because I knew what questions to ask.
There is an on-line group called michigansearching.com that can help you with the details of a search and any questions you have about use of the confidential intermediary system in Michigan. Also, I have posted about this type of information before in this forum. Please look at the old posts.
The applicable Michigan statutes are as follows:
MCL 710.68:
(1) Within 63 days after a request for nonidentifying information is received, a child placing agency, a court, or the department shall provide in writing to the adoptive parent, adult adoptee, former parent, or adult former sibling requesting the information all of the nonidentifying information described in section 27(1) and (2) of this chapter.
(2) Within 63 days after a request for identifying information about an adult adoptee is received, a child placing agency or court or the department shall provide in writing to the former parent or adult former sibling requesting the information the adult adoptee's most recent name and address if the adult adoptee has given written consent to release of the information pursuant to this chapter. If the adult adoptee has not given written consent to the release of information, the child placing agency, the court, or the department shall, upon presentation of a certified copy of the order of appointment, give the adult adoptee's name and address to a confidential intermediary appointed pursuant to section 68b of this chapter, together with any other information in its possession that would help the confidential intermediary locate the adult adoptee. At the option of agency or the department, the information may be released to the court for release to the confidential intermediary.
(3) If the department or a child placing agency receives a request for adoption record information in its possession from an adult adoptee, former parent, or adult former sibling, the department or child placing agency shall provide the individual requesting the information with the identity of the court that confirmed the adoption within 28 days after receipt of the request. If a court receives such a request, the court shall provide the individual requesting the information with the identity of the child placing agency that handled the adoption.
(4) If the court that terminated parental rights receives from the former parents or adult former siblings of the adult adoptee a request for the identity of the agency, court, or department to which the child was committed, the court shall provide in writing the name of that agency, court, or department, if known, within 28 days after receipt of the request.[/FONT]
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[FONT="Verdana"]Here are additional MCL Sections that are important. These concern the Confidential Intermediary System. Please understand that, since your Mom relinquished between 1945 and 1980, she or you as an adult former sibling need(ed) to file a consent for release of information with the Mutual Consent Registry. You also need to file your Mom's death certificate with the registry, because then your sibling would get his identifying information if they requested it. You can call the Probate section of your local courthouse and have them send the necessary consent form to you. The Probate section could also help you with getting a Confidential Intermediary Search started. This will cost you about $300, I think.
MCL 710.27a:
(1) A former parent may file with the central adoption registry a statement consenting to or denying the release of the identifying information about that parent specified in section 27(3)(b) and (c). The consent or denial may be filed, updated, or revoked at any time.
(2) An adult former sibling may file a statement with the central adoption registry providing notice that a former parent is deceased. A copy of the former parent's death certificate or other evidence of the former parent's death shall be attached to the statement.
(3) An adult former sibling who knows the birth name of an adoptee may file with the central adoption registry a statement consenting to the release of the adult former sibling's name and address to the adult adoptee. The statement may be filed, updated, or revoked at any time.
(4) At the time of termination of parental rights pursuant to this chapter or chapter XIIA, the court shall inform each parent of the provisions described in this section and sections 27b, 68, 68a, and 68b. The court shall inform each parent that the parent's consent to the release of identifying information about that parent specified in section 27(3)(b) and (c) shall be presumed unless the parent files a statement with the central adoption registry denying the release of the information about that parent. The court shall explain the parent's right to file, update, or revoke the denial at any time, and shall provide each parent with the forms prescribed under section 27b. NOTE: THIS SECTION WAS NOT IN EFFECT AT THE TIME OF YOUR MOM'S RELINQUISHMENT, AND SHE PROBABLY NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE REGISTRY. IF A PERSON RELINQUISHED BETWEEN 1945 AND 1980, THEY HAD TO FILE CONSENT TO RELEASE INFORMATION IN ORDER FOR THE ADOPTEE TO GET THEIR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.[/FONT]
I was never under the assumption that her rights were terminated. At least, I am not aware a court was involved. I guess in order for her to put him up for adoption she would have had to sign over her rights. It was through a childrens home. I wanted to edit my post to include this part but couldn't figure out how..his Date of birth. July 21 of 1974. The letter my Mother got back from that childrens home stated there was no attainable information...
I am appreciative of your time and effort in providing me with somewhere to go from here. I will let my sisters know. We all thank you kindly
thebutterfly217
I was never under the assumption that her rights were terminated. At least, I am not aware a court was involved. I guess in order for her to put him up for adoption she would have had to sign over her rights. It was through a childrens home.
[FONT="Verdana"]This is the state agency I was trying to think of:
Michigan Family Independence Agency
Child and Family Services Administration
P.O. Box 30037, Suite 413
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 373-3513
Fax: (517) 335-4019
This agency should be able to help you. If you don't get too far with them, then research Michigan law so that you know what questions to ask and them call them back. If you get someone with a bad attitude (some people are more helpful than others), ask to speak with someone else or call back another time and make sure to speak with someone else then.
Please read this post for more information (as well as joining michigansearching at Yahoo groups). [url]http://forums.adoption.com/michigan-adoption-records/113501-michigan-searching-resources.html[/url]
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