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I am the birth sibling of a female my mother gave up for adoption when she was 18. My mother is in her 50s now which would put my half-sister in her 30s. The adoption, according to my mother, was a closed adoption and took place in Ohio.
I am trying to understand the laws around information I can obtain about my half-sister since it was a closed adoption. Is there any information, either non-identifying and identifying, I can get about her since she was the one adopted?
I would really like to find her but I don't even know where to start. I know my mother has some information about her but I don't know how much she has. All she ever tells me is that it was a closed adoption and the agency or whomever has the information can not give us anything.
I have read how my mother can give give consent so the agency can give the adopted person the information on her, but I don't think my mom knows this or understands how that works. I honestly don't even understand how this works.
Is there anyone else in this situation, or that knows what I can and can not do as a sibling of the adopted child, who is looking to find and meet her?
Any help or information will be greatly appreciated.
~Angie
:o(I apologize for any terms I used that may seem offensive to others. I am new to the world of adoptions in a sense, I've known about my sister for a while but have never tried to find any information on her before now.)
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You can sign up with the State Adoption Registry. I believe it is a passive registry, i.e. only if in your case the adoptee signs up there will be a match and they don't do a search and consent process. You should ask about any search services the state offers. [URL="http://www.odh.ohio.gov/vitalstatistics/legalinfo/adoptreg.aspx"]http://www.odh.ohio.gov/vitalstatistics/legalinfo/adoptreg.aspx[/URL] You as a birth sibling also have the right to non-identifying info about the adoptee both from the state and the agency or lawyer your mother used. Personally you should request it from both the state and agency and ask if you can put a letter in her file at the agency. Your mother can also sign a release of information for your sibling with at least the state but likely the agency as well. There are forms for that. [URL="http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3107.66"]Lawriter - ORC - 3107.66 Request for nonidentifying information.[/URL] To find what probate court to request non-id info from may be hard but the agency should know. In my state it is the Superior Court of the County where the adopting parents live. I would imagine though that the first link to the Adoption Registry above can answer the question as well because in order to enter you into the Registry they will have to know who the match would be. If you have more questions ask. Don't forget to register your search with the registry on this site (reunite tab / registry in purple bar above) AND ISRR.net. Kind regards,Dickons
3107.66 Request for nonidentifying information.(A) As used in this section: (1) “Adopted person” includes both an “adopted person” as defined in section [URL="http://3107.39"]Adoption, International, Domestic, Waiting Child, Baby, Infant, Open[/URL] of the Revised Code and an “adopted person” as defined in section [URL="http://3107.45"]Adoption, International, Domestic, Waiting Child, Baby, Infant, Open[/URL] of the Revised Code. (2) “Adoptive parent” means a person who adopted an adopted person. (3) “Birth parent” means the biological parent of an adopted person. (4) “Birth sibling” means a biological sibling of an adopted person. (B) An adopted person age eighteen or older, an adoptive parent of an adopted person under age eighteen, or an adoptive family member of a deceased adopted person may submit a written request to the agency or attorney who arranged the adopted person’s adoption, or the probate court that finalized the adopted person’s adoption, for the agency, attorney, or court to provide the adopted person, adoptive parent, or adoptive family member information about the adopted person’s birth parent or birth sibling contained in the agency’s, attorney’s, or court’s adoption records that is nonidentifying information. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the agency, attorney, or court shall provide the adopted person, adoptive parent, or adoptive family member the information sought within a reasonable amount of time. The agency, attorney, or court may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information. A birth parent of an adopted person eighteen years of age or older, a birth sibling age eighteen or older, or a birth family member of a deceased birth parent may submit a written request to the agency or attorney who arranged the adopted person’s adoption, or the probate court that finalized the adoption, for the agency, attorney, or court to provide the birth parent, birth sibling, or birth family member information about the adopted person or adoptive parent contained in the agency’s, attorney’s, or court’s adoption records that is nonidentifying information. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the agency, attorney, or court shall provide the birth parent, birth sibling, or birth family member the information sought within a reasonable amount of time. The agency, attorney, or court may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information.
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