Adoption

History of the act of formal adoption and the law

- pre and post 1976.

Adoption was put on a formal footing in 1926, following the publication of the Adoption of children Act.

Prior to this adoptions were aranged by adoption sociates and between private individuals. Some societies, one being the Church of England Childrens society

maintains records of adoptions that they arranged. Boards of guardians also prepared reports but very few remain.

When the act was drafted it was assumed that the adopted peroson break with the birth family would be total and it was believed that adopted would never

be able to trace their birth roots.

By 1927 Adoptions had to be approved by magistrates meeting at a petty court session where each court maintained a register. The registers contain the

Date, name of the child to be adopted, & the date of birth. Also the name and address of the birth mother (and some times the father ) Name and address of

the adoptive parents and sometimes name of person acting as guardian ad litem and the decision of the court.The registers can be disapointing as hand writing

is often poor.

These registers are closed by law for 75 years

The clerk to the petty session court kept a file on each adoption and many have been destroyed .Some maybe deposited at the NRO, but are not open to

public inspection.

Later ,Local authorities were given authority to supervise adoptions and childrens officers were appointed, sometimes attached to the education dept ( before

the creation of social services dep's in 1971), who again kept a register of all the cases whith which they were involved. The registers are dated 1927-1945

and are a useful indication as to wether there are papers relating to the adoption in the Childrens officers files. If the register indicates That the county

Council acted as Guardian Ad Litem , there should be relevant papers.

Childrens officers files can be disappointing but should contain forms signed by birth mother relinquishing her rights to the child.Sometimes there is

correspondence from the local clery as to the suitibility of the prospective parents .Sometimes a note about the birth mother and her circumstances, and in

some cases notes about the father too.

Registers of all adoptions are kept at the General Register Office and indexes to them can be access BUT Only the adoptee is allowed access to the infomation

that links the birth name with the adopted one.

The Adoption Act which came into being in 1976 , changed things slightly. This made provision for people adopted after 11th November 1975, the right to

access their birth records one they reached 18 years of age. It gave people adopted before that date the same right, except with the proviso that they must

seek councilling first.The NRO will NOT release records to anyone without the appropiate official paperwork to say this has been done.

What is adoption?

Adoption is a way of providing a new family for a child when living with their own family is not possible. It is the means of giving a child an opportunity to start again.

The mechanics of adoption

The adoption process

To be eligible for adoption the child must be under the age of 18 years and a child for whom returning home to their parents is not possible. Should the child be

married or has been married they cannot be adopted.

An Adoption Order severs all legal ties with the birth family and confers parental rights and responsibilities on the new adoptive family. The birth parents no longer have any legal

rights over the child and they are not entitled to claim them back. The child becomes a full member of the family; they take adoptive parents surname and

assume the same rights and privileges as if they had been born to them, including the right of inheritance.

All adoption orders must be granted by the High Courts, county courts or Juvenile courts.They issue a directive to the Registrar General to make an entry in

the adopted childrens register, according to the particulars of the adopted child and adoptive parents.

The new Adoption and Children Act 2002

The new Act, which came into force on 30 December 2005, brings the law on adoption up to date and puts the needs of the child above everything else. The

changes in the law should improve the adoption service and help more people consider adoption.

Who's search is it?

It is the adoptees search- no one else’s and should be carried out at their pace.

Any adoptee that chooses to search needs to do so for themselves and with very good reason.

All sorts of things may be uncovered along the way, that will raise emotional issues and thoughts. As each occurs they need to be thought through, and their

implications, on everyone, not just the adoptee, need close examination. What a well meaning friend thinks about something maybe completely different as to

what you think, gather opinion by all means, but ultimately, regardless of what anyone else thinks, It’s the adoptees feeling that matter most to them.

2 Senario’s ( of hundreds !)

You have your birth name, and your birth parents names on your original birth cert and have started basic factual research.

You find evidence to suggest that your birth mother went on and married.

Senario 1

She married a man 2 years after you were born, and had children, which consequently are your half sibs

Senario 2

She went on to marry your birth father 2 years after you were born and had children that are consequently your full sibs.

What does that make you feel? . Senario 1 evokes different feeling to scenario 2.This needs to be thought through and will have implications on what you may

or may not choose to do next, or even ever.

where to start?

1st step

In order to start your search it is necessary to obtain a copy of your Full original birth certificate.

i)if you know your birth name.

Sending for an original birth cert is no more difficult than sending for any other certificate from the GRO. The cost is £7 , and should be applied for using a GRO

ref Number. Should you have the inabilty to look it up for yourself, be assured that there is nothing in the GRO index that indicates the person is adopted.

ii)if you dont know your birth name

You will need to apply to the Registrar General for the infomation. If you were adopted before 12.11.1975 you are required to meet with an adoption councillor

prior to being given this info.

This councilling is arranged through the Office for National Statistics,

general register office,

(CA section) Smedley Hydro,

Trafalgar Rd,

Southport,

Merseyside

PR2 2HH.

You should write to that office and they will send you an application form and infomation leaflets which should be carefully read and followed.

Councilling will be arranged at a time convient to you, and at a location of your choosing, and will not happen overnight. Adoption record take time to source

and post adoption councilling is only a small part of what todays adoption teams do.

If you know your birth name, it is still highly benificial to have a session or even two with a post adoption councillor.They dont bite and have a wealth of

knowledge and experience and will not be shocked by anything they hear, nor judge how you feel. They are there to hold your hand,let them hold it.

Could a friend do the job as well as a councillor?

You may think so, but No, a friend can listen, and to a point understand, but what they cannot do is feel impartial.You can petty much say anything to a

councillor and they will understand, and have probably heard it before anyway.That coucillor will always be there for you, and far better, if you get to the

point of contacting a Birth parent, that they make that approach, than a well meaning friend.

2nd step Wite down everything you have been told about your birth and circumstances surrounding it.

If you have accessed your file through a councilling session, then again you will have info that you can note down.If you haven't, maybe its time to get that

councilling arranged. An adoption file can contain a wealth of info or very little but its all facts with which you can work.

It must be noted that not all files contain the absolute truth, what is recorded is what the agency or social worker involved was told at the time, by the

parties involved.

In the case of privately arranged adoptions information maybe hard to find , although the local authority that covers the area of the court that made the

adoption order should have records, if only brief. At the very least they will have overseen your welfare supervision, and may still have the records

3rd step

Actively register you interest in the places that birth families will have registered their desire to establish contact - if this is what you seek to achieve - below

i) The Registrar General.[i]Before 1891 the registrar general operated a non- statutory system of record tagging, a kind of unofficial swap system , so that

councellors could be advised of enquiries made by birth family members about an adopted person, which can then be passed on at a councelling session.

Since May 1991 the adoption contact register has been operational and a relative may have registered. Apply for the forms to complete along with a leaflet of

explanation to:

Office of National Statistics

General register office (CA section)

Smedley Hydro

Trafalgar Rd

Southport

Merseyside

RP8 2HH

ii) To the society that arranged you adoption.

iii)The NORCAP register

iv) the local authority adoption section that arranged your adoption

Step 4

Gathering your evidence

(Search flowchart)

Coping with the hard facts

Once you start searching you must prepare yourselve for finding things that you may find unpleasant and well as positive things. Do try and prepare yourself

for the worst care senarios, then it can only be better. Its is possible, despite what you have been led to believe , that you may have been born as a result of

Rape,Incest or that you were in fact a foundling.Maybe you were concieved as result of an extra marital affair or you birth mother was nothing more than a

child herself.All these senarios case different emotions which should be thought through before proceding and again, consideration given as to the likely

outcome of a reunion with a mother who gave her child for adoption in one of those 'worst case ' senarios. Put youself in that birth mothers shoes and

consider agan how she might have felt both then and will feel now if you re-enter her world. Mybe it will make you abilty to approach her easier, or harder but

either way, at least you'll know.

Coping with finding a death of a birth parent - if your aim was to meet them- can be desperately hard, and of course, can be discussed with your councillor.

After a long slog,the finding of a death can close a journey so abruptly, so again examine how you'll feel if you happen across this.

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