ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATES FOR ILLINOIS ADOPTEES July 2010 ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATES FOR ILLINOIS ADOPTEES is a monthly eNewsletter bringing you all the news that's fit to print from the Land of Lincoln. We are a voice for the Illinois Open Organization, <about:blank> www.ILOpen.org ILLINOIS OPEN MISSION STATEMENT It is the civil and human right of ALL ADOPTED ADULTS to have access to their original birth records unconditionally and free from falsification. Our goal is to challenge Illinois legislators to restore this civil and human right to all adopted men and women. We will not support legislation that places any restrictions on the rights of all adopted adults' access to their obc's. It is not our primary goal to be a search organization. We are independent of any other group. MAKING A DIFFERENCE 101 The following is the 3rd part of a series informing you as to how you can become involved or help others to join us. Don't Hesitate to Explain Adoption Reform Illinois' fiscal crisis and the economy seem to be the major topics among candidates. But even in the past it has not been common to hear adoption reform mentioned. One reason could be that many running for office are not aware that adopted adults don't have access to their original birth certificate like those not adopted. The legislators running for reelection might recall IL HB 5428 and that it was signed into law by Governor Quinn. So their thought could be that now adoptees are being treated just like everyone else. If you encounter this while talking to a candidate, you need to explain that the law did not go far enough. Only those born prior to 1/1/46 have access to their original birth certificate with no strings attached. We want equality for all and we want legislators who will help us out. But don't stop with talking to candidates because the general public needs to be educated too. What the media reported about the new law was very misleading and it is up to us to make it known. Who knows better than us? Adoption reform is a controversial subject so it is not always easy to bring it up but we must do it. If someone is not open minded about it, give them time to digest what you have said and then approach them again at a later date. By all means don't give up! THE CONFIDENTIAL INTERMEDIARY LAW RULES SUPREME Confidential Intermediary = CI Original birth certificate = OBC Our current CI law has a goal of helping adoptees to search and find birth parents while at the same time "protecting" birth parents by withholding all identifying information about them until they are found and they can fill out a preference form about having contact with their adoptee. Only if a "found" birth mother consents to contact will there be any information exchanged. The overriding rule governing the entire CI system is that no identifying information will ever be issued to any adoptee UNLESS THE BIRTH MOTHER CONSENTS, Sound familiar? This situation oozes with irony. Adoptees with obcs in hand will come to the CI program. However, once they sign up to use the CI system, the adoptee will not be entitled to ANY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION gathered by the CI's before (when the CI's secure the adoption records from the state), during and/or after the search. Even with your own obc in hand, if you select the CI system to help you search, you are right back where you started from. The state will withhold ALL information gathered by the CI's in order to "protect" a birth mother's anonymity. At the conclusion of all CI searches, no matter the outcome, all of the information that the CI's have gathered about you along the way will go straight into a CI file and will never be released to you. I know because I tried to get this information. Any searching adoptee will tell you that there is no clue too small to be considered. Ninety-nine people can look at a set of facts and reach the same conclusion. Then along comes one other person who uses the same raw data but looks at it in a totally different light and draws a different conclusion. I wanted to look at all of the raw data gathered by my CI's. Maybe I could be that hundredth person. So in April 2001 I wrote to Nancy Golden, one of the owners of Midwest Adoption Agency and my CI, requesting a copy of my confidential intermediary file. I received a letter back from Kathleen Hogan Morrison, Attorney for Midwest Adoption Agency. It was her legal opinion that the Illinois CI law does not permit CIs to ever release any data that they collect during a search. Attorney Morrison referred me to the section of the CI law that states that any CI who improperly discloses information identifying a birth parent shall be “liable to the birth parent for damages and may also be found in contempt of court.” She continued to site the law, which says: “(2) Any person who learns a birth parent’s identity, directly or indirectly, through the use of procedures provided in this Section and who improperly discloses information identifying the birth parent shall be liable to the birth parent for actual damages plus minimum punitive damages of $10,000.” [750 ILCS 50/18.3a.) (Emphasis is Attorney Morrison’s) Ms. Morrison concluded her letter with this paragraph: “Ms. Field is incorrect in her assertion that ‘the legal barrier of confidentiality has been lifted.’ In fact, confidentiality continues. Neither Midwest Adoption Center nor any Confidential Intermediary has the right to share identifying information about other people, which may or may not be in the Confidential Intermediary file. The prohibitions and sanctions set forth in Sections 18.3 (a) are intact. The Confidential Intermediary file may not be released to Ms. Field.” [Emphasis is mine] If you choose to use the state-run Confidential Intermediary Program, you are right back where you started from. The state allows your birth mother to have the final word. IllinoisOpen.Org: Anita Walker Field, Skokie, IL Mary Lynn Fuller, Urbana, IL We are volunteers and do not ask for nor receive donations. There is no membership fee. Illinois Open should NOT be confused with Adoption Reform Illinois or Green Ribbon Campaign. Please forward as far and as wide as possible! To subscribe to this monthly eNewsletter just send an email to [email protected] <about:blank> .