United States Adoption Research Strategies, 1900s-2000s

Assembling Information and Documents

 * Adoptive parents knowledge: Discuss the details of the adoption with the adoptive parents or other close relatives.
 * Adoption agency: Determine the name and contact information of any adoption agency the adoptive parents used.
 * Hospital: See if family members know the hospital where the child was born. They may have received the child at the hospital.
 * Attorney: If the adoption was arranged by an attorney, ask for his name and get his contact information.


 * Documents: Gather any documents the family has about the birth.
 * Amended birth certificate
 * An amended birth certificate, created after an adoption is finished, lists the names of the adoptive parents just as if the child had been born to them originally.
 * Many people will have an amended birth certificate, with no access to the original. About half of the States allow adults to have access to their original birth certificates. See Adult Adoptee Access to Original Birth Certificates
 * In other States, an original birth certificate may be obtained through a court petition.
 * Hospital records

Understand identifying and nonidentifying information.
You will want to research and understand state statutes about the release of two different levels of information.

Nonidentifying information: Nonidentifying information includes the health, behavioral health, developmental, educational, and social histories of the child and the child's parents and other birth relatives. Nearly all States allow an adult adoptee to access nonidentifying information about birth relatives, generally upon written request. Usually, the adoptee must be at least age 18 before he or she may access this information. Information may include:
 * Date and place of the adoptee's birth
 * Age of the birth parents and general physical description, such as eye and hair color
 * Race, ethnicity, religion, and medical history of the birth parents
 * Educational level of the birth parents and their occupations at the time of the adoption
 * Reason for placing the child for adoption
 * Existence of other children born to each birth parent

Study the laws specific to the state where the adoption took place.

 * State Statutes Search, Child Welfare Information Gateway
 * Select a state from the drop-down menu.
 * Then check the box on a topic under the "Adoption List". Especially try "Access to Adoption Records" or "Providing Adoptive Parents With Information About Adoptees and Their Birth Families".
 * Click "Go!".


 * Access to Adoption Records
 * Providing Adoptive Parents With Information About Adoptees and Their Birth Families
 * Searching for Birth Relatives