Children’s Aid and Family Services has been supporting those touched by adoption since 1899, and we have helped more than 11,000 children find loving adoptive families. We know how profoundly life altering adoption is for everyone involved. We offer free comprehensive counseling services to birth parents, helping them to make the most informed decision regarding adoption planning. We also provide help to adult adoptees, who were originally placed by our agency and are seeking information on their history. We help adult adoptees search for their birth parent(s) and reunite with them if everyone is open to this possibility. We also provide search services to birth parents who are interested in initiating contact with their adult adopted son or daughter.
We have a long history of advocating for the rights of adult adoptees to gain access to their original birth certificate, as this document* provides adoptees with critical information. We are proud of New Jersey’s passage of the Adoptees Birthright Act (also known as the Public Law 2014, Chapter 9) and we want to ensure that anyone touched by adoption, such as birth parents and adult adoptees, understands the intentions of the Act. Birth parents should be aware that they may consent to sharing or redacting (deleting) their identifying information when the original birth certificate is issued to the adopted adult. Birth parent redactions may only take place until December 31st, 2016. They also have the opportunity to share their medical and background history with the Department of Health, which would allow the adult adoptee to access his or her medical history.
Helping those touched by adoption is a core part of our mission. For information about our adoption services, please contact Marcia Fisher at 201-740-7038. For questions about this Law, please contact the NJ Adoption Resource Clearing House (NJ ARCH) at 877-4ARCH (877-427-2465) or visit their website at www.njarch.org.
*Click here for more details on this Adoptees Birthright Act. This document has information adapted but originally cited by the NJ Department of Health, which provides the specific language of the law and contact information.