Can An Adopted Child Search For His Or Her Birth Parents Before Reaching 18?
The law in the UK protects the documentation relating to an adopted child’s birth family background and the process of the child coming into care and going through an adoption until the child reaches 18. At this point the young person can, at any time, ask to access the records and will be offered counseling/advice about the practical and emotional impact of searching, finding and possibly meeting birth parents. In fact anyone can search for anyone using whatever means available. There is no law against searching. It is simply that the official records are protected until the child legally becomes adult. Modern adoption is becoming more open. When more is known about birth parents and if contact persists between birth family members or foster families and the adopted child then the process may well be so easy that it is hardly a “search” at all. However, adoptive parents, who may well be dreading this day, have a very important duty of care. Like all parents they will worry that their
Related Questions
- If an adopted child decides, at some point, to search for the birth parent, will the adoption agency or attorney contact the birth parent before the child does?
- Can the birth parents regain custody of the child prior to the final adoption proceedings?
- Can An Adopted Child Contact Their Birth Parents After Adoption?
