Why isnt a mutual consent voluntary registry a better solution?
Dead people dont register! The registry concept requires both parties to register for it to work. Deceased or incapacitated family members cannot register which prevents the other party from obtaining vital, potentially life-saving, personal information. Registries established within the reform movement or on the internet have had a small measure of success in reuniting those separated by adoption. However, state mutual consent voluntary registries have a median success rate of 2%. (Source: American Adoption Congress registry chart data collected 1993, 1996 and 1998). For a registry to work, the date and place of birth must be accurate. In N.J., adoptive parents have had the option of changing the birthplace on the amended birth certificate to their place of residence. A registry for those adoptees is useless.
