Need some advice on Adoption

[sunny]

I found my daugther 4 years ago we need the records opened. So I can have her added to my tribes membership. Need advice on how to open her records. thankyou[8D]

[cannon_fodder]

I'm afraid the complexity of this will require the hiring of an excellent adoption attorney.  It is a specialized area (arent they all?) and you need expert advice.  Contact the Tulsa County Bar Association for a reference.

Sorry I could not be of any more help, but I am not well versed on the law in this area.

[Steve]

You didn't mention your ages or any particulars, but opening "sealed" adoption records from a closed adoption requires a court order, and is next to impossible to obtain in Oklahoma.  It practically has to be a life or death situation for a judge in Oklahoma to allow this.  I don't think any judge would (correctly) allow it just for a tribal membership issue.

Cannon fodder is right, you need to consult an adoption attorney and see if your case is worth pursuing.

[sgrizzle]

So is the poster the adopted mother or birth mother?

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

So is the poster the adopted mother or birth mother?

Just speculating, but I assume the poster is the birth mother and she wants "proof" that she is the birth mother of the child by getting a copy of the original birth certificate, thereby allowing the child to be enrolled in an Indian tribe.  I don't think any court in OK would deem this a valid reason for opening sealed adoption records.  That blood right for tribal membership was severed when the adoption was finalized.

I have an interest in these types of issues because I was an adopted child myself.

[sunny]

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

So is the poster the adopted mother or birth mother?

Just speculating, but I assume the poster is the birth mother and she wants "proof" that she is the birth mother of the child by getting a copy of the original birth certificate, thereby allowing the child to be enrolled in an Indian tribe.  I don't think any court in OK would deem this a valid reason for opening sealed adoption records.  That blood right for tribal membership was severed when the adoption was finalized.

I have an interest in these types of issues because I was an adopted child myself.

I am the birth mother my daugther is 37 and I am 57.

[sgrizzle]

Child Welfare Services Unit
Attention: Adoption Section
Department of Human Resources
P.O. Box 25352
Oklahoma City, OK 73125
Phone: (405) 521-3646

Some info on mutual consent in oklahoma:
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/9606/states/oklahoma.html

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by sunny

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

So is the poster the adopted mother or birth mother?

Just speculating, but I assume the poster is the birth mother and she wants "proof" that she is the birth mother of the child by getting a copy of the original birth certificate, thereby allowing the child to be enrolled in an Indian tribe.  I don't think any court in OK would deem this a valid reason for opening sealed adoption records.  That blood right for tribal membership was severed when the adoption was finalized.

I have an interest in these types of issues because I was an adopted child myself.

I am the birth mother my daugther is 37 and I am 57.

I was born in 1957 in an OKC maternity home, and adopted as an infant and moved to Tulsa in Nov. 1957. So I know somewhat about these issues.

If your child was born in 1970 and it was a closed adoption (most likely), then you have very little hope of having the courts open the adoption records.  Access to the child's original birth certificate is practically non-existent, as Oklahoma courts have consistently upheld the privacy rights of the original parties to the adoption, and the wishes of the child are always secondary.  You have to prove a life-or-death medical emergency to get the court to open sealed adoptions records.

Some people have circumvented these restrictions by having "friends" in the court system or the DHS that can gain access to these records, illegal as it may be.  If this is a real critical issue to you, that may be your only venue.

Oklahoma does maintain a mutual consent reunion registry for adoptive children and birth mothers.  If both parties register and a match is made, the state will arrange a meeting with the consent of all parties.  But the legal documents (original birth certificate, etc.) still remain forbidden sealed documents.  Sad, horribly unfair as it is, that is the state of adoption law in Oklahoma.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by sunny

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

So is the poster the adopted mother or birth mother?

Just speculating, but I assume the poster is the birth mother and she wants "proof" that she is the birth mother of the child by getting a copy of the original birth certificate, thereby allowing the child to be enrolled in an Indian tribe.  I don't think any court in OK would deem this a valid reason for opening sealed adoption records.  That blood right for tribal membership was severed when the adoption was finalized.

I have an interest in these types of issues because I was an adopted child myself.

I am the birth mother my daugther is 37 and I am 57.

I was born in 1957 in an OKC maternity home, and adopted as an infant and moved to Tulsa in Nov. 1957. So I know somewhat about these issues.

If your child was born in 1970 and it was a closed adoption (most likely), then you have very little hope of having the courts open the adoption records.  Access to the child's original birth certificate is practically non-existent, as Oklahoma courts have consistently upheld the privacy rights of the original parties to the adoption, and the wishes of the child are always secondary.  You have to prove a life-or-death medical emergency to get the court to open sealed adoptions records.

Some people have circumvented these restrictions by having "friends" in the court system or the DHS that can gain access to these records, illegal as it may be.  If this is a real critical issue to you, that may be your only venue.

There is no privacy in this issue. All of the information is already public knowledge.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by sunny

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

So is the poster the adopted mother or birth mother?

Just speculating, but I assume the poster is the birth mother and she wants "proof" that she is the birth mother of the child by getting a copy of the original birth certificate, thereby allowing the child to be enrolled in an Indian tribe.  I don't think any court in OK would deem this a valid reason for opening sealed adoption records.  That blood right for tribal membership was severed when the adoption was finalized.

I have an interest in these types of issues because I was an adopted child myself.

I am the birth mother my daugther is 37 and I am 57.

I was born in 1957 in an OKC maternity home, and adopted as an infant and moved to Tulsa in Nov. 1957. So I know somewhat about these issues.

If your child was born in 1970 and it was a closed adoption (most likely), then you have very little hope of having the courts open the adoption records.  Access to the child's original birth certificate is practically non-existent, as Oklahoma courts have consistently upheld the privacy rights of the original parties to the adoption, and the wishes of the child are always secondary.  You have to prove a life-or-death medical emergency to get the court to open sealed adoptions records.

Some people have circumvented these restrictions by having "friends" in the court system or the DHS that can gain access to these records, illegal as it may be.  If this is a real critical issue to you, that may be your only venue.

There is no privacy in this issue. All of the information is already public knowledge.

I beg to differ, but the state will only provide non-identifying information about birth parents, and also provides a contact registry should both the birth mother and adopted child register and wish contact.  Contact is arranged through a 3rd party intermediary.  It is not "public knowledge" and closed adoption records remain closed in Oklahoma.

If you have some inside tract on how I, or any other Oklahoma adoptees, can obtain a copy of our original birth certificates, please let us know.  We really would appreciate it!

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by Steve


I beg to differ, but the state will only provide non-identifying information about birth parents, and also provides a contact registry should both the birth mother and adopted child register and wish contact.  Contact is arranged through a 3rd party intermediary.  It is not "public knowledge" and closed adoption records remain closed in Oklahoma.

Ahem, Steve.

The person wanting to open the records IS THE BIRTH MOTHER.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

quote:Originally posted by Steve


I beg to differ, but the state will only provide non-identifying information about birth parents, and also provides a contact registry should both the birth mother and adopted child register and wish contact.  Contact is arranged through a 3rd party intermediary.  It is not "public knowledge" and closed adoption records remain closed in Oklahoma.

Ahem, Steve.

The person wanting to open the records IS THE BIRTH MOTHER.

Ahem, sgrizzle.

The state of Oklahoma will arrange a contact meeting with birth mother and adopted child, should BOTH parties perchance register with the state contact registry.  It makes no difference who initiates the contact request, the birth mother or the child.  But the legal adoption records/documents remain closed as per the original adoption agreement.  It still takes a court order from a sympathetic judge to open sealed adoption records in OK and gain access to the original birth certificate.  The parties may eventually meet in person with assistance from the State, but to get copies of the legal documents (original birth certificate) requires a court order.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

quote:Originally posted by Steve


I beg to differ, but the state will only provide non-identifying information about birth parents, and also provides a contact registry should both the birth mother and adopted child register and wish contact.  Contact is arranged through a 3rd party intermediary.  It is not "public knowledge" and closed adoption records remain closed in Oklahoma.

Ahem, Steve.

The person wanting to open the records IS THE BIRTH MOTHER.

Ahem, sgrizzle.

The state of Oklahoma will arrange a contact meeting with birth mother and adopted child, should both parties perchance register with the state contact registry.  But the legal adoption records/documents remain closed as per the original adoption agreement.  It still takes a court order from a sympathetic judge to open sealed adoption records in OK and gain access to the original birth certificate.  The parties may eventually meet in person with assistance from the State, but to get the legal documents requires a court order.

In this case they've already met.... both sides of the adoption want the records open. Kinda stupid to force them to have a 3rd party mediator to setup a meeting when they've known each other for years.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

In this case they've already met.... both sides of the adoption want the records open. Kinda stupid to force them to have a 3rd party mediator to setup a meeting when they've known each other for years.

That is not the issue.  According to Oklahoma law, even if the the birth parents and the adopted child have met and are currently "best buddies," they still need a court order to open any sealed adoption records and gain access to the child's original birth certificate.  That's the way it is with 2007 Oklahoma adoption law, and it is much the same in many other states.  I know it sounds dumb, especially if both parties consent, but that is how adoption law is in the U.S. today.  That is why so many adult adoptees (myself included) are advocates of radical adoption law reform.  They are denying us our identity.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by Steve

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

In this case they've already met.... both sides of the adoption want the records open. Kinda stupid to force them to have a 3rd party mediator to setup a meeting when they've known each other for years.

That is not the issue.  According to Oklahoma law, even if the the birth parents and the adopted child have met and are currently "best buddies," they still need a court order to open any sealed adoption records and gain access to the child's original birth certificate.  That's the way it is with 2007 Oklahoma adoption law, and it is much the same in many other states.

I understand they still have to have a court order to open the records and sign agreements from both parties, but they obviously don't need an intermediary to setup a meeting like you were suggesting.