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How To Find Your Adopted Child
How To Find Adopted Child
Here is additional information on how to find your adopted child. This post complements our previous article: Find Adoptee | Search By Date Of Birth Of Child, which we strongly suggest you read first.
Your adopted child’s date of birth, along with just a bit more information about the adoption and the adopting parents may be all you need to find your adopted child.
Our OmniTrace researchers have a lot of experience working with birth mothers attempting to find their adopted child. We understand how much stress you were under during your pregnancy up until your child was adopted. There is, of course, a lot you may not recall. So, you should make every attempt to interview anyone who knew you during that time period.
Of course we understand that anyone who had knowledge of the adoption may now be deceased, or perhaps no one you know has anything helpful to provide you. But, just in case, attempt to speak with:
- Your parents–if they helped you facilitate the adoption.
- Other members of your family– if they have any knowledge (e.g.: aunt, uncle).
- Friends of your parents to see if they were told anything–they may recall some small morsel about the adoption and your adopted child that might assist you.
- Former neighbors of your parents during the time of your pregnancy– to see if they were told anything. There is a chance that your parents shared some information about the adoption with them. Make sure that you bring some pictures of yourself taken around the time of your pregnancy. These may jar memories.
- Your family physician and/or birth physician during the time of your pregnancy–if the family physician and/or birth physician is still alive, they may recall something about the adopting parents and/or circumstances surrounding the adoption.
- Your family attorney during the time of your pregnancy– if an attorney handled the adoption, contact him/her for information. If the attorney is deceased, he may have left his records with a partner or a family member that took over his practice.
Okay, so hopefully you have found someone to speak with who has information about the adoption. Make sure you review and have all the facts at hand that you have developed to date. Try to conduct your interview in person; you may obtain more details this way than by phone or letter. There may be many small bits and pieces of information that they might have that they don’t realize are important. Write a list of everything that you want to cover. At the very minimum, you’ll want to ask:
- What can you tell me about the adopting family?
- Where were the adopting parents residing when the baby was born?
- Do you recall the adopting parents names?
- What were the ages the adoption parents?
- Do you know if the adopting parents had any other children (adopted or natural)?
- What was the educational background of the adopting parents?
- What was the religion of the adopting parents?
- When did the adopting parents pick up the baby?
- Do you know if the adopting parents paid any of my medical bills?
- Did you ever see the adopting parents? If yes, can you describe them?
- Can you recall any information about the birth physician?
- Can you recall any information about the adoption agency?
- Can you recall any information about the adoption attorney?
- Do you recall the names of any social workers?
- Was my child placed in foster care?
- When was the adoption of my child finalized?
- Did we receive a legal notice of adoption by mail or in a legal newspaper?
- Was my birth child named at birth?
- Do you recall what name the adopting parents gave to my birth child?
- Did the adopting family ever try to make contact with me? Did they send any letters, photos, or mementos to my parents that were withheld from me?
Your interview may go in many directions. You may be told something that surprises you, and you may forget to ask everything that you had planned. So, be sure to cover all the questions that you have on your list. And, write everything down!
Shortly, we are going to post articles on: (1) contacting the adoption agency (2) contacting the birth hospital and (3) we’ll address some secret methods that professional search companies like OmniTrace use to find an adopted child when you have reached a dead end and all seems hopeless.
Please post a comment if you have any questions.
You might enjoy these related posts:
I AM LOOKING FOR ALEXANDER DAKOTA NOYES HE WAS TAKEN FROM ME IN 1997 IN WICHITA KANSAS DOB 11-06-1986 LAST HEARD HE MAY POSSIBLY BE IN KANSAS CITY…WE WANT HIM TO KNOW THE REST OF US, NICK, JOHN, SHANE AND LACEY HAVE ALREADY FOUND EACH OTHER AND WANT HIM WITH US AS SOON AS POSSIBLE..WE LOVE YOU…PLEASE SEE THIS AND YOU CAN CALL ME (MOM) AT 214-xxx-xxxx OR JOHN MATTHEW AT 785-xxx-xxxx
Hello Patricia. We have found your birth son. Because of his age, we will need to speak with you before we can provide his address information to you. We’ll have Sari, one of our researchers, call you.
Best regards,
Dana
The Search Advisor / OmniTrace Corp.
looking for tray michael burns, paige nicole burns, brooke rnee burns want to let u 3 know how much i love you all and miss u al very much if you are ready this call me collect at 663-3761 i cant wait to see u all i want you all to know there is aplace in my heart for you always anf forever talk to u soon
I am looking for my daughter who I put up for adoption. She was born in Michigan City, Indiana, she would be about 22 years old now, her adoptive parents named her Madison Sylvia (do not have the last name) I do not have her exact date of birth, when I placed her for adoption I told myself I would not look for her and tried to put it behind me but I have wondered about her every since. She was born during the summer of 1986 or 1987
hi Im looking for asha jenia nicole powell born in 09/24/89 in california. adopted when she was in 1991 please help 702-245-4648
Hi Muriel. We don’t like posting phone numbers on our website. So, we edited your post a bit and someone from our search staff will call you early next week for a free search consultation.
I am looking for my sister Jannette McCarthy. She was born November 4, 1980 in Fullerton California. She was adopted through Holy Families Adoption Agency. I do not know her adopted parents names. I’m 16 years old and I have a 18 year old sister and a 15 year old brother. We wish to meet our oldest sister, please help.
Thank You
i am looking for my granddaughter. her name is kathryn. she was adopted from fort stewart army hospital in february 1995. my daughter has passed away and i don’t want to interfere in her life i just want to know if she looks like my daughter. her parents names were jeff and tobi worster. jeff was stationed at the army base at the time. please help
My two daughters were taken from me in 1999 and adopted in 2000. I was recently contacted by the adopted parents because they wanted me to meet the girls because they were having problems with them. I finally had the chance to meet my girls, after 9yrs. Now the adopted parents will not allow any other contact. My question is this: At what age should my girls be before I can contact them without breaking the law?
Dear Lonely Mother:
I believe when your girls turn 18 years of age you may try to have contact with them, or naturally they may seek you out. I have seen other mothers trying to reach adoptees and have waited exactly until their 18th birthday. What a horrid thing for that a-mother to have done, setting them up with the trauma of meeting you and then ripping them back away. No wonder they’re having issues. She should have contacted you in private instead of involving them.
Hi. I know this is a little far fetched but I am hoping to find some family members that were warded to DCFS in Illinois. I am not clear on specifics. I know that they were 2 boys and 1 girl, all siblings. And unfortantly I am not sure on the girl’s first name but I know that the boys’ birth names were Louis Skinner Jr, and Ryan Matthew Skinner. Between the ages of 21 and 28.. They are my cousins. I am desperate to find them, but dont have the money it takes to hire a professional.. Does anyone have suggetions?
We are looking for our two grandsons there names are David and Daniel Reyes they were adopted in 2006 and we werent told anything about what happen to them after they were adopted heres all the info we have on them
David Reyes dob 02/03/2001
Daniel Reyes dob 09/17/2002
plese help us at least let us know there ok we miss them so alittle info on them would really help our hearts are broken thank you
Thank you Kamp for your response. I was “told” by family members that at the age of 14, my girls could make the decision to locate me if they wanted. Is this true?
What do you say to your children after many years? I have buried the pain of the past, but how do I deal with it when I know it will resurface when we reunite?
It depends on the laws of the state they were born in. In Delaware they would need to be 21 and to have requested a copy of their original birth certificate. Check the internet for search laws in your state. MJP
I KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE ALONE AND LOST I AM 33 AND HAVE NEVER MET MY MOTHER I WAS TAKEN AT 14 DAYS OLD I WISH I COULD FIND KATHLEEN BYT THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING I NEVER WILL I DONT KNOW WHO I AM IND I SO DESPERATLY WNT TO FIND HER JUST TO SEE WHO I AM
Hi all,
well I just wanted to say to those of you looking for parents or children who you have not seen: NEVER give up hope!
I didn’t and have just recently been in contact with my daughter who was taken from me, 19 years ago. She is very happy to have heard from me, and there wasn’t a day that went by in 19 years that I didn’t think about her.
One word of advice for parents though: don’t expect to be called ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ straight away, it at all. Remember, they don’t know you – yet.
hi im looking for my 3 children that were taken by social services 12 years ago catrina nichole sanders,bruce nathaniel sanders,alexis natasha sanders.please help i love them and never quit thinking about them. they also have 2 sisters they need to meet we are from north carolina and they were taken in wilmington north carolina
I am looking for Serenity Marie Reyes D.O.B June 21st 2003 I had put my daughter in foster care like about 3 months after she was born due to the fact that i was young with no income and pracitically homeless well the state of california told me that they put her up for adoption becasue i didn;t do what i was to do according to them well i want to know how she is where she n everything else there is to know but i think she might still be in foster care i do not know so if you can give me information please do…i want my baby back..
I am 17yrs old. I just found out that my mother had another child. a boy, who is a year younger than me. My dad found me just this past year and now to have my family complete I would like to find my brother. I am a teenage kid with no job,a full time student and nothing but determination to find him before I turn 18.
Does anyone know how to find someone on the computer even if you have no credit card and no money?
hopless wonderer – you can try searching on social sites like Facebook or MySpace
Alternatively, if you know the area where your brother lives, you could try a Social Services help line or something.
Bernie-thank you, this is extremly hard and I have no idea where to start but I guess myspace is just as good as any.
Do you know weather or not if certain adoption agences in Texas will pull up records for someone to help them find someone?
Marla Herman Joyce-have you tryed looking for them on myspace or face book?
Someone this morning gave me that very advice so I figure that the least I could do is pass it on to someone who need’s it too.
Hopless-Wonderer – sorry my friend, I don’t live in the US, I’m from the UK living in Japan.
My guess is though, that Social Services are unlikely to give you any details of people on their files.
If the SS in the US is anything like that in the UK, I’m sure you could go to the SS in the area you know your brother to be, and leave a letter and contact details with them.
Unfortunately, I believe that they can only pass details on to adoptees IF the adoptee comes asking for info.
Best to check for yourself on this one I’m afraid. I do have an online friend I’ve known for two years, who lives in Texas, I will ask her and if she knows anything, I’ll be happy to post details to you here!
I wish you and anyone looking for adopted siblings or children or parents, the best of wishes. It’s an unbelievable feeling finding someone you love!!
Bernie-thank you so much for trying to help. could I ask you something else?
If someone who was adopted changed their name could you still be able to find them? or would you pritty much just hit a brick wall?
thanks loads,
hopless wonderer
Hopless-wonderer: Any changes in name will be registered for official reasons. The birth certificate will show the child’s name as it was at birth.
My daughter’s birth name was Jerram, but was changed to McCallum when she was adopted. If you know the new name it will help you locate the person easier, but it’s not impossible to find them even if you don’t know their new name.
Try searching records for the person as you remember them to be registered as. Any changes should also be indicated.
In your particular case, if you hit that brick wall, I would highly recommend using the services of a professional agency. Hint: contact the guys who run this website (>v@)b
Bernie-Thanks loads your awsome!! if i run in to any more problems i’ll just ask you.
My name is Sarrah. Im looking for my son born Isaiah Cardale Scott. He was adpoted in Denver, CO in 1998. He was born November 6th, 1996 and just turned 12 years old. I just want to be accessible in the event he does try and contact me. I have tried to contact the case worker and she will not respond to me. I just want to know he is okay. Im not sure if the adoptive family would want to speak with me but I will be here if or when they do. It would be enough for me just to speak to them. I want to know how he is doing in school, what his favorite color is, does he play sports just everything about him. I think about Isaiah everyday of my life. He has 3 little sister that would love to be able to have a relationship with him. We love you Isaiah!
I am searching for my son who was born 2/3/1986. He was immediately given up for adoption. Born in Tahlequah, OK Regional hospital. Adoption arranged by Dr. Shelly Lee of Tahlequah. I signed a release for him to be able to find me. They would not allow me to see the baby. I was told it was a local family, a friend of the doctors who adopted him.
Please Please if you are the one that adopted Domonic Salamana Hornbeck Please get with her sisters really want to get to know her we are not looking to take her I’m not her I was never her mom I would have been her step mom but I’m not even that now. Please understand Domonic would be 9 year old now her birthday is Jan 31st 1999. She is Samonan on her mom’s side and black on her daddys side. Her dad wish’s the best for her he never got anything in the mail that she was being put up for adoption so I plead with you Please Please get with me so that we know that she is okay and please just send us some photos if would. If you dont want us to talk to her or even see her fine but please send us photos and tell us about her from time to time so we know she is okay.
Her Biological mom lost her due to the state got her and that is how you got her so please I beg of you to please get with me and tell me what you are willing to let us have….
About the little girl:
Name: Domonic Salamana Hornbeck
DOB: Jan 31st 1999 @ 02:33am
Born St. Frances Med. Center West
She might have went to a military fam. and she might not be in HI anymore she might be in CA from what I understand to have heard today.
Black and Samonan
We do have some photos from when she was a baby and she looked just like my daughters then it was like looking at one of my own. I know she was a cute little baby.
PLEASE AS SAID GET WITH ME ASAP HER SISTERS ARE LOOKING FOR HER.
THANK YOU….
Please help me out..
I am acually looking for my brother who was adopted. My mom had him April 3 or 4 1972 or 1973,she doesn’t know if the new parents renamed him but she named him Christopher,and her madene name was Adamuska and the father of the child’s name was Jerry Baldiger. The adoption agency was Catholic Charities out of Southbridge Ma,and the baby was born in St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester Ma I believe.
Im looking for my neice she was born in barberton ohio today she would be 19 maybe 20. Her mothers name at the time was Debi Reese. Any information please let me know. Nicki Zepernick
I’m looking for my fiance’s birth parents, Kyle was born on the 2/4/78 at the Tulare Community Hospital,Tulare CA. The “Children Home Services of California” was the agency who processed the adoption in 1979. His mother was only 18yrs of age at the time and his father was 27 yrs old. Both of Italian descent and his mom followed the Mormon religion. It breaks my heart to see him lose hope but we’ve decided to keep on searching. When I was 14yrs old I made the decision to find father. It took 11yrs… I’m so glad I never gave up no matter how hard it got at times. I was determined that I wasn’t going to leave this life without the truth… It set me free..
I am looking for my birth brother.He was born in Illinois in June 1988.Adopted right after birth.His birth parents names were Neil Hensiak and Shelley Randolph or Dyer.Dyer is the birth mothers maiden name.He is my only real brother so it means alot to me that I find him.Hopefully want to meet him in June when he turns 21.Please help me.
I am looking for my only sibling, a brother. He was born in Tampa Fl May 15th or 17th 1973. By Rebecca Parsons. She didnt get to hold him doctors took him away. She was 16. I have been an only child all of my life. I am ready to find this brother of mine! I hope he would want to meet me too..
My Sisters and I are looking for our older Sister we just learned about. She was born on May 11, 1980 to our Mother Socorro Rodriguez (last name both maiden and married). She was born in Las Vegas Nevada possibly at Sunrise or Memorial Hospital. If you have any information please contact me.
I am looking for my brother adopted in montclair new jersey born at st vincent hospital. it may be anytime from 1964-1966, during the winter months.
I gave my daughter up for adoption on 1/6/91. Her name at the time was Marissa Cheyenne Pence, the mother who adopted her was Judy Pence. She was born in Miami Oklahoma, at Baptist Regional Hospital, the attending Doctor was Dr. Osborne (female). My name at the time was Laurie Althouse. I have two daughters, Jessica (19) and Shawna (16) and they want to find their sister. I would love to meet her as well. I would like a chance to explain things, or at least give her the choice of meeting us or not. She will be 18 next Tuesday and I thought that I should make all efforts I can to locate her.
hi my name is heather. i am looking for my cousin miranda. her bday is january 27,1990. her biological parents are gene parker and una johnson. johnson is her maiden name. they use to live in natchitoches louisiana. miranda was born at natchitoches hospital. if you know anything please contact me. thank you so much
im looking for my Adopted daughter, her birthday was 10/18/1988 she would be 20 and her birth given name was Alicia Clements she was taken through an adoption agency in New Jersey through a christian agency. IF anything please contact me through thesearchadvisor.com. THANKS!
I am looking for Baby boy Hayes, born May 9, 1976 at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital in Auburn, CA. I wonder everyday if you had a loving environment to grow and thrive in. I had no choice in the adoption because at the time I had you I was only 15. You were adopted through a private lawyer who practiced in Auburn, CA or in Lincoln, CA. I remember him telling me that personal friends of his were looking to adopt a child and I felt comforted by that. I would like you to know I love you and have always thought about you!
i am looking for my birthmother. she was called kathleen flanagan but i imagine she may have married now. I was born in st marys hospital, manchester, on the 13th dec 1963 and named dawn marie flanagan. i was adopted through the catholic rescue society. I believe she was around 27 when she had me so shes around 72 yrs now.
Still looking for son who was given up for private adoption in Tahlequah, OK in 1986. His birthday is 2-3-1986, he was immediately taken and I was not allowed to name him. The doctor who arranged the adoption was my OB/GYN Dr. Shelley Lee. I was told recently by the hospital that records were not kept past 10 years and that Dr. Lee no longer worked in Oklahoma. Please let me know if anyone has any information regarding my son, or Dr. Shelley Lee (she would be in her late 50′s/60′s). My maiden name was Glisson.
i am looking for my son born adam christopher wells may 14 9184 in warren ohio and taken from me when he was 4 yrs old
My husband is looking for his birth family. He was born 12/09/1952 and was adopted in Garden City, MI. If anyone has any information, it would be greatly appreciated. He has spent his entire life feeling abandoned.
Sandi,I want my daughter to know how to reach me she wll be 18 in Oct, 2009. I would love to see her and talk to her. I know she is in AZ, and who adopted her. I was 13 when she was born. and she was 3 when you adopted her. I dont want to upset her life as she is still in high school. I have been waiting and will keep waiting. I know you stoped sending me pitchers and letters thinking it best for her stability. But she is almost 18 now and I Miss her and LOVE her and hope she wants to meet me and wll let me be apat of her life. Please see this.
Yes I’m looking for my sons that the state of Colorado adopted out without my permission in 1975. My oldest son was born in San Antonio,TX on October 6th 1971 and my other son was born in Denver, CO on April 25th 1973. There birth names are Richard Edward Bishop Jr. and Terry Lee Bishop. If anyone has any information or knows anything about my sons please help us reunite I have been looking for 34 years and no luck at all. Concerned Father in Oregon
I am looking for my son who was adopted in Oklahoma City, OK in 1994. His name is Michael Scott Randall (may have been changed). He was adopted by his brother’s grandparents and then I was told he was adopted by another family. After the adoption they would not allow me to have any contact with him. I was not given any other information. He was born March 17, 1989. Any information is very much appreciated. I still miss him so much.
I’m looking for my birthmother. I was born on July 18, 1990 in Dothan, AL. I don’t know her name. Is there any way to find her other that having to wait to get my original birth certificate?
I am looking for a cousin whose birth mother was Ann or Harriet Beckman. Her son was born somewhere in Chicago in the summer of 1927. If he would like to find out about his roots, please contact me.