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Man Seeks Son Given For Adoption But Records Lead To Wrong Person
Mistaken Identity Shatters Adoption Reunion
OmniTrace is involved with many wonderful reunions between adopted children and their 
biological parents. Most go very well and are wonderful experiences for the reunited family members.
The following reunion (not one of our cases) has a truly startling twist. Here’s a story shown on ABC News about an adoption that took place in New Jersey. It involves a mix-up between two people who waited their entire lives to meet, and it is absolutely heartbreaking:
It’s hard to know exactly where things went wrong. It could have been at the hospital. In that case, the hospital records were likely destroyed years ago and the mystery will never be solved. Or, the mistake may have taken place at the New Jersey adoption agency– the son was one of six other children adopted around the same time and a mix-up might have occurred.
Unfortunately, those agency adoption records that might help to reveal the truth are currently sealed according to New Jersey state law. What ABC News failed to include in their story is that New Jersey Adoption Records may soon be opened.
A while back, we wrote that a Bill (S611) to open adoption records in New Jersey had been passed by the New Jersey Senate and was being considered for approval by the New Jersey Assembly. If passed, an adoptee would have access to his/her original birth certificate as long as a no contact veto was not signed by the birth parents.
Bill S611 has been in Committee (Assembly) since March 2008 and, to date, no schedule has been set for its review. If and when Bill S611 is approved by the Committee, it will then go before the full Assembly and, if approved, then will be signed by the Governor.
You can obtain a copy of the proposed bill here: S611. You can also call (609) 292-4840 for information.
We’ll keep you posted on anything new we hear about this important legislation. Hopefully, if and when the bill is passed, the father and son mentioned in the ABC News Story may possibly find the answers they seek.
Please leave a comment if you have any questions. You can also call us toll free at: 1-888-965-6696.
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I’ve been reunited with my family after 28 yrs, both in the US, and in cuba. Out of three siblings I’m the only one tring to take care of our mother who is in a north jersey nursing home. The same illness that forced her to give me up still has her prisoner. So, there is no way for her to say, or not say that she doesn’t want to be identified, she’s schizophrenic. When my mother needs a medical procedure; who does the nursing home call for authorization? Me. So why wouldn’t NJ just give me what is mine
, not just my birth certificate but my original social security number too. To tell me that the state did away with that s.s is a lie 
, and I won’t stop until i get it. I already use my birth name on all my documents. I just sign who I am. 