Thursday, February 27, 2014

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Parents who relinquished a child for adoption can sign up with the state registry. 

They can print off the forms, or call and request the appropriate form. 

Here is one form they can fill out, giving permission to have their identifying information 
to the adoptee when they come along to the State Registry. 

http://www.health.ny.gov/forms/doh-4455.pdf 

It needs to be notarized. So if you want privacy when having it notarized go to a bankthat is not the branch you usually use. The notary simply watches you sign, and verify its your signature. 

For more assistance, come to our Yahoo group at www.nyadoptees.com 

Email: Joan85032@yahoo.com 

We are happy to answer all questions regarding this. 

or call 520-254-3295 (cell)

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Write to NY courts- All Adoptees Born or Adopted in NY State

We need Adoptees and Parents to write to their respective courts. We need you to tell the judge that you want to submit a consent waiver. Please use the form below for parents to use. DOH-4455

Adoptees just write to the court the adoption was finalized in. Tell the judge you want your identifying information. No lawyers are needed to do this. There is supposed to be a form. Try calling the court and asking for the appropriate  form. 
 If we don't try, we won't know what we will get. Maybe if we annoy them enough, they will look over the laws and make changes. 

Here is the law 114 that the judge referred to. 
Read 3 and 4 of it and notice how it says you can ask for information. Parents (adoptive parents will be contacted. and Guardian ad litem will be hired to protect the parties. 
lets write to the judge and ask him, how we do this if we don't have money to pay for this. 
He says you fill out a form. 
Here is the law from current NY state Laws:

Domestic Relations

§ 114. Order of adoption. 1. If satisfied that the best interests of the adoptive child will be promoted thereby the judge or surrogate shall make an order approving the adoption and directing that the adoptive child shall thenceforth be regarded and treated in all respects as the child of the adoptive parents or parent. In determining whether the best interests of the adoptive child will be promoted by the adoption, the judge or surrogate shall give due consideration to any assurance by a commissioner of social services that he will provide necessary support and maintenance for the adoptive child pursuant to the social services law. Such order shall contain the full name, date and place of birth and reference to the schedule annexed to the petition containing the medical history of the child in the body thereof and shall direct that the child's medical history, heritage of the parents, which shall include nationality, ethnic background and race; education, which shall be the number of years of school completed by the parents at the time of the birth of the adoptive child; general physical appearance of the parents at the time of the birth of the adoptive child, which shall include height, weight, color of hair, eyes, skin; occupation of the parents at the time of the birth of the adoptive child; health and medical history of the parents at the time of the birth of the adoptive child, including all available information setting forth conditions or diseases believed to be hereditary, any drugs or medication taken during the pregnancy by the child's mother; and any other information which may be a factor influencing the child's present or future health, talents, hobbies and special interests of parents as contained in the petition be furnished to the adoptive parents. If the judge or surrogate is also satisfied that there is no reasonable objection to the change of name proposed, the order shall direct that the name of the adoptive child be changed to the name stated in the agreement of adoption and that henceforth he shall be known by that name. All such orders made by a family court judge of Westchester county since September first nineteen hundred sixty-two, and on file in the office of the county clerk of such county shall be transferred to the clerk of the family court of such county. Such order and all the papers in the proceeding shall be filed in the office of the court granting the adoption and the order shall be entered in books which shall be kept under seal and which shall be indexed by the name of the adoptive parents and by the full original name of the child. Such order, including orders heretofore entered, shall be subject to inspection and examination only as hereinafter provided. Notwithstanding the fact that adoption records shall be sealed and secret, they may be microfilmed and processed pursuant to an order of the court, provided that such order provides that the confidentiality of such records be maintained. If the confidentiality is violated, the person or company violating it can be found guilty of contempt of court. The fact that the adoptive child was born out of wedlock shall in no case appear in such order. The written report of the investigation together with all other papers pertaining to the adoption shall be kept by the judge or surrogate as a permanent record of his court and such papers must be sealed by him and withheld from inspection. No certified copy of the order of adoption shall issue unless authorized by court order, except that certified copies may issue to the agency or agencies in the proceeding prior to the sealing of the papers. Before the record is sealed, such order may be granted upon written ex parte application on good cause shown and upon such conditions as the court may impose. After the record is sealed, such order may be granted only upon notice as hereinafter provided for disclosure or access and inspection of records. The clerk upon request of a person or agency entitled thereto shall issue certificates of adoption which shall contain only the new
  name of the child and the date and place of birth of the child, the name
  of  the  adoptive parents and the date when and court where the adoption
  was granted, which certificate as to the  facts  recited  therein  shall
  have  the  same  force  and  effect  as  a certified copy of an order of
  adoption.
    2. No person, including the attorney for the  adoptive  parents  shall
  disclose the surname of the child directly or indirectly to the adoptive
  parents  except  upon  order  of  the  court. No person shall be allowed
  access to such sealed records and order and  any  index  thereof  except
  upon  an  order  of a judge or surrogate of the court in which the order
  was made or of a justice of the supreme court. No order  for  disclosure
  or access and inspection shall be granted except on good cause shown and
  on  due notice to the adoptive parents and to such additional persons as
  the court may direct.  Nothing  contained  herein  shall  be  deemed  to
  require  the  state  commissioner  of health or his designee to secure a
  court order authorizing disclosure of information contained in  adoption
  or  birth  records  requested  pursuant  to  the  authority  of  section
  forty-one  hundred   thirty-eight-c   or   section   forty-one   hundred
  thirty-eight-d  of  the  public  health  law;  upon  the receipt of such
  request for  information,  the  court  shall  transmit  the  information
  authorized to be released thereunder to the state commissioner of health
  or his designee.
    3.  In  like  manner as a court of general jurisdiction exercises such
  powers, a judge or surrogate of a court in which the order  of  adoption
  was made may open, vacate or set aside such order of adoption for fraud,
  newly discovered evidence or other sufficient cause.
    4.  Good  cause  for  disclosure or access to and inspection of sealed
  adoption records and orders  and  any  index  thereof,  hereinafter  the
  "adoption  records",  under  this  section may be established on medical
  grounds as provided herein. Certification from a physician  licensed  to
  practice  medicine  in  the  state  of  New  York that relief under this
  subdivision is required to address a serious physical or mental  illness
  shall  be  prima  facie evidence of good cause. Such certification shall
  indentify the information required to address such illness. Except where
  there is an immediate medical need for the information sought, in  which
  case  the court may grant access to the adoption records directly to the
  petitioner, the court hearing   petition  under  the  subdivision  shall
  appoint  a  guardian  ad  litem or other disinterested person, who shall
  have access to the adoption records for the  purpose  of  obtaining  the
  medical  information sought from those records or, where the records are
  insufficient  for  such  purpose,  through  contacting  the   biological
  parents.  The  guardian  or  other  disinterested  person  shall offer a
  biological parent the option of  disclosing    the  medical  information
  sought  by  the  petitioner pursuant to this subdivision, as well as the
  option of granting consent to examine the parent's medical  records.  If
  the guardian or other disinterested person appointed does not obtain the
  medical   information   sought  by  the  petitioner,  such  guardian  or
  disinterested person shall make a report of his or her efforts to obtain
  such information to the court. Where  further  efforts  to  obtain  such
  information  are  appropriate, the court may in its discretion authorize
  direct disclosure or access to and inspection of the adoption records by
  the petitioner.




Birth Parent Consent Program

The services of the Adoption Information Registry have been expanded so that birth parents can register whether they give consent or do not give consent for the release of their contact information (name and address) to the adoptee. If the parents have registered their consent, the contact information will be released to the adoptee only after he or she reaches at least eighteen years of age and registers with the Adoption Information Registry.
The new service is referred to as the Birth Parent Consent Program and began on November 3, 2008.
The Birth Parent Consent Program requires birth parents to complete the Birth Parent Registration Form (DOH-4455) at the time of surrender. The form will be filed by the attorney or the adoption agency handling the adoption with the court. The court will forward the form to the Adoption Information Registry when the adoption is finalized.
The Birth Parent Consent Program does not replace the traditional Adoption Information Registry and differs from the traditional Adoption Information Registry in two important ways.
  • First, birth parents who are currently placing a child for adoption are required to complete the Form DOH-4455 at the time of surrender.
  • Second, a birth parent who gives permission for the release of his or her contact information via Form DOH-4455 will not be asked for final consent nor will they be notified of the release of their contact information to the adoptee when the adoptee registers.
Birth parents whose children have already been adopted may also participate in the Birth Parent Consent Program by completing and submitting Form DOH-4455 directly to the Adoption Information Registry. Please note that the adoptee must still be born or adopted in New York State to participate in the Birth Parent Consent Program.
For more information, please consult the attorney or adoption agency handing your child's adoption or the back of Form DOH-4455.
You can download DOH-4455 as a PDF document below:
Adoption Information Registry Birth Parent Registration Form (pdf, 121 kb, 2 pp.)

Printing Instructions:

  • Use the "Print" button in the Adobe® Reader® menu bar or the "Print Form" button that appears in the form.
  • Do not attempt to print the application using the print command in your browser.