Adoptees

Every adoptee identifies differently with his or her adopted lifestyle. Despite the disparities between someone adopted by a stepparent, into a transracial family or one who discovered his or her adoption after reaching adulthood, the adoptee community is united by the growing openness and available resources for adult adoptees. For the first time, the U.S. Census Bureau included questions about adoptees on its survey of the American populace and many states have recently reconsidered legislation concerning adoptees. These are signs of changing times.

About 2 percent of children in America live with adoptive parents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 2 to 3 percent of American adults are adoptees as well.

When someone is adopted, a new birth certificate is issued for this person and held by the State. In this sense, the life of an adoptee begins post-adoption on paper, yet there's still a pre-adoption identity that many adoptees feel should be available if needed for medical reasons or to resolve any emotional confusion or curiosity about their past.

About 26 states require court-orders and counseling before identifying information is given to an adoptee. In many states, though, adoptees can retrieve basic non-identifying information about their birth parents and medical history. The times are changing and more answers and exclusive communities and organizations are available for adoptees, birth mothers and adult siblings than ever before.