Search And Reunion

Thousands of adoptees and their birth relatives register with state and private registries in hopes of reuniting. For some, search and reunion is positive and helps tie up loose ends and curiosity that comes with maturity. Sometimes the motive for a search is to find information about a birth parent's medical background. Sometimes the motive is to meet one's birth parent or birth relative and establish a relationship. Every search is as justified as the next, but they can be an exhaustive experience and searchers should make sure they don't get their hopes up too high and may want to discuss their motive to search with a counselor.

Sometimes nothing comes out of months or a year of searching and even if a birth parent is contacted and a reunion initiated, the results may be disappointing or emotionally upsetting. For this reason, when adoptees consider searching, they're advised to join a support group or seek counseling.

There are three ways to search: by registering with a state's mutual consent registry, by petitioning to have a confidential intermediary facilitate communication between adoptive parties, or to actively search via private/public registries, contacting the agency through which the adoption was finalized or hiring a private investigator.

Search and reunion is a natural and necessary step for many adoptees and birth parents and, for some, can be a healing experience.