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Adoption: tracing your birth family

Ask for counselling to help you work out your feelings during this time.

Article by : SpunOut.ie

Getting in contact with your birth family can be a tough and nerve wracking decision to make. Then, tracing your records can be a slow and often painful process. It's strongly advised to ask for counselling to help you work out your feelings during this time. Remember that nobody's perfect and you'll need to be very open minded about meeting your birth family. You also need to talk honestly about this decision with your adoptive family and be prepared to give them time to get used to the idea of you contacting your birth family.

 

If the search is successful there are a lot of possible results:

  • You might find a birth parent and meet them.  
  • You might find a birth parent, but they don't want to meet you. 
  • They might have died. 
  • You might never find them.

 

In Northern Ireland:

  • Legally, you need to be over 18 to trace your birth family. 
  • You are entitled to the information on your birth certificate and to know which court or agency dealt with your adoption. 
  • The tracing process is very slow and you need to be patient when waiting for results. 
  • If you're successful, it's a good idea to exchange letters or emails and photos before meeting your birth family in person.

 

In Ireland:

  • Legally you need to be over 18 to trace your birth family. 
  • There's no central location for adoption files in Ireland, so the first step is to contact the adoption agency that dealt with your adoption. 
  • The Adoption Board is responsible for dealing with tracing enquiries and will have information on all registered adoptions since 1952. Write to them asking for information and including your name, date of birth, name of your adoptive parents and your address at the time of adoption. They should be able to tell you what adoption agency you need to speak to. 
  • If the adoption agency no longer exists, get in contact with your local Health Board. 
  • The tracing process is very slow and you need to be patient when waiting for results.
  • If you're successful, it's a good idea to exchange letters or emails and photos before meeting your birth family in person.   
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