Adoption Records; how to access
With Family
History month comes the awareness that for some people their search is that
much more difficult because they have been adopted. So this week we’ll look at
what resources can be used to locate either birth parents or a child adopted
out at birth.
Access the NZ
Government website. Click here
Finding your birth
parents: Those born in NZ, and over 20 years of age, can
request their original birth certificate, which may include birth mother
and father. If the adoption was pre 1968
and you live in NZ you need to nominate an adoption counsellor. To access
adoption records, contact an adoption social worker at Oranga Tamariki, giving
them a copy of your original birth certificate. They will find your adoption
records, giving you details recorded at the time of placement. You may choose
to use the counsellor to contact your birth parents or do it yourself.
Sometimes
there are vetoes in place. Birth parents may have put restrictions in place.
Adoptions after 1 March 1986 can’t have a veto applied.
Finding your birth
child: To locate
a child placed for adoption you need to contact Oranga Tamariki and ask for a
Section 8 form. Once that’s filled in they will try to find the birth child and
ask if they wish for their name and address to be given out. If the child is
under 20 years of age and has asked for the information to be kept private, you
will not be able to access the information. Birth children (pre 1986) may also have
placed a veto on their information. Vetoes last 10 years but may be removed or
renewed at any time. Working with an adoption social worker means they can tell
you if there’s any information at all available.
With thanks
to New Zealand Government website for the above information
Rotorua Library has produced a resource titled Finding Your Birth Mother.
As well as online resources, we have some books on adoption topics.
As well as online resources, we have some books on adoption topics.
Adoption and its alternatives: a
different approach and a new framework New Zealand Law Commission (348.0178 NEW) New Zealand
Heritage, 2nd floor
New Zealand Adoption: history and
practice, social and legal, 1840-1996 by Keith Griffith (346.734 GRI) New
Zealand Heritage, 2nd floor
Ideas for adopted people searching
and contacting
Rotorua Adoption Information & Services Unit (362.734 ROT) Genealogy
Reference, 2nd floor
A question of adoption: closed
stranger adoption in New Zealand 1944-1974 by Anne Else
(362.734 ELS) Genealogy Reference, 2nd floor
Healing for adults who grew up in
adoption or foster care: positive strategies for overcoming emotional
challenges by Renee Wolf (306.874 WOL) 1st
floor
Websites:
This blog post compiled by Trish
