Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry
Today, open adoption is very common and an option that many birthparents choose for their adoption plan. However, open adoption hasn’t always been an option for birthparents. For many years, records were sealed and birthparents, adoptive parents and adopted children had no information about each other. A Act of Love Adoption Agency receives many calls each year from adopted children looking for their birth mothers and fathers. Many times these calls are from older people who were placed for adoption 25 years ago or longer. If you are an adopted child or a birthparent that placed a child for adoption and do not have any information about the other, there may be some help for you.
There are mutual consent adoption registries in states across the country that you can register with. For instance, if you were born in Utah and you were placed for adoption by a Utah adoption agency, there is a registry called the Utah Department of Health Bureau of Vital Records – Application for Inclusion in the Utah Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry. With this application, you provide your basic
information and pay a $25.00 fee. If a birth mother or birth father and an adopted child place their information on the registry, a match will be found and the information will be given to the other party. A Act of Love Adoption Agency offers this form to all birthparents placing babies for adoption through their adoption agency, as well as the adoptive family. One thing to note on this and other mutual consent registries is that if an address needs to be changed, a fee is required each time the record is updated. For this reason, birthparents may want to wait until close to the adopted child’s 18th birthday to register with the most current and accurate information.
Here is a copy of the current Utah Mutual Consent Registry:
UTAH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH BUREAU OF VITAL RECORDS
APPLICATION FOR INCLUSION IN THE UTAH MUTUAL-CONSENT VOLUNTARY ADOPTION REGISTRY
All applicants must complete Sections 1 and 2. Adult adoptees should complete as much as possible in Section 3. However, only the birth date and birth place are critical for making the match. The birth parent(s) should complete as much as possible in Sections 3 and 4. It is important that the birth date and birth place be provided to enable a match to be made. The birth mother should also complete lines A. and B. in Section 4. The birth father should complete lines B. and C. in Section 4.
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
A. Name of Person Registering
B. Current Address C. Current Telephone Number
Person Registering is {Please check one}:
A. ___ B. ___ C. ___ D. ___ E. ___ F. ___
Adult Adoptee Birth Parent Adoptive Parent of Deceased Adoptee Adult Blood Related Brother or Sister of Adoptee Adult Brother or Sister of Deceased Birth Parent of Deceased Birth Parent
Information About the Adoptee:
A. Birth Name Sex: B. Adoptive Name C. Current Name D. Birth Date and Birth Place Hospital
E. Names of Adoptive Parents F. Adoption/Placing Agency, if Known Information About Adoptees Birth Parent(s):
A. Mother’s Current Name B. Mother’s Name at Time of Adoption C. Father’s Current Name
I hereby authorize the Bureau of Vital Records to identify me to any and all who register with the Utah Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry and who are authorized to know my identity. I have attached a certified copy of my birth certificate, that will be returned to me following registration of this document. I make this affidavit for the purpose of registering, pursuant to Section 78-30-18 of the Utah Code Annotated, 1953, as amended, and obtaining the identifying information available to me from the Registry. I understand that I may withdraw this application at any time by submitting a written, notarized request to the Bureau. I understand that if I withdraw my application, no one will be able to obtain identifying information about me.
Subscribed and Sworn to before me this Day of , .
Signature of Person Registering
S E A L
Notary Public My Commission Expires:
Please enclose a CERTIFIED COPY OF YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE. A FEE OF $25.00, payable by check or money order to the Bureau of Vital Records, must be included with this registration.
UDH-BVR-102 (4/98)
Other states that have mutual consent voluntary registries include Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, Arkansas, Maryland and Texas.
For a global search check an on-line site called Adopted.com.
References:
health.utah.gov/vitalrecords/pictures/forms/adopt.pdf
www.adopted.com/
aactofloveadoptions.com