Medical History Reporting: Current Policy

We have discussed concerns with the issue of medical history reporting in the blog posted on 10/25 dealing with disclosure veteos and medical history forms. If the birth parent wished anonymity, this will happen at the time the child turns 18. There is therefore an opportunity to update the medical history at this time. What we are discussing in regards to the current policy is what medical information is collected and how it is collected at the time of a child's adoption and given to the adopted child's family. under the current policy, the next time or opportunity for the provision of medical history is at the age of 18 at which time they are able to contact the birht parent or be provided with some medical information ( hopefully) that accompanies the filed dislcosure veto.



It is not clear as to how comprehensive or how consistent the process by which medical history is collected from the birth parent at the time of adoption across the various Children and Family Sevice offices. The unstructured approach to the collection of detailed medical history has never been addressed in previous legislation. The reasons for this likely lie in the fact that until recently, the value and implications of a detailed medical history have not been seen as highly signficant and the agency has not been looking much beyond the adoptive parent who is often young and disease free at the time of adoption. However, family histories of inheritable diseases in grandparents and siblings is also signficant information and this may not be collected under the current policy process. D.

Reunion searches: current policy

Prior to the current legislative changes, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services provided the applicant with the most up to date information possible about either the birth parent or adopted child, granted that there was no contact veto in place. When the applicants name came up on the list, they would conduct a search for the person using public documents such as drivers licenses, passports etc. It was a very non-intrusive process as they only accessed public documents and did not speak to family, friends or neighbours at the last registered address.
With the implentation of the current policy ( AARA) the Ministry no longer provides the searches. A name and address that was registered with the CAS at the time of the adoption is provided to the applicant and they are required to do the searching for themselves. L.

age of majority: current policy

As mentioned above, part of the process of applying for post-adoption information or filing a no-contact notice includes the fact that adoptees must wait until they have reached the age of 18, and birth parents must wait until the adoptee has reached the age of 19 (allowing the adoptee the full 19th year to make their decision about whether they would like to be contacted or not). This is based on the age of 18 being the age of majority here in Canada and the associated assumption that a child under the age of 18 is unable to make informed decisions about important life matters as well as the assumption that a young adult becomes capable of doing so at the age of 18.
There is academic evidence and widespread public acceptance to support both of these assumptions.
"The law's concept of the family rests on a presumption that parents possess what a child lacks in maturity, experience, and capacity for judgment required for making life's difficult decisions.... Most children, even in adolescence, simply are not able to make sound judgments concerning many decisions..” (Weithorn and Campbell, p. 1)

However there is also academic evidence that would show that both of these assumptions are faulty in many situations. The late justice William O. Douglas, in the case of Wisconsin v. Yoder, used evidence from major developmental theorists to show that the ability of a 14 year old to make informed decisions relating to life events is similar to that of an adult (Weithorn and Campbell:1989), and in their study, Weithorn and Campbell found that “minors aged 14 were found to demonstrate a level of competency equivalent to that of adults” (Weithorn and Campbell:1989).
This supports the idea that there are some “mature minors”, who are as, if not more, capable of making major life decisions before the age of 18, and raises the question as to whether they should have to wait until a pre-determined age to attempt to make contact with their birth parent.
Also, there has been some research conducted that would support the notion that the age of 18 may not be an ideal age for many adoptees to be making a decision that will have drastic effects on their life. Craig Bennett and Abigail Baird noted in their article Anatomical Changes in the Emerging Brain that;
“The transition from adolescence to adulthood is known to be a time of tremendous change. Between the ages of 18 and 25, most young adults move away from their parents or guardians and become self supported for the first time [Cohen et al., [2003]]. Marked shifts in the romantic relationships, risk-taking behavior, insight, and worldviews of young adults have been well documented during this time [Arnett, [2000]]. Such research has demonstrated convincingly that a person continues to mature behaviorally between the ages of 18 and 25” Bennet and Baird: 2005)

This raises the question of whether an 18 year old already undergoing major change in their life should be reasonably expected to be able to make this decision. These two pieces certainly do not necessarily show that a change needs to be made in relation to the age of majority at which these decisions are made, however, we feel that since there is evidence to support either side, it should be a topic that is open for discussion. Please feel free to leave comments or contact us if you have any ideas around this issue.

L.

lack of mediation: current policy

Along with the lack of counselling around the potential reunion is the fact that the applicant, be they the adoptee or the birth parent, is given the name for the other person rather than the contact being arranged through a third party. This creates a lack of mediation and a lack of notice for the person being contacted. Some have argued that if contact were going to pose a problem for a person, they would have filed a non-contact notice, and some have argued that this problem is resolved by the ability a person has to file a notice of contact preference. However, neither of these measures adequately address the problem of a sudden contact and the lack of preparation one might feel around that.
As we’ve previously mentioned, prior to the recent changes in the policy, an applicant would apply for contact with their birth parent or adopted child, and the ministry would run the search, send a letter with 30 days notice to the person being contacted, and make arrangements for a meeting or contact that would be appropriate to both parties. This allowed for some time to prepare themselves and those around them for this potentially very disruptive contact to take place. Now, the applicant is simply given the post-adoption information and sent on their way. This means that an adoptee or birth parent could simply call or show up one day out of the blue with no warning.
To say that a person might want notice or mediation around a meeting surely does not imply that they would rather not meet at all which completely negates the effect that the no-contact notice would have on this situation, and as mentioned above, the notices of contact preference are not binding, meaning that the person attempting to make contact has no obligation to allow a person mediation or notice even if they request it. In essence, those two measures that some have argued could mitigate the potential harm caused by an abrupt meeting or contact, do not address the problem at all.





L.

Barriers to Contact: current policy

In the past, if you wished to make contact with a birth relative ( parents, grandparents, siblings or adopted child), you could place you name on the Adoption Disclosure Register. If there was a match, in other words someone you have listed is also on the list, you were notified. Actual adoption searches by the Ministry were started in 1986 at which time you could register for a search if the birth relative being sought was not on the register. The wait times for a search have varied considerably over the years. We have first hand knowledge of a 10 year wait time. However, once you were selected your records were opened and the ministry conducted a search. Personal experience with this process revealed that it was a quick and simple process taking less than 1 week to complete.

Under the new act however, if you do not find a "match" on the Adoption Disclosure Registry, the onus will be on the searching party to find the individual they are seeking. The ministry will no longer complete searches. Speaking as an Ontario adoptee who attempted to find a birth parent independently, I can attest to the fact that the searching process without government documents is not always an easy process. There may be an considerable amount of time involved in a search. Organizations such as Parent Finders offered some"laymen" assistance to those searching in terms of providing suggestions etc. When I could no longer afford the search time, I hired an "expert" to assist me at the cost of several hundred dollars.

The barriers that are faced include name changes ( in my case 2), cross country or international moves etc. Therefore, the reality is that without the benefit of the CAS searches, people may face some fairly significant hurdles in terms of time, effort and cost to track down birth relatives. There is also the matter of literacy, and possible language barriers. This may prohibit some people entirely. It may also create a spin off industry of "search experts". D.

Contact Preferences: current policy

According to Service Ontario, A notice of contact preference lets your birth parent know how you want to be contacted. You must file a separate notice of contact preference for each birth parent. In a notice of contact preference, you can say that you’d like to be contacted by e-mail or by telephone, by letter or through a third party.
The only contact information that your birth parent will see is the information you provide on the statement page of the application, so this is where you can make it easier to get in contact with you through providing an address or phone number, and also any information you don’t want the other party to have should not be included in the notice.
Unlike no contact notices, notices of contact preference are not binding and there are no repercussions to not adhering to the preferences. This means that the other party is not legally required to contact you the way you requested. To see examples of the forms and guides available to those wanting to file a notice of contact preference, please see the Service Ontario website at: http://www.gov.on.ca/ont/portal/!ut/p/.cmd/cs/.ce/7_0_A/.s/7_0_252/_s.7_0_A/7_0_252/_l/en?docid=111872.
While the ability to request that contact be made through a third party with a certain amount of notice does allow the mediation and preparation piece to take place, the fact that the preferences are not binding is problematic and does not create an effective solution to the removal of mediation from the reunion process.

L.

What do you get if there is no veto?

If you are an adopted adult, over the age of 18, you will be able to apply for a copy of your original birth registration and your adoption order as of June 1, 2009. This information can be released only if there is no disclosure veto registered by the birth parents. If you apply for it, you will receive your original birth name, show where you were born, and give you the name of your birth parents. Actually many adopted people already know their birth name, and they all would know the city of their birth from their birth certificates. Many also know the first names of their birth parents.

Birth parents will be able to apply for information from the adoption order and from original and substituted birth registrations, as of June 1, 2009, if their child is over the age of 19. Once again, if a disclosure veto was registered before June 1, 2009, the information cannot be released. Birth parents will be given the new adoptive name of the child they placed for adoption and the order would show where the adoption took place. It would not provide the name or the address of the adoptive parents. It would also not provide an address for the adopted person.

H.

Disclosure, Non-identifying Information

Non-identifying information has long been available for anyone who was adopted. This will not change, even if there is a disclosure veto in place. In fact, if there is veto registered, the person registering the veto should have updated the social and medical information so you should be able to get that information in non-identifying form, in addition to historical information without names, addresses or identifying details.

If you are an adult looking for non-identifying information about your own history, you should contact the Children’s Aid Society where your adoption took place. You will be able to obtain the information that was available at the time of your adoption. If your adoption was a Private adoption, you would apply directly to the Ministry for your non-identifying adoption information. The non identifying information includes everything that your birth family shared with the agency or the adoption worker, to be passed on to you. It should give information about how old your birth parents were when you were born, a physical description; and information about their personality, interests, education, type of work and about their relationship. It should give information about why you were placed for adoption. It would tell you if you have any siblings older than yourself and would list younger siblings if they were born before your adoption was finalized. It would usually give some information about your parents, grandparents, and extended family and provide the medical information that was known at the time.

Many people find that it is most helpful to receive the information summarized into one document rather than redacted (photocopied) bits of information because the information is more cohesive and in context for the reader.

In the past 20 to 30 years, most people received all of the non-identifying information that was available at the time of placement. Some people may have lost their information and some people were not given the information by their adoptive families. It is still available. Even if your adoption took place 50 or 75 or more years ago, you can still contact the Society where your adoption took place and they will be happy to share it with you. You will be asked to provide identification to ensure that your information is only released to you.

What if I am looking for information about someone else?

Maybe you are looking for information about your sibling, your deceased parent, or about the adoptive family who adopted your child. The same process is in place. You would make a request to the Agency where the Adoption took place. You, as an adult, would need to provide identification to demonstrate your connection. Once again, Non identifying information would be shared as appropriate.

H.

What do you get when a disclosure veto has been filed?

In the case of a disclosure veto, i f one or more birth parent or adopted adult child has filed a disclosure veto then the release of identifying information relating to the birth parent or child that filed is withheld. When a disclosure veto has been filed, the only information to be released is a copy of the disclosure veto which can include any statement that was filed by the parent or adopted child. This may include birth parents medical history ( see previous post on medical info), or family history as well as reasons for not wanting the identifying information released.


In the case where two birth parents are listed in the birth records, if only one files a disclosure veto there is the possibility that the adopted child may be able to learn about the identity of the "vetoed " parent via the identified birth parent. Of course, the $50,000 fine for contact would likely apply to this situation if an attempt to contact were made. D.

Barriers to vetoing

The process by which either the birth parent or the adoptee can file a disclosure veto is fairly simple. There is a form provided on the Government of Ontario website that can be filled, printed, then mailed, delivered or couriered to the office of the registrar general. There is a toll free phone number provided on the form that an applicant can call for assistance if necessary. There are guides provided on the same web page for adoptees and birth parents as to how to complete the form in case there are questions. These, and the form, are available at; http://www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca/mbs/ssb/forms/ssbforms.nsf/FormDetail?OpenForm&ACT=RDR&TAB=PROFILE&ENV=WWE&NO=007-11318E
A person with a visual disability would need assistance with the application, as would someone with a disability relating to literacy or a person who does not speak English or French well. The forms are available on the website in both official languages. Any of these people can call the toll-free number available on the form for assistance in completing it.
One barrier that could be significant to some applicants is the need for a mailing address at which government correspondence can be received in a timely manner in order for the application to be processed. For applicants who don’t have a local mailbox for a variety of reasons, this could be a problem since they need to file their veto within the specific time frame of the adoptees 19th year. If they are out of the country or are experiencing some level of homelessness this could become a problem for the processing of their application.

L.

violations of the veto

If you do not want the adopted person to contact you, you may file a no contact notice. If the child you gave for adoption violates the notice by trying to contact you, he or she could be fined up to $50,000.
An adopted child can still apply for post-adoption birth information, which includes identifying information, possibly including the child’s name prior to adoption and the name(s) of the birth parent(s).
Post-adoption birth information services include:
· Copies of adoption orders and Ontario birth registrations for adopted adults
· Information from adoption orders and Ontario birth registrations for birth parents
· Disclosure vetoes for adopted adults and birth parents to protect their privacy.
· No contact notices for adopted adults and birth parents who don’t want to be contacted by each other.
· Notices of contact preference for adopted adults and birth parents who know how they want to be contacted.
If the adopted person requests post-adoption birth information (beginning June 1, 2009), your no contact notice will be released with it, and to access it, the adopted person must sign an agreement not to contact you. This signed agreement is binding and subject to the $50,000 fine. Birth parents and adoptees must file a disclosure veto if they do not want the other party to know their name.
http://www.gov.on.ca/

L.

Can disclosure vetoes be overridden?

The AARA appears to contain only 2 exceptions to a disclosure veto. These are: when the veto is filed after the release of information as in the following first 2 points below or after death.

• A dislcosure veto submitted by an adopted person with respect to one or two birth parents does not come into effect with respect to any birth parent to whom the Registrar General has already given information before the match is made.



• A dislosure veto submitted by a birth parent does not come into effect if, before the match is made, the Registrar General has already given the adopted person uncertified copies of the birth documents.



• or... if an adopted person or birth parent who submitted a disclosure veto under this section dies and the disclosure veto is in effect, the disclosure veto ceases to be in effect when the Registrar General has received evidence of the death.

D.

Disclosure Vetoes and medical history

The newly created disclosure veto form ( see below for link) includes a blank area for the filing party to inlcude a brief statement of any information they wish to include about medical history. This section of the form is nothing more than a blank box and it is not a mandatory section to be filled in. Concern about the potential lack of medical detail collected at the time of filing a disclosure veto was raised and recorded in the Committee Transcripts: Standing Committee on Social Policy - April 21, 2008 - Bill 12, Access to Adoption Records Act (Vital Statistics Statute Law Amendment), 2008. Groups such as COAR and parentfinders made recommendations that the disclosure veto form include a comprehensive medical history form that would ask for adequate detail concerning medical history. This was also highlighted by former MPP Marilyn Churley who provided testimony in court about the fact that there are over 2500 identified inheritable diseases which highlights the importance of having your own medical history. Further to this is the fact that medical screening initiatives for a number of these conditions is presently based on a family history ( eg colon cancer screening). The new dislosure veto forms posted on the Service Ontario website do not include any more than a blank space. Further inquiry with the Ministry about whether there is a more detailed form available ( October 24, 2008) confirmed there are no other forms for collecting medical history at this time.

An exception to the above is in the case of what is called a severe medical search. If you are adopted, a descendent of an adopted person or a birth relative of an adopted person and you have a severe mental or physical illness you may be eligible for a severe medical research. A search is conducted where it is likely to significantly increase the liklihood of diagnosing or treating a severe mental or physical illness. Contact is made to the necessary family member to get required information. The information is provided on a voluntary basis and remains non-identifying. Forms for the severe medical search are available at the service ontario website.

The question of medical information/history and what is available to the adoptee raises a ethical issue that is not addressed in the current policy. What rights should the adoptee have in terms of access to current family medical history in light of our modern medical environment and the increasing knowledge about genetically inherited disease susceptibilty.

D.

Disclosure Veto Form available at: http://www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca/mbs/ssb/forms/ssbforms.nsf/FormDetail?OpenForm&ACT=RDR&TAB=PROFILE&ENV=WWE&NO=007-11318E

What if a disclosure veto has been registered?

What if a disclosure veto has been registered?

If a birth parent or adoptee submits a disclosure veto, they will also have the option to voluntarily provide a brief statement explaining why they submitted the disclosure veto and why they want their identity to be protected. They are voluntarily able to give or update non- identifying information about their family and medical history. This is all included on the Adoption Disclosure Veto.

Filing a disclosure veto does not prevent birth relatives from being eligible to apply for a severe medical search.

Sometimes circumstances or feelings change. If you decide that you want to withdraw your disclosure veto that can also be done through http://www.serviceontario.ca/. You may fill out the form again to ask to have the disclosure veto withdrawn.

What circumstances do you see as a good reason to register a Disclosure Veto?

H.

The Disclosure Veto

The Disclosure Veto

The AARA explains that the opportunity to register a Disclosure Veto is available to adopted adults and to birth parents who were involved in adoptions that were finalized before September 1, 2008. If a person chooses to register a disclosure veto, this will prevent the release of any information found in birth registrations and adoption orders that would identify the person who filed the veto.

This veto was put in place for people who feel very strongly that releasing their identity may pose a risk or a threat to them or may cause serious disruption for their lives. Some birth parents may have kept the birth of their child a secret from the rest of their family and they may not be ready to share that information. Some adoptees feel strongly about being happy in their adoptive family and worry about disruption to their lives by including birth family who they do not know. Some people may be aware that there is a troubled history and they may be fearful of having their name released.

It is anticipated that not many people will file a disclosure veto. In fact, other jurisdictions that have opened adoption records have found that although some people feel very strongly about their need or right to file a veto, actually only a small percentage of people file a disclosure veto.

If you want to file a disclosure veto you can do this anytime after September 1, 2008. Applications are available on line through http://www.serviceontario.ca/ or by calling 416-325-8305 or toll free at 1-800-461-2156. This is also the way for the public to access forms, have your questions answered and application updates can be given to you. It can be done anytime but should be done before June 1, 2009, if you do not want to have your information released when the program opens.

A Disclosure Veto will not be available for adoptions finalized after September 1, 2008, but a no contact notice or a contact preference may still be filed. People involved in adoptions after September 1, 2008, understand that their identity cannot be kept private when the child turns 18 if the adoptee asks for it. The adopted name will be released to a birthparent who asks for it after the child turns 19.

Some people may decide that they do not mind if their identity is made known but they do not want to be contacted. If you do not want to be contacted or if you have a preference for how you would like to be contacted you would file a no contact notice or a contact preference notice through http://www.serviceontario.ca/
H.

Removal of the potential to veto: current policy

The current AARA 2007 removes the possibility that an adoptee or a birth parent could veto the disclosure of their identifying and personal information to an applicant if their adoption order was completed after September 1, 2008
A birth parent might want their personal identifying information protected because of
· The adoption taking place as a result of rape or incest
· The adoption having taken place as a result of an inability to care for the child because of a mental or physical illness that they would rather not relive.
· The fact that they have moved on or away from their previous life and would rather not be tracked down or found.
· Having fled an abusive relationship
· The desire to protect their social situation and family from the potentially damaging influence of a person who may or may not be involved in criminal activity or negative social actions.
An adoptee might want their personal identifying information protected because of
· A satisfaction with their current life that they do not want interrupted
· The desire to not resume a relationship with someone who was once abusive
· The belief that upon relinquishing their parental rights, the birth parent relinquished any right to contact or relationship with them
· The desire to protect their own social situation and their families from the potentially damaging influence of a person who may or may not be involved in criminal activity or negative social actions.

None of these reasons go away just because an adoption takes place after September 1, 2008. The notion that birth parents and adoptees should no longer be in need of protection under the law is rooted in a post-colonialist framework that holds that the shame and marginalization that was felt as a result of adoption was a social construction that no longer holds true. While we believe this wholeheartedly, there are reasons for protection that go beyond marginalization and shame. There is still potential for an individual’s physical, mental and emotional safety to be compromised through the unmitigated release of personal information that fails to be addressed by the current policy.

L.

Critical Analysis of the Current Policy

The following posts will be looking at several aspects of the current Access to Adoption Records Act ( AARA) in an attempt to critically analyze the effectiveness of the Act in addressing the needs and rights of those individuals involved in adoption disclosure, namely the adoptee, the birth parent(s) and the adoptive parents. We will be looking at such things as the disclosure veto, the provision or lack thereof of counselling and mediation, access to medical records, age of consent, the search process, contact preferences, and the non-identifying information that is provided under the act when a disclosure veto has been registered.

L.

Overview of Current Policy

Overview of Current Policy
The following information is taken from the Access to Adoption Records Act, 2007, June

On May 14, 2008.The Provincial Government passed New Legislation regarding adoption information disclosure services, the Access to Adoption Records Act (Vital Statistics Statute Law Amendment), 2007, (AARA). It will come into effect in stages. The new Legislation now allows:
· adopted adults to apply for copies of their original birth registrations and adoption orders
· Birth parents to apply for information from their child’s birth registration and adoption orders if the adopted person is 19 years or older. Information that would identify the adoptive parents would be removed
· Adopted adults and birth parents to apply to place a disclosure veto on their file if their adoption was finalized prior to September 1, 2008.

Other previously existing adoption information disclosure services will continue to operate unaffected by the new legislation, including the delivery of non -identifying information upon request to adopted persons or to birth families; searches in the event of severe medical conditions; and the adoption disclosure register.

If the adoptee or the birth parent decides that they do not wish to be contacted, they may choose to register a disclosure veto which would prevent the release of any information on the original birth registration or adoption order that could identify the person who registered the veto. This is available to adopted adults and birth parents involved in adoptions finalized before September 1, 2008.

If no disclosure veto is registered, or if the adoption order was made after September 1, 2008, the adopted person or birth parent may receive identifying information that was previously unavailable officially. Many adoptive persons already have that information, but it is less likely that birth families would have had that information.

If a disclosure veto is registered, the person may still apply for non identifying information just as before. This information may include their date of birth and where they were born. If a birth parent decides to register a veto, they will have the opportunity to voluntarily provide a brief statement to explain why they submitted the disclosure veto and updated information about their family and medical history.

Privacy will be protected by allowing adoptive people and birth parents involved in adoptions before September 1, 2008 to submit a disclosure veto to protect their information if needed. People who had adoptions finalized after September 1, 2008, may chose to place a no contact notice on their file to say that they do not wish to be contacted. They are not promised confidentiality as the people involved in earlier adoptions were. People who adopt a child after September 1, 2008, are aware that their records may be opened upon request.

No contact notices and disclosure vetos are intended to be protective measures and so it is an offense if not obeyed. A violation is subject to a penalty of up to $50,000. If a corporation is guilty of not obeying the veto, they can be fined up to $250,000.

Applications for Disclosure vetos will be available after September 1, 2008.

Applications for Identifying information from birth registrations and adoption orders can be made on or after June 1, 2009. This will give time for those birth parents and adopted adults who do not wish to be contacted to register disclosure vetos, no contact notices or notices of contact preference.

Requests for contact where there is a history of abuse under the Child and Family Services Act are no longer protected as they were under the previous Disclosure Registry. Previous waivers of protection are no longer valid. The new legislation provides no protection to adopted adults who were previously abused by their birth parents because the legislation states that all parties involved are now adults. If they are aware of significant abuse history they may chose to place a disclosure veto or no contact order on their files before June 1, 2009 or immediately upon turning 18 years of age.

H.

The Adoption Triangle

In every adoption there is a triad or triangle. There are 3 groups of people involved, the child, the adoptive parent and the birth parent. As such, there are unique needs and perspectives from each side of the triad to be considered.

• Adopted Child: The needs of the child include parents who provide a stable home environment and who love and support the child. The unique needs of the child may involve assisting the child with identity issues especially through adolescence when these issues may emerge. The voice of the adopted child seems to be the dominant one in terms of adoption rights. The civil rights ideology fits in here as the proponentsof this ideology argue that adopted children have a right to their birth identity. We will focus in on some of this debate as we conduct our critical analysis of the AARA and add futher to the argument of "rights" in our revised policy recommendations.

• Adoptive parent: Need to have an understanding of child development and how adoption may affect their child in terms of bonding and forming attachments. They also need to be equipped to tell their children about their adoption. Adoptive parents have been more of the forgotten group in the triad in terms of rights. The psychology of adoption Ideology proponents would reflect the voice of this group to some extent.

• Birth Parent: Need to understand that they may experience feelings such as grief and sadness, possibly anger or regret around their decision and the fact that they may continue to experience feelings around anniversaries and birthdays. Search rights, identity rights and psychology of adoption ideologies apply to this group. The AARA includes revisions that reflect the birth parent rights to privacy.

D.

For more info see http://www.childsafety.qld.gov.au/

who's involved?

There are essentially three groups of people who are affected by the legislation around domestic adoption disclosure; the agencies (public and private) that facilitate adoption, the provincial Ministry of Children and Youth Services, and the “adoption triangle” – birth mother, adoptee, and the adoptive family. We are going to take a look first at the structural systems involved in adoption.

There are two ways a family can go about adopting a child domestically. Both are regulated and governed by the Provincial Child and Family Services Act (http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/index.html) and through the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, (www.children.gov.on.ca/CS/en/programs/Adoption/default.htm. ) .

Public Adoption
The first option is to go with public domestic adoption, in other words, adopting through a public or government agency such as Family and Children’s services. With public adoption, the welfare of the child is the primary concern, as such, workers are more concerned with finding the right home for the child than the right child for a couple. The basic steps a person needs to take in public domestic adoption are as follows:
· Attend an information session
· Complete police clearance and medical report
· Attend adoption classes
· Complete family and social histories and provide references
· Get adoption practitioner assigned and complete home study
· Have a child placed with you
· Probationary period (follow-up visits from adoption practitioner)
· Submit post-placement report to ministry in charge of adoption
· Receive adoption order from court
(http://www.canadaadopts.com/canada/domestic_private.shtml)

Private Adoption
The second option is to go with a Private Domestic Adoption, not arranged by a public agency. The name “private” does not mean that the adoption is done in secret, rather that it is done through a private agency. In fact, the majority of private adoptions are “open” adoptions, meaning that there is a varying degree of contact between the birth mother and the adoptive child and family.
The process is very similar, the key difference is that in private adoption the wait for a healthy newborn is much shorter and prospective adoptive couples (and birth mothers) have much more control over the process than with public adoption. In a public adoption, the wait for a child can be up to eight years if you are waiting for a healthy newborn. There are many other children (older and/or with special needs) waiting to be adopted, but if you want a healthy newborn, you will wait.
Another key difference is the cost. There is no cost for public adoption with the exception of legal fees, however, the fees for a private adoption can run anywhere from about $10,000-16,000 (or as high as $18,000). The variation depends on how quickly or easily you can find a child, what method you use to do this, and where the child lives. (http://www.canadaadopts.com/canada/domestic_private.shtml). There are several licensed private adoption facilitators in Ontario, for a full list, please see the following websites: http://www.familyhelper.net/ad/iaa.html or http://www.canadaadopts.com/canada/resources_priagencies.shtml

Ministry of Children and Youth Services
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services administers the Child and Family Services Act, under which public and private adoption agencies are licensed and governed and which “regulates the adoption of children who are living in Ontario, as well as children from other provinces or countries whose adoptions are finalized in an Ontario court.” (http://www.gov.on.ca/children/)

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Adoption Disclosure Information Act - 2005

The Adoption Disclosure Information Act (AIDA) - Bill 183, was introduced into the Ontario Legislature on March 29, 2005. The Act was constructed to provide adopted persons and birth parents with a right of access to each others personally identifying information in adoption-related records. Following the bill’s introduction however, there was a fairly significant outcry regarding the controversial issue of the retroactive application of the bill. The Ontario Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian conveyed her concerns about the privacy implications to the Standing Committee on Social Policy. The privacy commission was urging that the bill be amended to give birth parents and the adoptees the right to file a disclosure veto for adoptions that occurred prior to the introduction of the new legislation. The disclosure vetos would allow birth parents and adoptees who did not wish to have their identities revealed to block access to their files. Despite the concerns, the proposed disclosure veto was not adopted by the government and on November 3, 2005, Bill 183 received Royal Assent and became law without the protective veto. The law was to come into effect in 2007. In 2007, four applicants challenged the constitutional validity of AIDA on the basis that it violates section 7 of the charter of Rights and Freedoms. As a result, AIDA was declared unconstitutional. In May 2008, the Ontario legislature passed a new adoption information disclosure law called the Access to Adoption Records Act, 2008. This new law gives adopted adults and birth parents more rights to information and privacy. We will look at this legislation in more detail in our next post.
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making connections

We will be approaching our research for the purposes of this blog from the point of view that the changes that have been instituted in adoption disclosure policy reflect the change from a colonialist position preferring government regulation to an emphasis on self-regulation and autonomy. Adoption records have been closed since 1927 and secrecy surrounded adoption as was considered best at the time. The previous form of the policy emphasized the governments need to “protect” a person from social shame and marginalization. The new policy form recognizes the importance of looking at who speaks for whom and under what conditions, rather than the government making sweeping changes that not all birth families, adoptees, or adoptive families may be comfortable with. There is more of an emphasis on allowing individuals to decide what they need, and an increase in the emphasis on the individual’s ability to account for and speak for themself. This is evidenced by the fact that the individual is now expected to make their choice about vetoing contact on their own when the child turns 18. Our society has long viewed birth mothers needing to place her child up for adoption as a shameful act that should not be acknowledged. It was thought that the pregnancy should be hidden and never spoken about again. The idea that a birth child could come back and contact them later in life was thought to be a scary idea for birth mothers, and it was thought that the government must protect them from that by sealing adoption records. In recent years however, birth mothers have been speaking out and saying that they are not ashamed of having put their children up for adoption and wanted the choice to seek out reunions with their birth children. They no longer wanted the complete protection of the government, and they wanted the ability to autonomously decide whether reuniting was in their best interest or not. This ability to choose does not fail to acknowledge the potential harm there is in providing complete access to private information, rather it asks that that the birth mother and the child have the opportunity to choose for themselves whether they want to take that risk or not, and to place their own conditions on that risk (such as through contact vetoes and preferences).
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ideological issues around adoption disclosure

There are four main ideological stances taken by those advocating within the field of adoption disclosure. These are the civil rights ideology, the psychology of adoption ideology, the search rights ideology and the identity rights ideology.

Civil Rights Ideology:
Proponents of this ideology argue that adult adoptee citizens, as their right to equal treatment under the law, have the right to unconditional access to their original birth certificate and government-held adoption files. They argue for legislation that would create this unconditional access, including unrestricted freedom to contact their birth parent. They argue against contact vetoes and closed adoption files.

Psychology of Adoption Ideology:
Proponents of this ideology argue that adoption creates special relationships that must be protected by the law. They argue that there is potential harm to all of those involved if there is unlimited access to personal government held documents. They advocate for legislation limiting access to these documents such as disclosure vetoes, contact vetoes, adoption registries, etc.

Search Rights Ideology:
This ideology is steeped in the belief that it is the right of adoptees and birthparents to search and be "reunited." Advocates believe it is intrinsic to the well-being of the adoptee and birthparents that they search and be "reunited." Proponents of this framework include Adoption Search professionals, Confidential Intermediaries, and Private Investigators

Identity Rights Ideology:
This ideology originates in the belief that humans have a right to know their biological origins and no organization has the right to deliberately keep this information from them. This argument addresses both the personal information needs of people without the usual documentation and the general need for greater transparency and accountability in adoption practice. Those who work from within this framework serve Aboriginal and Native adoptee groups, black market adoptees, late discovery adoptees (a person who was adopted as an infant or a young child, was not told that they were adopted and who discovers their adoptive status later in life), gamete donor offspring, and adoptees with falsified, incomplete or inaccessible adoption files.


A more complete overview of these ideologies, who works within them, who is served by them and what their activism goals are can be found at: http://www.bastards.org/bq/bq14/trends.html

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theoretical approaches

There are a number of Theories that can be applied to our discussion about Adoption and the revised contact laws.
Feminist Perspective
If the Feminist Perspective is used it would give social, political and all other rights to women, equal to men. The Theory would respect the attainment of rights for women. It objects to paternalistic views of a person’s rights. From a feminist perspective, women are expected to take responsibility for making plans for their child if they are not able to care for the child. Fathers are expected be equally responsible as a parent and to be involved to support the mother. Some fathers escape their responsibility by their own choice or by expecting the woman to take care of the “problem.”
Oppressive Perspective
When the Theory of Oppressive Perspective is used, Oppression is explained as the cause of most social problems. Oppression occurs when a person is blocked from opportunities for self development or is excluded from full participation in society. A person may be assigned second class citizenship not because of individual talent, merit or failure, but because of his or her membership in a particular category of people. (Mullaly, B. 2001, p. 312). Challenges to bringing about change are created by the psychological and interpersonal difficulties associated with oppression. Empowerment is a way to transform an oppressive environment. The experience of adoption and the new Adoption Contact Laws can fit under this perspective. If one looks at the history of adoption, there was a time when it was taboo for a single woman to become pregnant and to care for a child alone, resulting in second class citizenship for those who broke Society standards. Individual suitability to be a good parent was not considered.
Anti-Oppressive Perspective
An Anti- Oppressive Perspective Theory has a political purpose and a goal for social justice. Anti-Oppressive Theory must benefit the local community. Links are made between personal problems and their structural causes to enable oppressed people to change themselves and their social conditions. People may feel the frustration of being denied basic individual rights and so they use collective action to attain these rights. A key concept of anti-oppressive work is ‘empowerment’. Troubles are redefined in social or political terms, thus providing alternative explanations. Using the process of liberation, anti-oppressive theorists confront stereotypes and develop a positive self image. Using the concepts of this theory, anyone may chose to place their child for adoption if they believe that they cannot meet the needs of the child for whatever reason. Single mothers have gained respect in society. Policies and community resources to meet the needs of families and children have been set up. This theory may have contributed to the development of the original Disclosure Registry and of the revised Adoption Contact Laws.
Critical Perspective
The Critical Perspective Theory is used to critique a changing society as a whole. It considers the critique of domination, emancipation, interest, fusion of social/cultural analysis and considers explanation and interpretation with social/cultural critique. This perspective could also be used to review the policy related to adoption and would consider the needs and wishes of all stakeholders and it would consider the wishes of the Society at large separately.
Post Colonial Theory
The Post Colonial Theory focuses on subjectivity, identity, power and knowledge. Post colonial theory enables readers to ask questions about who speaks for whom, under what conditions and to what ends. This Theory would look at the way Society has changed since the time when European culture was predominant in Ontario. Adoption records have been closed since 1927. Secrecy surrounded adoption since this was considered to be the best way to handle adoption at the time according to Colonial thought. Post Colonial Theory recognizes the needs of individuals, some who may be interested in change and some who wish to maintain the status quo. In Post Colonial Theory, it is important to gain knowledge, to look at who speaks for whom and under what conditions, rather than to make sweeping global changes that not all birth families, adoptees, or adoptive families may be comfortable with. Post Colonial Theory would allow individuals to decide what they need, when and if they wish to have contact and what any type of contact would look like.
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Brief History of Adoption in Ontario

Formalized adoption history in this country goes back over 80 years. There has been a slow evolution to the place we are at today. Adoption in Canada was not regulated by the government at all until the 1920’s. Up until this point, adoptions in Canada were arranged privately most often through the churches. The First Adoption Act came into effect in Ontario in 1921. Six years later, in 1927 the Adoption Act was amended to seal adoption records in an effort to protect the privacy of the individuals involved as reflected in the prevailing social norms of the time. In 1954, the Adoption Act was repealed and adoption became regulated under the Child Welfare Act, the precursor to the Child and Family Services Act. In the face of emerging social movements for the civil rights of adopted persons, the Child Welfare Act was amended in 1978 to establish the first passive voluntary disclosure registry. Following closely along came the Adoption Disclosure Register which provided active searches for those wishing contact however both parties were required to agree. It also included veto rights for the adoptive parents that could be enacted by the adoptive parents regardless of the age of the adoptee. In 1980, the Child and Family Services Act replaced the Child Welfare Act. The Ministry of Community and Social Services commissioned the “Disclosure of Adoption Information” report and in 1986, the adoptive parent veto was rescinded, non-identifying information was defined and the provincial registrar was empowered to conduct searches at the request of the adoptee. In 1994, Ontario’s Adoption Disclosure Bill was drafted to include access to birth certificates however; this bill did not pass third reading. Between the years 1998-2003, a total of 7 Bills were introduced into the Ontario legislature but never made it passed second reading. In the face of mounting pressure for adoption reform, Bill 183 , the Adoption Information Disclosure Act was passed in Ontario in 2005. Adoption policy has been a “hot topic” since the introduction of Bill 183 and warrants more in depth review of the events that have transpired since this time. We plan to focus more on these events and we welcome input along the way as we continue to review the way adoption policy has emerged in Ontario.
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Adapted from Ontario Genweb Project: Adoption in Ontario: A Brief History
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canon/research-topic-births-adoption.html

Outline of our goals

We plan to look at the history of adoption disclosure as it evolved to the Access to Adoption Records Act (Vital Statistics Statute Law Amendment), 2007 (AARA) and to examine the changes that were made in this legislation as implemented on May 14, 2008. We will look at ideological issues around adoption disclosure and will look at the ways that theoretical framework can be used to examine the concepts surrounding disclosure and the new contact notices and contact preferences. One lens will be chosen to be the framework for our continuing research into this issue.
We plan to provide an overview of the current policy, and a history of how the amendments came to be. The Systems involved will be explained, including information about which levels of government and which agencies will be participating in the process. We will be most interested in seeing how the recent changes will affect the people involved in the adoption triangle.
As information is shared through this blog, and through your input, we wish to examine what impact this policy will have on adult adoptees, on birth parents and on adoptive families. We will do a critical analysis of the policy to determine what is positive and what we find is not positive. Is there anything that can or should be changed? If so, how would this policy serve people better and how could such hypothetical changes be implemented?
We welcome you to join us as we start to explore all sides of this topic.
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