Pennsylvania Act 101 and Other Adoption Intermediary Horror Stories – The Case for Unfettered Adoptee Access to Original Birth Certificates Without Government Interference
One of the most satisfying parts of my work is helping adoptees who have been emotionally abused and traumatized by overbearing government intrusion into their personal and private lives by forcing them to go through court-appointed search agents/intermediaries to get information about their pre-adoption history and to search for and contact families. In PA, we have Act 101, which was passed by the legislature in 2010 in a knee-jerk reaction to increasingly determined adoptee demands to restore access to original birth certificates (OBCs), the same as they had prior to 1985. There are a few other states that have these forced intermediary programs—most notably Maryland, Arizona and Michigan—and their rates of positive conclusions are abysmal, the same as Pennsylvania, about 50% according to written reports and legislative testimony. Needless to say, Act 101 has done nothing to quell the demands for Adoptee Rights—justice, equality and respect for adopted citizens, the same as enjoyed by PA-born people who were not adopted. In fact, the indignation over these intermediary programs is growing daily.
Here in PA, several counties have contracted out these “post-adoption intermediary services” to Catholic Charities (CC), which charges the adoptee up to $500 per search, and has absolute authority and discretion (even superseding a judge’s order) as to what they will do and whether and how much information will be given to the adoptee at the end of the search. This means that ALL post-adoption services, regardless of whether the adoption was handled by Catholic Charities or even if the parties are or ever were Catholic, are handled by an agency under the direct control and supervision of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. Can I hear a chorus of “Separation of Church and State, Conflict of Interest, Abuse of Power, Exploitation and Manipulation of Tax-Paying Adult Citizens!”? Amen!
Carol’s Bungled Search
This was the case with Carol. Born in Clinton County in 1978 and adopted to Centre County two years later, Carol dutifully went through the Centre County Court to ask for her non-identifying information (especially family health history) from the adoption file and the County CYS office and to initiate a search for her mother. The search aspect was referred to CC-Altoona. Thus began an almost year-long bureaucratic nightmare of stone-walling, non-communication, rudeness, and disrespectful dismissal of Carol’s needs and concerns (including serious medical conditions with her and her children). The CYS worker (who, incidentally, had known Carol and her adoptive family for many years) lied straight to her face, telling her “all the records have been destroyed, and I can’t tell you anything.” The CC-Altoona agent who conducted the search actually sent a letter to the WRONG woman (a much-younger cousin who had the same name as Carol’s mother), questioned this lady about her knowledge of the mother’s personal life and history, then called the 79-year-old mother at the nursing home where she is a resident to ask her—over the phone, mind you—about very detailed, private things. Are you as incensed as I am yet? Just wait, there’s more!
