Reunion Registry

Reunion is a touchy term in adoption. For children placed from birth with an adoptive family, the idea of reuniting with one's birth parents is probably better described as a first meeting. A reunion registry, may then, refer to registries that aim to connect adoptees with birth relatives or siblings from whom they were separated by the government or unethical adoption practices. However, more often than not, a reunion registry is a search registry by another name.

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Searching for a birth relative to answer questions left open post-placement is something about 1,000 adoptees register for every month. A majority of the adoptees searching for birth relatives say it is for medical reasons. However, there may be some curiosity involved and for this reason, when a search is completed successfully the meeting of the birth relative and adoptee may be called a reunion. Reunion registries and search registries may be used synonymously.

The choice to search can be confusing and may yield unexpected results, which is why it's advised that adoptees and birth parents look into support groups before searching. Search groups help with the emotional struggles that may come but, more importantly, connect searchers with those who can best advise on the search process.

Once a searcher understands why he or she has the desire to reunite or meet his or her birth relative or child, he or she can decide which registry best suits his or her needs. Depending on which state the adoption was finalized in, different state registry options may be available. There are many online registries, but those require ample information about the party being searched for, therefore it's good to start with the agency and state adoption record.

There are voluntary, active and passive registries. Voluntary registries allow a member of the adoption triad to create a personal profile that include the subject of their search. From here, it's a matter of reading through the other profiles manually for a match.

Passive registries require two search parties to submit their information and subject in question. If both parties voluntarily submit their information, then they will be contacted by the registry.

Active registries work exactly as they sound: an adoptee or birth relative actively seeks out the other person without an intermediary. There are online search engines for this, but unless ample information is available to the searcher these may end unsuccessfully.