Reconnecting

Even people in the best of relationships can lose touch, sometimes…

…and this is sometimes true for some folks with open adoption connections, as well. People move. Phone numbers change. Mail gets lost. There are plenty of reasons that folks fall out of contact, even despite the best of intentions. Abrazo always encourages all of its clients to regularly inform the agency of address changes over the years, so we can help get them back in touch with the people who should matter most, for the sake of their child/ren. (Don’t let us lose you!)

All parents who adopt through Abrazo sign an Entrustment Agreement at placement in which they promise to maintain contact (at the very least, via an annual report with photo/s sent to Abrazo by December 15 every year until the adoptee turns 18.)

The Abrazo staff also does its best to help reconnect adoptive parents who are seeking to revive adoption connections and re-establish continuing contact with their child’s birthfamilies and vice versa, upon request. (The agency does not charge for these efforts, so any donations the agency receives for such assistance goes to Abrazo’s Angel Account to help out others in need.) Minimal charges may occasionally be incurred to the requesting party, however, for deliveries or database searches conducted by a third party or such, as needed.

Abrazo occasionally receives requests from teens previously adopted here, asking for assistance in reuniting them with their birthfamilies. Under Texas state confidentiality laws, adoption agencies cannot facilitate reunions between adoptees and birthfamilies for minors without the adoptive parents’ consent. What this means in plain language is this: if you’re under the age of 21, be sure to ask your parents to share with you the deidentified Birthparent Profile with all the info your birthparents provided the agency before your placement.  Your parents would need to contact Abrazo about reconnecting you with your birthparents if they don’t know how (but we hope they do.)

For adoptees over the age of 21, you can contact the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics to get a noncertified copy of your original birth certificate if you know both your birthparents’ names as listed on that document (use this link.) If you do not know that information, the courts would have to issue an order for you to obtain your OBC, as it was legally-sealed when your adoption was granted. You can submit this form to Abrazo along with a letter to your birthmother, a baby photo and a current photo of you if you wish for our staff to try to help you re-establish contact with your first family, but our ability to successfully do this will depend on whether she/they have stayed in contact with Abrazo, and if they are willing to be in touch now.

The State of Texas maintains a Central Adoption Registry, where adult adoptees born in Texas and birthparents can voluntarily register in hopes of finding each other. For more information on this option, click here. Adult adoptees can also use commercial DNA/genetic sites to try to reconnect with birthfamilies, as well. (Note: these tests are not free, and Abrazo cannot offer endorsements, although these are known to have assisted numerous adoptees in recent years.)