ALBERTA OPENS RECORDS, MAKES ADOPTION REUNIONS EASIER(July 26, 2004) Alberta is opening its adoption records, the third province to do so, after British Columbia and Newfoundland. New legislation -- the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act -- makes it easier for adopted children and their birth parents to search for biological family members, and then arrange a reunion if they wish. Starting Nov. 1, 2004, adult adoptees (18 or older) and birth parents in Alberta can get identifying information about each other, like name, address and date of birth -- vital details which until now have been kept secret in government files. (This applies to adoptions which happened in Alberta before Jan. 1, 2005.) The government may also release non-identifying information such as physical descriptions and family medical history. However, adult adoptees and birth parents who want to preserve their privacy can block release of their identifying information by filing a disclosure veto with Alberta's Post Adoption Registry. The government will not release identifying information if a veto is filed before it gets a request for information. A veto may be cancelled at any time, and is no longer in effect when the person who filed the veto dies. Even if a veto is on file, adult adoptees and birthparents will continue to receive non-identifying information in the adoption record, as they have in the past. If you are an adult adoptee or a birth parent, and the adoption happened in Alberta, you have until Nov. 1 to sign a veto to prevent release of your identifying information. Adoptees who are turning 18 have six months from their 18th birthday to file a veto. Birth parents will not be given information about a biological child until six months after the adoptee's 18th birthday, to allow the adoptee time to file a veto. For more information, and the forms, see http://www.gov.ab.ca/adoptionrecords. Call 310-4455 toll-free in Alberta. Outside Alberta, call 1-866-825-4455. All adoptions granted in Alberta after Jan. 1, 2005 will have open records -- identifying information cannot be protected by a veto, but contact preferences may be filed. Preferences are not legally binding. The ministry stated that the legislation on accessing adoption records tried to strike a balance between Albertans' need for privacy, and their need to get their personal information. Only two other provinces have opened their adoption records: British Columbia in 1996 and Newfoundland and Labrador in 2004. Progressive jurisdictions around the world (e.g. Australia, Finland, England and Scotland) have made open access to adoption records the standard practice. ACC OBJECTS TO ALBERTA'S BILL 24 On May 15, 2003 the Adoption Council of Canada (ACC) objected to Bill 24, the Child Welfare Amendment Act 2003, http://www.childwelfareact.gov.ab.ca. (It came into force on March 30, 2004.) ACC wrote to Alberta's Minister of Children's Services to try to get an amendment to Bill 24 changed to remove a provision which would deny some adopted adults knowledge of their adoption. The amendment affects adults who were never told they were adopted. Under certain circumstances it would prevent them from learning the identity of their birthparents, or from finding out that they were adopted.ACC Chair Sandra Scarth stressed that one mission of ACC is to promote openness and honesty in adoption, and one of its goals is to achieve open access to adoption records across Canada. ACC could not support a provision to withhold knowledge of an adoption from the person adopted. She wrote that the amendment allows adoptive parents to deny their adopted adult son or daughter access to information which is "their birthright". In no other Canadian jurisdiction do adoptive parents have the right to veto their adult child's access to information. And no biological parents have such power over their adult children. For background, see:
ALBERTA RELEASES ADOPTION STATISTICS Alberta Children's Services gave these statistics in its news release of June 7, 2004:
In addition the ministry posted at its web site the adoption statistics for the period April 1, 2003 - March 31, 2004. Placements of children in government care have increased by 30% over the previous fiscal year.
For more, see: " Adoption Statistics", http://www.child.gov.ab.ca/whatwedo/adoption/page.cfm?pg=Adoption%20statistics. Source: Adoption Council of Canada, www.adoption.ca Copyright 2004 Adoption Council of Canada. Reproduction permitted, if credited "Source: Adoption Council of Canada, www.adoption.ca". Please make a request to reprint, so we can track where ACC news items are used. Send your request to acc@adoption.ca. |
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