LA Adoption Search & Reunion Tips




Here are a few basics for getting started with your search... 1. Write for the non-identifying information. (Click to learn more about this) Adoption Services P. O. Box 3318 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-3318 Sample letter for adoptees Sample letter for birthparents Adoptees are entitled to this information by law. Birth-families and birth-siblings are entitled some information as well. The "Non-ID" can be helpful to birth-mothers, birth-fathers and birth-siblings searching to confirm the date of birth, maternity home, hospital and other important search information. Note: Protestant Home for Babies triad members must request the Non-ID from the state. If you are searching for somebody from another agency and the agency is still in operation, try requesting the Non-ID for the adoption from there first. Here is some information for some maternity homes in LA, mostly New Orleans. 2. Register with the official state of Louisiana Adoption Registry! The Louisiana Adoption Registry is a registry established by the Department of Social Services to facilitate voluntary contact between adult adoptees, their birth parents and/or siblings. Please note that the registry used to require one hour of counseling before registering, this is no longer the case. "There is also a counseling requirement that must be met prior to voluntary release of any identifying information, but this is not required in order to register." 3. Register with the International Soundex Reunion Registry It is the world's largest reunion registry! ISRR is a mutual consent reunion registry for persons desiring a reunion with next-of-kin. This agency serves the needs of family members who have been separated from each other by adoption, divorce, foster care institutional care, abandonment, etc. Our registration services are free and ISRR is supported entirely by contributions received directly from people we serve. Contact ISRR: By Computer: International Soundex Reunion Registry By Mail: ISRR, P.O. Box 2312 Carson City, NV 89702 By Phone: (775) 882-7755 4. Register with some online adoption registries. It happens and it's heart breaking! A match is made, BUT the e-mail address listed no longer works. The poster hasn't left a name or any kind contact information behind. I see people on adoption.com asking, would the person looking for so and so please contact me. A sad situation indeed. When posting and registering your information be sure to Make a decent subject line with all pertinent information! Everybody can't read every post, so narrow it down for them with a good subject line. Example "Female adoptee ISO Birth-family, New Orleans, 2/15/66" Keep your e-mail address! Or update all the places you have registered with your new e-mail address. Take notes! If you have an alternate e-mail consider posting this. E-mail addresses come and go! Register with the Louisiana Adoption Registry and state in your post that you are registered with the Louisiana Adoption Registry. Or with the International Soundex Reunion Registry and state that you are registered with the ISRR! This will help in the case of the "old" email address. Do NOT divulge the entire contents of your "Non-Identifying" information online! The city, state, date of birth, maternity home, and sex of the adoptee is plenty to facilitate necessary contact between potential matches! It is helpful to keep parts of your Non-ID a secret in case you come across someone on the Internet that could be a birth-relative. This information can be used to compare notes and to weed out imposters!! Adoption.com - Largest online registry Registry http://registry.adoption.com/ LA Forum http://forums.adoption.com/louisiana-adoption-records/ Louisiana Adoption Database http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&groupid=219060&ck= Adoptee Connect - Orleans Parish Adoption Registry http://www.adopteeconnect.com/p/a/101119/ Adoptee Connect - Louisiana Adoption Registry http://www.adopteeconnect.com/p/a/1019//aq G's Louisiana Adoption Registry http://www.gsadoptionregistry.com/ 5. Contact Adoptees' Birthrights Committee in Louisiana . ABC is a private, volunteer driven, charitable organization providing non-profit search and support assistance in Louisiana. Excellent resources and wonderful people at two locations! ABC can still help you if you are out-of-state, send them an email. DO IT!!! 6. Join some online Louisiana Adoption Yahoo! groups Click to join protestanthomeforbabies This is my group, there are quite a few members but can be very quiet! This group is for all adoptees, moms and families touched by The Protestant Home for Babies in New Orleans, Louisiana. Click to join Louisiana-Adoption-Advocates Very chatty group with general search and support as well! To work as concerned professionals with the members of Congress, the Louisiana Legislature and the general public to improve adoption laws and issues affecting the residents of this state. This is to be accomplished through: A. Working together as a goal oriented, unified group; B. Educating our U.S. congressmen, Louisiana legislators, adoption agencies, social workers and adoption triad members on how we can work together to improve our laws; C. Informing and updating the general public about issues currently on our agenda that affect all members of the adoption community; D. continually sharing knowledge regarding adoption issues with the members of our own group; By successfully accomplishing the above, we can better serve the needs of Louisiana's adoption community. Click to join Adoptees-Birthrights-Committee ABC (Adoptees' Birthrights Committee) is a voluntary search and support group with two chapters in Louisiana, New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Feel free to post your search information here, sign up for ABC's search and support group and discuss adoption issues. We welcome all members of the adoption community. Note: Many of the same people belong to all three of these groups! Things to do for fun... 1. Read Margaret, Friend of Orphans. by Mary L. Widmer I picked this book up on my walking tour of the Garden District. It makes reference to the Protestant home for Babies. This book can be found at Amazon.com "Margaret Haughery, Irish immigrant to New Orleans, lost everyone she ever loved, but she dedicated her whole life to the service of others. From humble beginnings she grew into an astute business woman/entrepreneur and philanthropist who established four orphanages, several homes for the elderly, and at her death gave the bulk of her estate, over $600,000, to New Orleans' orphanages. She was well known throughout the city for her charity and compassion and creative resourcefulness to provide for the city's needy children. This docunovel has dialogue added to enliven the text." 5. Take a walking tour of the Garden District in New Orleans. Several groups offer guided walking tours, cinsider taking a walking tour of the Garden District! http://www.neworleansonline.com/ http://www.neworleanscvb.com/ Be sure to visit 1233 Eighth Street, the address of Protestant Home for Babies, when visiting the Garden District, the original sign is still there.