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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: http://www.isrr.net
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=
G's Louisiana Adoption Registry
http://www.aci.net/schaefer/page81.html
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."
Check out more books!
2. Take a walking tour of the Garden
District in New Orleans.
Several groups offer guided walking tours
Garden District Walking Tours
New Orleans Tours
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.
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