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Services to Birth Parents
Updating and Background Information Birth parents who placed children through Catholic Charities frequently contact Catholic Charities just to learn about the family that the child was placed with, or to ask if the child has ever contacted the agency to inquire about his or her birth parents, or sometimes just to leave a current address or name change so that, if their children contact us, they can be easily found. We are happy to get those calls, for it can mean that hours of searching can be avoided. We encourage birth parents to phone, write or e-mail to update their files, even if they are not yet ready for reunion. Our counselors will be glad to send information on the Nebraska statute, articles on reunion, or just to explain the process on the phone. Very often, after years of blocking out thoughts and emotions around the birth and placement of their children, birth parents can be uncertain of the actual date of birth, date of relinquishment, etc. We are glad to review our record to refresh memories in these cases. Often our files contain very little medical history. If a birth parent was in her teens or early twenties when the adoption took place, she may not have known significant family medical history, and often our records contain no information on the birth father's history. We encourage all birth parents to contact us, if only to update important medical and genetic history, which may be extremely important to the adoptee and his/her children. Our staff will be glad to get the information by phone, letter or e-mail. We have a medical questionairre which we will mail to birth parents upon request. Search and Reunion If you are interested in contact with the child that you placed for adoption, our staff will attempt to locate the adoptee, and explore the issue with him or her. Your counselor will act as an intermediary, and it is common for birth parents and adoptees to correspond by mail through us for a time before actually meeting. Our staff will inform the adoptee of Nebraska law, and will supply the Request for Access to Birth Information form, which the over-25 adoptee can file with the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Lincoln. We provide birth parents with Bureau consents as well, and when both are on file in the Bureau, that office releases the birth parent's name and address to the adoptee. If your birth child is under the age of 25 years, we can proceed only if we have a signed consent from the adoptive parents. Occasionally, our adoptees decline contact. If this occurs, we do not continue to call or write to them, but we make certain they know how to reach us if they should decide to pursue contact. Sibling Reunions We find that children born to birth parents after the adoption took place frequently have an interest in finding their siblings. Nebraska statutes allow for sibling reunion through the filing of consents with the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Lincoln, Nebraska. We will act as intermediaries for siblings, and can provide them with the consent form to send to the Bureau. If you have other children, we recommend that you look at our page on Sibling Reunion. What Does This Cost? The fee for a full search for birth relatives, including a posting on our adoption registry, is $400.00. This fee applies whether or not the search results in a reunion. Often many hours go into locating birth relatives, and acting as intermediaries. If the flat fee of $400.00 is prorated per hour it often turns out to be very nominal. Ways of Contacting Catholic Charities We can be reached by telephone at 402-554-0520. When you speak to the receptionist, ask to be referred to a Children's Services counselor (Sue Malloy, Wendy Spetman, or Grace Sundermeier). If you wish to send your request over the Internet, click here. If you prefer to send a regular letter, please direct it to Sue Malloy, Wendy Spetman, or Grace Sundermeier at: Catholic Charities |