By Jennifer Mauro | Associate Editor
With less than two months left before adoption records, including the names of birth parents, become public upon request, the New Jersey Catholic Conference is continuing its awareness campaign to inform anyone involved in the adoption process of law changes coming in 2017.
Starting Jan. 1, 2017, adoptees will be able to obtain their original birth records from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services without a court order. Those records will include the names of the birth parents, which up to this point, had been redacted if so desired by the biological parents.
Gov. Chris Christie signed the records change into law in 2014. Since then, the New Jersey Catholic Conference, Catholic Charities and diocesan Respect Life offices throughout the state have embarked on outreach campaigns to inform birth parents who wish to maintain their privacy.
The NJCC has asked for bulletin inserts to be distributed to parishes explaining that birth parents wishing to protect their privacy must submit a Redaction Request Form to the state by Dec. 31. If the biological parents fail to file the form, their identity will be revealed to the adoptee upon request.
The form can be obtained by calling 866-649-8726, ext. 582, or downloaded at http://nj.gov/health/forms/reg-36c.pdf. The NJCC has also been operating an informational helpline for the past year. It can be reached at 609-989-4809.
In addition, Jim King, NJCC Office of Social Concerns director, has been a guest on Relevant Radio’s “Morning Air” in which he discusses the adoption law changes.
“This is a law that affects numerous groups of people – you have birth parents who will be affected, adoptees that are affected and their relatives. It really branches out to all various segments of society, families, not just individuals,” King says in the interview.
In addition, King discusses how the Church has been working to inform people across the state of the law change “because Catholic Charities agencies throughout New Jersey for 100 years had helped facilitate adoptions and helped place children into loving homes.”
For decades, the Catholic Church has helped facilitate adoptions and has supported reunions between adoptees and birth parents – always under mutual consent. The Catholic Church has also always supported adoptees having full access to their birth parents medical, cultural and social history information.
King, who’s been working with birth parents around the state since the legislation passed, reiterated the importance of protecting parents’ privacy, if so desired.
“Some people went through traumatic events in those pregnancies, and they still chose life,” he said. “We want to support them.”