NORCAP and Social Services

[soosie]

As someone who was adopted in 1956, I went through Social Services for counselling, and NORCAP for support and making the actual contact with my birth family.

I would strongly advise anyone involved with the subject of adoption as either an adoptee, adoptive family or birth family to contact them - I'm sure their details will be easily found on the web.

I would not advise anyone to do it on their own - as we can see from many of the posts here, and also from numerous newspaper or magazine articles or TV programmes, it's a very emotive topic, which can either enhance or destroy people's lives if approached wrongly.

Sue

[uksearch]

I am not sure if this site has been posted before, if so mea culpa, but it is one that I have found very useful in the past.

www.
adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk/default.htm


UK

[hallsworth47]

please can some one explain the position about adoption ie searching for relatives etc before the 1970s a act re adoption that took place in the 40s

[soosie]

Dear hallsworth47
I am no expert on this subject, just someone who was adopted happily back in 1956.

As far as I know, anyone who was adopted prior to the law changing in 1975, should go through Social Services, as the birth parents were told that they couldn't be traced by the child, and the 1975 law changed that, so that the likes of me could trace them!
I went to my local (where I was living at the time) (Bournemouth) Social Services, was counselled very sensibly on what if (your mother is a princess / prostitute /murderer etc and anything else in between) they wrote letters, accessed records and were very helpful and supportive. They gave me my birth name and the address my birth parents were at when I was adopted. I then (20 years later) went through NORCAP and BMD registers, to obtain certificates. NORCAP appointed an intermediary who wrote to my birth mother, who then contacted me through the intermediary initially, until we felt able to write directly, then phone, exchanged photos, and eventually met.
I also contacted an Adoption Register, where you can register your interest on Part 1, and if your birth mother or anyone else Registers on Part 2, the 2 bits are put together.

The law has changed again more recently, and access is more open again.

I suggest you have a look on the web - I don't know any particular sites to suggest, but suggest you look at NORCAP.

Good luck - if I can help any further, let me know
Regards
Sue

[Janet Howell]

Yes I went through Social Services as well in 1989 re my adoption in 1942. Very helpful people and well worth doing as although my mother died in 1981 my elder half sister was still alive(alas no longer) and it was fantastic meeting her.
Janet

[dreward]

I have recently returned from Dorset where I was staying with a cousin. His wife asked me if I could help her with a family problem, her deceased father.

This person is known to have been born in May 1925 in London and was adopted in October 1925. The adopting (deceased) parents are known and also lived in Dorset most of their lives. The person concerned first heard of his adoption when he was 18(1943) from his school who had queried his birth date, reason for this not known.

The father would not tell his children the name of his birth mother which he had apparently found out, following the glitch in birth dates and more or less forbade them to ever do any research. However my cousin's wife, now in her late 50s, is now loaded with queries, not so much about the whys and wherefores, but by the fact that she has no "past" and wants to try and break down any artificial barrier that will allow her to know where she came from.

Apart from "Soosie's" reply above , which must be good starting point, I would appreciate it if anyone could offer further hints how my cousin's wife can trace her past.

Dave