Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Adoption Records Law Now In Effect

Ohio Public Radio

400 thousand adoptees today may begin to take advantage of a state law giving them access to their adoption files and birth certificates. Individuals adopted between January 1, 1964, and September 18, 1996, may request the information from the Ohio Department of Health. Lawmakers put the records off limits in 1964, and made them public again in 1996. But the law was not retroactive for those caught between the two legislative actions. More from Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler.

For most of the 42 years since she was born in Columbus, Wendy Barkett has wondered about her birth parents, and has spent 25 years looking for them. She now lives in Texas, but wanted to be among the first to get her birth records and find out who they are.
“When you don’t know, you don’t know and it’s kinda like this void. And you can make up too many things in your mind and I just want to know the truth.”

Most of the adoptees who made the trip to get their records on the first day they could say they want to know their medical histories. Some want to know if they have siblings or other relatives. Erica Curry VanEe was born in Cincinnati 45 years ago, and is now a consultant and college educator in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She had hired a private investigator to try to find her birth parents before she realized access was closed off.
“I went on and lived my life. I never had any children so for me that biological connection of existence is really kind of the most paramount thing. But at the same time I’ve had to level set my expectations.”

Many came with family members. 47 year old child support caseworker Timothy Komara came from Youngstown, where he was born and adopted and now lives, and brought his two kids.
“They had to be here with me, because they’re a part of me and this is a part of me and it’s a part of them.”

43 year old robotics engineer Todd Hoeffel, who was born in Toledo, came from Columbia City, Indiana, where he lives with the son he adopted.
“I always had a good life growing up and I got the same bond with my son, but it’s different because I can call up his birth mother and say, ‘Hey, Max wants to come see you.’ Whereas me, it’s always been hidden in the background.”

While it’s certainly not the case for all adoptees, many say they have great adoptive family relationships. Mike Thayer’s adoptive parents came from Toledo to meet him and his son, who traveled to Columbus from northern Virginia, where Thayer works for an international development organization. And Thayer says they’ve encouraged him to contact his birth parents, even if he isn’t ready to.
“…and that they must have gone through a very difficult experience deciding whether to give me up and to see that I had done ok in life that might be very good for them.”

45 year old whitewater rafting instructor Joey Ashbridge, who was born in Massillon, is making a documentary about his adoption experience. And he says he wants to find his birth mother – to thank her.
“I did have the greatest mom and dad. (sniffles) I did have the greatest mom and dad ever. And without her giving me up for adoption, I would have never had that chance.”

Betsie Norris heads Adoption Network Cleveland, and has been working for nearly 27 years to see these adoption records opened, saying it’s a civil rights and a social justice issue. She says it’s an emotional decision to get access to the records, and cautions adoptees to seek out support because what may be discovered may not be what was hoped for. And she says she learned something about her family during her fight.
“My father, who was very supportive of my search and very supportive of my legislative efforts came to me and said, ‘I realize that the bill that I initiated in the 1960s was the bill that closed the records to the adoptees.’ Luckily he and I had a great relationship, and I forgave him.”

Norris says her father worked with her to help change the law, because he’d only wanted to close access to the records to the public. But for a half a century, these adoptees – those who are most closely affected by adoption records – haven’t been able to see them. Birth parents of the 400,000 adoptees have had a year to remove their names from the records, Norris says only a few hundred of them did.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.
The Statehouse News Bureau was founded in 1980 to provide educational, comprehensive coverage of legislation, elections, issues and other activities surrounding the Statehouse to Ohio's public radio and television stations. To this day, the Bureau remains the only broadcast outlet dedicated to in-depth coverage of state government news and topics of statewide interest. The Bureau is funded througheTech Ohio, and is managed by ideastream. The reporters at the Bureau follow the concerns of the citizens and voters of Ohio, as well as the actions of the Governor, the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Supreme Court, and other elected officials. We strive to cover statehouse news, government issues, Ohio politics, and concerns of business, culture and the arts with balance and fairness, and work to present diverse voices and points of view from the Statehouse and throughout Ohio. The three award-winning journalists at the bureau have more than 60 combined years of radio and television experience. They can be heard on National Public Radio and are regular contributors to Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace. Every weekday, the Statehouse News Bureau produces in-depth news reports forOhio's public radio stations. Those stories are also available on this website, either on the front page or in our archives. Weekly, the Statehouse News Bureau produces a television show from our studios in the Statehouse. The State of Ohio is an unique blend of news, interviews, talk and analysis, and is broadcast on Ohio's public television stations. The Statehouse News Bureau also produces special programming throughout the year, including the Governor's annual State of the State address to the Ohio General Assembly and a five-part year-end review.
Related Content