Adoption Disclosure
249 - PARENT FINDERS
519-869-6071
c/o Jean Campbell
3267 Devonshire Lane, Camlachie, ON N0N 1E0
Parent Finders is a search and support group for adoptees and birth relatives. We provide assistance in searching, and support and information for registering and making contact with adoptees, birth parents or siblings in the adoption triangle. We no longer hold regular meetings, but any special meetings scheduled are advertised in advance.
ADOPTION INFORMATION DISCLOSURE ACT 2005
The Ontario government is gradually implementing this legislation which allows more open access to adoption records. When the act is fully implemented (it is anticipated this will occur by the fall of 2007) most adopted adults who are eighteen years of age and older and birth parents will be able to receive identifying information from original birth registrations and adoption orders, subject to certain exemptions. The Office of the Registrar General will not accept applications for identifying information until the Act is fully implemented.
As of January 31, 2007 the Registrar General has been accepting applications to register the following notices: Notice of Waiver of Protection, Notice of Contact Preference and No Contact Notice.
Waiver of Protection Notice
Adult adoptees can file a Waiver of Protection. Under the new legislation (AIDA) before the Registrar General releases the original birth record and adoption order, a search is done to determine whether the birth parent abused the adoptee before the adoption. This process involves the Registrar General checking the adoptee's file to determine whether the adoption was handled by a children's aid society, and if so, requesting the children's aid society to check its file to determine whether abuse took place. To bypass this step, any adult adoptee who was adopted through a children's aid society may now file a Waiver of Protection. This Waiver will be placed on the adoptee's file at the Office of the Registrar General. When a parent applies for identifying information, the Registrar General will see the Waiver and automatically release the information.
Contact Preference Notice
Some adult adoptees and birth parents may prefer to register how they would like to be contacted. Adoptees and birth parents can specify on their Contact Preference form their preferred method of contact. The other party will receive this document along with the identifying information and it may help them decide how to contact you.
No Contact Notice
Individuals who would prefer not to be contacted at all may file a contact veto. In these instances the adult adoptee or birth parent must agree in writing not to contact the person who registered the Notice before he or she can receive identifying information from the Registrar General.
Finding the Forms
The forms and explanatory packages are available online at www.serviceontario.ca. For clarification or more information call the Office of the Registrar General at 1-800-461-2156 or (416) 325-8305, or write PO Box 4600, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6L8.
Editor's Note: As a result of a decision made on September 19, 2007 by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice the legislative provisions allowing for the provision of Post Adoption Birth Information are no longer in effect.
