NB 1068
Dec. 14, 2000
FREDERICTON (CNB) - The provincial government has made it easier for birth parents and birth brothers or sisters to search for adult children who were placed for adoption in New Brunswick, Family and Community Services Minister Percy Mockler announced today.
"For many years, government has given adult adoptees the option to search for their birth relatives through the Post Adoption Disclosure Register, " Mockler said. "In turn, this new service gives birth relatives such as the birth mother the ability to search for their adult children who were placed for adoption in New Brunswick."
The Post Adoption Disclosure Register, established in 1981, allows adult adoptees and birth relatives to be matched, if both are registered. Adult adoptees have been able to search for birth relatives since 1989. The service now gives birth relatives the ability to search for adult children who were placed for adoption in New Brunswick.
This new service will help birth mothers, many of whom have searched for their children for years, find out what became of their children. The overwhelming majority of reunions between adult adoptees and birth relatives have been positive.
Government will continue to maintain a high standard of confidentiality, requiring the written consent of both parties before direct contact is arranged. No additional resources are required to provide this new and improved service.
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MEDIA CONTACTS: Mary McIntosh, communications, Family and Community Services, 506-444-3684 or Hugues Beaulieu, communications, Family and Community Services, 506-444-4558.
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