HOW DOES THE NEW LAW IMPACT BIRTH PARENTS...???

BIRTH PARENTS OF ADOPTED PERSONS BORN PRIOR TO JANUARY 1, 1946

If you are the birth parent of an adopted person who was born prior to January 1, 1946, the new law does not give you any new options or privileges. As was previously the case, if you wish to share medical background information, pictures or letters with a birth son or birth daughter who was surrendered for adoption, you may do so by signing up with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange. In addition, beginning January 1, 2011, the new Birth Parent Preference Form (click here to see a pre-publication version of the new form) will allow you to provide your birth son or birth daughter with non-medical background information (height, weight, hair color, religion, hobbies, profession, talents, etc.) through the state Registry as well as indicate your wishes regarding contact.

BIRTH PARENTS OF ADOPTED PERSONS BORN AFTER JANUARY 1, 1946

BIRTH PARENTS SEEKING ANONYMITY FROM THEIR SURRENDERED SON OR DAUGHTER

If you are the birth parent of an adopted person who was born after January 1, 1946, the new law allows you to request that 
your first name, last name and/or last known address be deleted from all copies of the original birth certificate released to an 
adult adopted person or his or her surviving relatives during your lifetime (all birth parent requests for anonymity expire when the birth parent dies). To obtain this "information veto" the birth parent must:

1. Sign up with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange. (Click here to download the forms you'll need to sign up with the state Registry.) All registrants have the option of either paying a $15 registration fee or completing a short questionnaire on genetically-transmitted diseases (the $15 registration fee is waived for anyone who completes the medical questionnaire).

2. Complete a "Denial of Information Exchange" form and have it notarized, if filing a request for anonymity prior to 1/1/2011. Requests for for anonymity filed after January 1, 2011, must be made using the new Birth Parent Prefernce Form (click here to 
see a pre-publication version of this form; actual form will not be available until late 2010) which also must be notarized.

Birth parent requests for anonymity may be filed at any time; however, birth parents who wish to ensure that their name is not released to an adult adopted person born after 1/1/1946 must submit a "Denial of Information Exchange" or "Birth Parent Preference Form" to the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange prior to November 15, 2011.

BIRTH PARENTS WHO WOULD WELCOME CONTACT WITH THEIR SURRENDERED SON OR DAUGHTER

Birth parents who would welcome contact with an adult adopted person are encouraged to sign up with the Illinois Adoption 
Registry and Medical Information Exchange and file either an "Information Exchange Authorization" (before 1/1/2011) or a "Birth Parent Preference Form" (any time after 1/1/2011). Birth parents who wish to ensure that updated identifying information and their wishes regarding contact are forwarded to an adult adoptee requesting a copy of his or her original birth certificate should register with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange prior to November 15, 2011, when the state of Illinois will begin releasing obc's to post-1946 adoptees. However, under the new law, birth parents are NO LONGER required to sign up with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange to ensure that their identifying information is included on the copy of the obc provided to an adult adopted person.