Whether you're looking for a support group where you can meet others who've walked in your shoes...or a place to hang your protest sign, you should find it listed here in this fairly comprehensive list of national and local support groups and grassroots reform organizations. Entities marked with an astrisk* currently hold local meetings on a regular basis; most of the other groups are either out of state or rarely convene outside of cyberspace.

In addition to the listings below, White Oak recently launched Chicago's first in-city adoption support group since the 1980s. If you'd like to join us for one of our upcoming monthly meetings in the Loop, please call 312-666-5721 for additional information.

Adoptee Liberty Movement Association (ALMA)
One of the oldest nationwide adoption organizations in the country. At the time of a 1998 survey of Illinois support groups, none of ALMA's Illinois chapters was still holding regular monthly meetings.
P.O. Box 59345
Chicago, IL 60659
312/409-0273
309/828-2217
 

Adoptees and Birthparents for
Open Records Nationwide
A newer Internet presence which supports an adoptee's right to unfettered access to his or her original birth certificate and birth documents. Web site includes extensive info on adoption laws in all 50 states.
Rt. 4, Box 361
Adrian, MO 64720
877/748-7979, x856
e-mail: Jeep@Aborn.org 
http://aborn.org/ 

*Adoptees, Birth Barents and Adoptive
Parents Together
As their name suggests, this group seeks to reunite all corners of the triad at their monthly Thursday meetings held at the Faith Evangelical Covenant Church in Wheaton. Group facilitator, Jody Moreen, is a reunited adoptee. Jody also periodically publishes the Adoption Blessings Newsletter," a free publication for Christian triad members.
729 Zaininger Avenue
Naperville, IL 60563
630/778-0636
e-mail: adoption@wideopenwest. com

Adoption Crossroads & The Council
for Equal Rights in Adoption (CERA)
NY-based group "dedicated to the Preservation and Reunification of Families "with liberty and justice for all..." CERA's founder, author Joe Soll, has been the engine behind the annual "March on Washington"  for over a decade.
212/988-0110 (Wednesday only)
e-mail: cera@idt.net
www.adoptioncrossroads.org

*Adoption Network Chicago
This continually growing group meets from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Caribou Coffee shop in Schaumburg (SW corner of Roselle and Schaumburg) on the second Wednesday of each month. Inspired by Adoption Network Cleveland, the group's founder is reunited adoptee Michelle Mattes.
847/515-3921
e-mail: adoptnetwork@earthlink.net

Adoption Search and Support Group
638 S. Randolph
Macomb, IL 61455
309/837-9174

*Adoption Triangle
Department of Children and Family Services
200 S. Wyman, Suite 200
Rockford, IL 61101-1232
815/987-7117
www.state.il.us/dcfs/phonenorth.htm

Adoption Triangle
e-mail: AdoptionTriangle@prodigy.net

*Adoption Triangle
c/o Children's Home and Aid Society
1819 S. Neil, Suite D
Champaign, IL 61820
217/359-8815

Adoption Triangle of Joliet
Good source for search assistance in Will County.
512 Oneida Street
Joliet, IL 60435
815/722-4999

*Adoptive Families Today (AFT)
Active adoptive parents' group which offers a wide range of activities and services for adoptive parents both pre- and post-adoption. 
P.O. Box 1726
Barrington, IL 60010
847/382-0858
Fax: 847/382-0831
e-mail: adopadvo@aol.com
www.adoptivefamiliestoday.org

American Adoption Congress (AAC)
Arguably one of the most influential and omni-present adoption reform organizations in the U.S., AAC promotes "honesty, openness and respect for family connections in public policy " through education and advocacy.  AAC members have been actively involved in the passage of open records legislation from Delaware to Colorado, and provided invaluable assistance (both legal and financial) for the court challenges to the 1996 Tennessee open records law and the Oregon Initiative. Their IL State rep, Melisha Mitchell, is also White Oak's Executive Director.
P.O. Box 42730
Washington, D.C. 20015
202/483-3399
773/235-3375
e-mail: icta97@aol.com
www.americanadoptioncongress.org

Americans for Open Records
Like just about everyone else on this list, this national organization supports adoptees' unrestricted access to their birth records.  
http://home.earthlink.net/~accesspress/amfor.html

Bastard Nation (BN)
One of the most media-savvy and outspoken adoption reform groups in the country, BN was instrumental in the victory of the "Oregon Initiative" and played a key role in Alabama's successful open records quest in 2000. Their Illinois rep, Anita Field, is a long-time adoptee rights advocate whose poignant "Letters to the Editor" have often appeared in the columns of The Chicago Tribune's editorial section. BN has gazillions of e-members across the U.S.
www.bastards.org/activism/local/il

Bridge Communication
221 North LaSalle, Suite 1100
Chicago, IL 60601
312/377-2748
Fax: 312/220-0004
e-mail: bridgecom@core.com

Central Illinois Adoptive Families
www.ciafadopt.org/

*Chicago Area Families for Adoption (CAFFA)
Active adoptive parents' group which offers a wide range of activities and services for adoptive parents both pre- and post-adoption. 
1212 Naper Blvd, Suite 119
Naperville, IL 60540-8360
630/585-4680
Fax:  630/839-7580
e-mail: info@caffa.org
www.caffa.org

Child International
For adoptive parents of internationally adopted children.
4121 Crestwood
Northbrook, IL 60062
847/272-2511

*Children Remembered, Inc. (CR)
CR currently has three monthly support groups: one for adult adoptees, one for adult children of divorce and one for pre-adoptive and adoptive families.  CR's facilitators all reportedly have first-hand experience dealing with the issues that are their group's primary focus.
P.O. Box 234
Northbrook, IL 60065
Tel: 847/291-3572
Fax: 847/291-2007
e-mail: mobiuSavant@aol.com

*Concerned United Birthparents, Inc. (CUB)
Established in the mid-70s, this birth parent-focused group serves "those touched by adoption and others who are concerned about adoption issues." Most chapters offer monthly support groups. Bonnie Bis, their long-standing Illinois rep and former President, is a reunited birth mother. Their multi-layered Web site includes a great collection of adoption-related news articles.
P.O. Box 230457
Encinitas, CA 92023
800/822-2777
Fax: 760/929-1879
e-mail: info@CUBirthparents.org
www.cubirthparents.org

e-mail:  ILtreesurgeon@aol.com

phone: 312-666-5721