| Home | Reunions | Library | Links | Newsletter | Shop | Photos | Contact Us |
OPERATION
IDENTITY |
|
||
| Operation
Identity does not offer active search assistance; rather, as a group,
we provide a safe place for people to discuss the issues surrounding the
search-and-reunion process. (We also provide referals to other groups or
individuals with the appropriate experience or expertise in cases where a
member was adopted in a state other than New Mexico, or was adopted from
a country other than the United States.)
New Mexico, like the majority of states, seals the records after an adoption has been finalized; nor does New Mexico offer a state-sponsored adoption registry. However, the New Mexico Legistlature has modified the Adoption statute to allow an adult adoptee, a birth parent of a child that is 18 years or older, or a sibling of a person 18 years or older, among others, to petition the court to have the adoption file opened and reviewed by a court-appointed intermediary. You can pursue the process yourself, or one of our members with paralegal experience can assist in submitting the petition for you (for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses), or you may retain an attorney to file the petion on your behalf (which will likely cost more, as an attorney will require payment for time as well as expenses). We have been successful in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, so we generally recommend that petitions to open an adoption file be filed in that venue.
Procedure for Opening an
Adoption If you would like us to pursue this procedure for you, you must write a letter stating your desire to petition the Court to open your adoption file. The following facts must be contained in the letter: (1) Your adoptive name. If you are a birth parent, your child’s name at birth, if you are a sibling, your sibling’s name at birth; (2) The date and place of birth (city/state); (3) Your adoptive parents’ names. (The parents will not be contacted if you are an adult, but an adoptee’s file is archived under the adoptive parents’ name. It is also cross-referenced under the birth mother’s name. So, if you are a birth parent or sibling, let the attorney know what name was used at the time of birth. Records are not archived under alias names.); (4) The county in which the adoption was finalized, if you know. (It is probably the County where the adoptive parents lived at the time of the adoption.); and (5) A statement that the Intermediary System has been explained to you. Send this information, plus $275.00 (covers the cost of filing of the Petition with the Court, postage, and other costs associated with opening the file--including travel to and from Albuquerque to Santa Fe for the purpose of filing court documents) to:
Ann House Ann will file the petitioning on your behalf; however, because she is not an attorney, you will have to sign it as if you were filing it yourself. There is a paragraph in the petition that clearly indicates you understand that no information contained in the file will be given to you, but will be given only to a Court-appointed Intermediary. After the Court issues the Order to have the file opened, the Order will be sent to the Children, Youth and Families Department's Adoptive Services Division, which will obtain the file and forward it to Ann. Upon receipt of the file, Ann will send the case to your Court-appointed Intermediary to be reviewed and prepared for search. When the Intermediary contacts you to inform you they are ready to begin the search, they will be requesting three items from you: (1) A picture of yourself and your family, if you wish; (2) A letter to the person you are searching for, telling them a little bit about yourself and why you want to be in touch with them, using only non identifying information; and (3) $150.00 that is authorized by the Court for the expenses that are incurred while doing the search. Please note: Ann House may also be assigned as the Court-appointed Intermediary. The intermediary fee is not included in the initial cost to to petition the court. Upon receiving these items, your Intermediary will begin to work on completing your case as quickly as possible. Some cases are completed very quickly and some take longer than others. Once your Intermediary has located the person, they will attempt to contact them and inform them of your wishes. If, after three attempts, the person does not choose to sign the consent to contact form which is needed to release any information or initiate a reunion, the Intermediary must then send the file back to the State and the case will be closed. If the person you are searching for is deceased, then your Intermediary will attempt to obtain a Death Certificate to prove to the Court that your relative is deceased. At that time, the Court usually allows the Intermediary to release your file to you. Currently, we have about a 98% success rate of finding the person we are searching for. Going into this you must consider that the person you are searching for may choose not to have contact with you at this time. It is not a personal rejection, because you cannot reject something you don’t know; but you can reject a very unpleasant time in your life that you have tried to put behind you. It doesn’t happen often, but you need to consider refusal is a possibility. When the located person signs the Consent to Contact form, your Intermediary will make the necessary arrangements to put you in contact with your relative. Also, they will help you in any way possible to prepare for this soon-to-be emotional reunion. If you still have questions concerning the process, please feel free to call Ann House at 505-873-1719 or to contact her via e-mail.
|
|||
