Copy birth certificate georgia

On November 3, 1998, Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 58, which allows Oregon adoptees age 21 and older to have access to their original birth records. These records, which are sealed at adoption, contain names and other identifying information about the adoptee and her/his birth parents. The adoptee is issued a new certificate at adoption that is identical to the original except that it includes information about the adoptive parents and does not contain information on the birth parents. The ballot measure was due to take effect on December 3, 1998, but implementation was delayed for 18 months due to a lawsuit and several court appeals filed by birth mothers. On May 31, 2000, the Oregon State Supreme Court rejected the appeals, and on June 2, 2000, the Oregon Health Division began sending original birth records to adoptees. By that day, 2,516 requests had accumulated. By October 1, 2000, 2,250 new requests were received. Requests for pre-adoption birth records ranged 15 to 20 per day.

Oregon was the first state to pass a citizen-initiated ballot measure allowing adult adoptees to have access to their pre-adoption birth records. Adoption statutes, which are state laws, were initially enacted in the mid-1800s with no provisions for confidentiality; originally, birth certificates were available to adoptees on demand. Early in the 20th century, laws were passed to make adoption records closed so that the privacy of birth parents and the adoptive family would be protected. (1,2) In the 1920s, legislation was passed to restrict adoption records to those involved in an adoption and their attorneys, and in the 1930s statues were enacted to require original birth records and adoption records be sealed. The records could only be opened upon a judicial finding of "good cause." A practice began of issuing new birth certificates at adoption with the adoptive parents' information entered on them.

Over time, the practice of sealing pre-adoption birth records was called into question, and in the 1970s adoptees began to challenge lawmakers regarding access to their records. They claimed constitutional rights to these records, including access to information and equal protection. (3) Arguments to keep the records sealed came primarily from birth parents, who argued that a right to privacy under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protected their anonymity. Fairly late in the debate, access to family medical histories became an issue as well. (4)

At present, only a handful of states allow access to birth records without the consent of the birth parents; other states allow for "veto power" of an adoptee's request by the birth parents. Since the passage of Measure 58 in Oregon, Alabama passed a similar measure for adults aged 18 or older. (5) Missouri (6) and Georgia (7) have similar legislation in committee or subcommittee, and bills submitted in Arkansas, Connecticut, and Texas have either been defeated or are pending. (8) State or local public health departments, which are responsible for birth records, have absorbed much of the brunt of these legislative changes, but little is known about how they are affected. Indeed, we know of no other assessment of the impact on a public health department in terms of costs to the state, adequacy of resources available to the department, or the processes used to meet the needs of adoptees.

We evaluated the impact of Measure 58 on the vital records section of the Oregon Health Division (now renamed Oregon Health Services). Our study describes the procedures used by vital records section personnel in responding to requests for pre-adoption birth records, and we estimate the resources used to fill the adoptees' requests. Their experience provides an important example of the effect of policy changes on the previously routine administration of vital records and the organization of sealed files, particularly in an environment of emotional concern from adoptees and birth mothers and of legislative uncertainty.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Individual interviews were conducted with vital records supervisors and staff. Supervisors were asked how Measure 58 affected their work and their staff's work in the vital records section. They were asked about the extent of preparation, reorganization, and implementation of staffing and material resources during and after the implementation of Measure 58. Staff were asked how Measure 58 affected daily duties, and if there were any specific challenges to their work environment. Assessments were made to describe procedures and personnel resources used, physical space needed, and other resources required to process requests for birth certificate records. The processing of telephone, mail, fax, and in-person requests was observed. Written policies regarding procedures and website information were also obtained and evaluated.

Description of terms

The legal birth certificate is the standard birth certificate that is filed for all births in Oregon. For adoptees, this certificate contains information about the adoptive parents and is not their first birth certificate. This document can be used to establish identity. It is linked to a sealed pre-adoption birth record (the first birth certificate) through a sealed file number.

The pre-adoption birth record is an adoptee's original birth certificate, which is sealed and archived once adoption takes place. This record contains identifying information about an adoptee's birth parents. Before the implementation of Measure 58, this record was accessible only by court order. It is now accessible to adoptees age 21 years or older who request it. This document cannot be used for identification purposes.

Sealed files are sequentially numbered envelopes that contain official documents opened only by court order. The files include not only pre-adoption birth certificates and adoption decrees, but also other legal amendments such as corrections to birth certificates, paternity determinations, and name changes. They are linked to legal birth certificates with the certificate numbers.

Assessment of procedures for storage of legal birth certificates vs. pre-adoption birth records

Legal birth certificates are stored in computer files or on microfilm at the vital records section and are easily accessed by authorized personnel. Requests, which take 2-3 minutes to fill, are processed soon after receipt. In contrast, pre-adoption birth records are not stored at the vital records section, and are archived elsewhere in the state. These files are held in 160 boxes filled since 1957, with 500 sealed files in each box. They are stored in a large warehouse with many other archived documents. Thus, obtaining rapid access can be a problem. In addition, sometimes it is not easy for staff to locate the file of interest, even though the sealed files are indexed by the file date. For example, if a child was adopted twice, thus causing the file to be amended, the amendment may be placed in the original sealed file, or a new file number may have been created and the file relocated under it.

Assessment of procedure for processing public requests for sealed files that include pre-adoption birth records

Adoptees age [greater than or equal to] 21 years or their legal representatives can request a pre-adoption birth record by contacting Oregon Health Services by mail, telephone, fax, or in person. Requests must include their legal birth certificate, full legal name, date and place of birth, adoptive mother's maiden name, and adoptive father's name. A payment of $15 is required, the same as for a request for a legal birth certificate (as mandated by the law).

After the request is submitted and payment has been made, the legal birth certificate is pulled. Staff members send requests for the corresponding sealed files to the off-site archives in batches of approximately 75. Once the sealed file is located, it is sent to the vital records section, where the pre-adoption birth record is verified by matching the sealed file numbers and a series of variables (which include birth date, birth county, and birth attendant's name). The pre-adoption birth record is then photocopied and certified with a notarized seal. The copy is sent to the adoptee or legal representative by mail. Filled requests are logged each day into a computerized file with the date of request, name of the requestor, and the date on which the copy of the record was mailed.

Challenges in the processing of requests for pre-adoption records