If you are an adoptee born in Missouri, access to a copy of your original birth certificate will now be available to you! As of January 2, 2018, a new law in Missouri will allow those 18 and older access to a copy of their original birth certificate without the need for a court order. To help celebrate this milestone event, G’s Adoption Registry is having a special event to kick off the new law.
Their event is called Breaking the Seal. It will begin in the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City on New Year’s Eve, followed by a host of presenters who will be speaking and performing beginning at 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day January 1, 2018. The evening of January 1, Representative Phillips will open with a few songs, followed by Brian Stanton, a Missouri adoptee of California who has written a play entitled “Blank” about requesting a copy of his original birth certificate.
Keynote speakers will be Adam Pertman of the National Center on Adoption and Permanency and State Representative Don Phillips of Stone County, Missouri who sponsored the bill to “break the seal” on the records, and is an adoptee himself.
A representative of Family Tree DNA will be in attendance to educate attendees about Y-DNA (paternal DNA), and how it can help with the search when a name is not listed. Local “search angel” who helps Missouri adoptees and conference organizer, Heather Dodd will give a presentation on Autosomal DNA. Other presenters at the event will be Stephanie Wyatt who will talk about G’s Adoption Registry entitled “Search and Reunion.” Gary Schaefer started this registry on behalf of his now deceased wife, who was an adoptee. Also speaking will be two birth mothers who relinquished their babies for adoption: Sharon Fieker Cummins and Jeanette Mooney. In addition, speaker Keith Sciarillo will talk about his experience as a late-discovery adoptee. Keith grew up thinking he was Italian, only to realize that he was actually of Filipino descent.
The following day, January 2, 2018, attendees will be meeting at the Capitol Plaza Hotel to receive a copy of their original birth certificates.
For those who would like more information, please contact Heather Dodd at heather@gsadoptionregistry.com or 660-833-5880.
Adam Pertman, one of the keynote speakers of the event wrote a book “Adoption Nation,” in which he talks about being a adoptive father on a personal level. He also explained how adoption is a national issue. You can find other books about adoption in our catalog.
Look for more events this coming spring from the Daniel Boone Regional Library on adoption.
Image credit: Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 via Alpha Stock Images
