Providing Adoptive Parents With Information About Adoptees and Their Birth Families

Series Title:  State Statutes
Author(s):  Child Welfare Information Gateway
Year Published:  2020
Current Through:  August 2020

To access the statutes for a specific State or territory, visit the State Statutes Search.

This publication summarizes State laws regarding the types of information that adoptive parents are provided about the background of the child they are hoping to adopt. The information generally relates to medical and genetic history, family and social background, and mental health history of the child and the child's birth family. For the adopted child or youth, it also may include placement history and any history of abuse or neglect. Exceptions for stepparent and relative adoptions also are discussed. This publication presents a general overview of this aspect of child welfare law. Summaries of laws on this topic for all individual States and U.S. territories are available from the Statutes Search page.

Suggested Citation: Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2020). Providing adoptive parents with information about adoptees and their birth families. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau.

This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by Child Welfare Information Gateway. While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway.

We also recommend the following Information Gateway publications:

Suggested Citation: Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2020). Providing adoptive parents with information about adoptees and their birth families. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau.

This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by Child Welfare Information Gateway. While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway.