F.A.R.R. 1317 Winewood Blvd Bldg. 6, Room 100 Tallahassee, FL 32399 **SEND FOR YOUR INFORMATION TODAY! You never know when this window of opportunity may be closing. The cost for registering is $35.00 TIP: Fee will be waived if need can be shown. Be prepared to show proof of welfare, social security, food stamps, or similar forms.
This is a passive voluntary mutual consent registry, run by the state of Florida Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS), in accordance with state adoption law. (Section382.027 Florida Statutes) "Passive mutual consent" means that they will not actively search for your birth family, or give out information to anyone other than those people that you have specified. By law, they are not allowed to release any identifying information to you, or about you, to other parties, without your consent. They will contact you only if a match has been verified through the Office of Vital Statistics. Both the Birth Parent and the adoptee must be registered for a match to be made.
Do not hold your breath hoping that a match will be made through the use of this registry. They have a very poor record for reunions. It appears that those working at the registry have begun to take a different stance on adoption reunion and have become more involved as of late. They are particularly sympathetic to the adoptees. In spite of whatever personal sympathies they may have, their actions are still constrained by state law. The last statistics show that the chance of a reunion happening through this registry is still less than 5%.
It is still recommended that you register with FARR, not so much with a hope of reunion (though that is a possibility), but rather in order to get information on your adoption, or to verify the information you have on the child that you relinquished. Quite simply, FARR may hold pieces to the puzzle that you can not get elsewhere. In addition, you will need to register anyway if you and your birth family want them to verify that you are a match, if you should find each other through other means. You might as well do it now, on the off chance that they will already have your birth family registered. The wait for this information after filing can be as long as 3 months. TO REGISTER WITH FARR Who is eligible:
Registrations WILL NOT be processed unless they are filed on an official form. To request an application phone: 850-488-8000 Registration fee is $35.00 and must be included at the time of registration. Check or money orders ONLY. If you cannot afford this fee write a statement to that effect on a separate piece of paper and submit it along with the form. Explain your circumstances, include any proof of eligibility for public assistance (such as food stamps, unemployment or SSI benefits) and specifically request a waiver of the fee.The form they will send you is pretty self explanatory. Fill in the information that you know to be fact. It is not necessary to write "unknown" in the blanks on the form when you do not know the response. Adoptees should write "self" in the space for "relationship to adoptee", and should enter the DOB that they know or celebrate. (This is not the time to say because FL can change DOB's mine should be listed as 1/00/74.) TIP:If you are a birth parent and do not know the exact DOB, try submitting the form according to your closest guess. If you receive mail telling you the information cannot be found, re- submit it with a different DOB. Continue this process until your file is located. No information will be released to anyone not listed on the form. Make sure you fill out in full anyone who you wish information to be shared with. List these individuals according to the relationship to the adoptee (i.e. adoptive mother, birth mother, sibling etc.) If you do not wish to be notified personally of a match, you can elect to have an agent, agency, attorney, intermediary, family member, or friend receive this information for you. (This section is particularly helpful to adoptees still living at home who do not wish their adoptive family to know of their search, and birth parents who do not wish to take phone calls of this nature in front of family or friends.) Name the individual in the proper section of the form and send a notarized "Power of Attorney" along with your application. You will be required to send along a copy of identification (such as your drivers license, picture ID, or a notarized proof of ID) when you submit the form. When possible adoptees should also enclose a copy of their birth certificate as this will significantly reduce processing time. Please do not send the orginals of ANY of the documents that you send to FARR. TIP: When making copies of your ID to send to FARR run off about 1/2 dozen more as you will probably need them when contacting other agencies and offices.
TIP:Double check the envelope to make sure you have included the ID, your check for $35.00 (as stated above)your form (with signature & date), and all other requested documentation before sending your information to FARR. Your application will be returned if it does not contain those items. Why waste your time on unnecessary delays. Mail your form to: Florida Dept. of Children & Families Counseling: There is a section on the form that asks if you need a counselor. Fill this out ONLY if you feel you need a counselor and do not know who to contact. There is no free counseling services available through the state, and none directly associated with the Florida Adoption Reunion Registry. Registry staff at FARR will attempt to refer you to help in your area if you are unable to find it on your own. TIP:Do not mark this box "Yes" unless you have tried other avenues first. If you feel you need counseling before reunion see if you can find it first through others in the adoption community. There are many online support forums available, and those in the adoption community may be able to refer you to counselors in your area through personal experience. Also if you investigate adoption related reading material you may find that your fears and or questions are answered so that you no longer feel the need to seek often times expensive counseling. If none of the above helps, by all means seek out a professional using resources from FARR if necessary. Changes, updates and corrections: Any registered individual may change, update or withdraw consent at any time after registration. If you need to change your telephone number or address after registration you can write to the registry and inform them of these changes. There is no fee. To change other information including revoking or restricting consent the individual must complete an Application To Update form. This form can be obtained from FARR by calling:850-488-8000. The fee to change information is $10.00. SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR YOUR TRIAD POSITION OR CIRCUMSTANCES For Adoptees: Florida law gives adoptees and their parents more right to non-identifying information than it does to the birth parents but you must specifically request that information. FARR is now asking that all such requests be done in writing.
Florida Dept Of Children & Families TIP: Include your e-mail address when requesting non-id. This information could reduce your wait on mail time. Non-identifying information that you MAY receive from FARR includes:
Non-identifying information is available for Florida adoptions only. If you were adopted out of state consult Vital Statistics for information on finalization, and then familiarize yourself with state laws for your particular location to see if non-identifying information is available through the state in which the adoption occurred. If the adoption was complicated or any state agencies such as DCF/HRS were involved in it, chances are good that FARR will have some sort of information available about the birth family and/or the circumstances surrounding the adoption. Most adoption agencies do not file non-id with the state, so in those cases non-identifying information is rarely received from FARR, unless some type of in home study was conducted by the state. Please do not assume that there is no non-id available until you have written to FARR. The state does not have any micro-filmed records for adoptions occurring after 1979. Information is still available but please allow more time for this information to be obtained from the county of record. (This wait could NOW be as long as 6 months) **If you are an adoptee that needs to know which agency/attorney handled your adoption: Call Josette Marquess at 850-922-6234 (Direct Line). Helen Tanos Hope adoptions: Adoptees may request non-id from Josette Marquess at FARR by writing to the above address. She still does not have actual possession of these records and must obtain copies of them from the county, so the wait may be as long as 3 months while she waits for other agencies to respond. Helen Tanos Hope adoptees adopted 1968 thru December 1993 who believe they have the name of their Birth Mother may write to Josette at the above address for verification. If the name matches the name of record she can verify it, but she cannot tell you who the Birth Mother is if that name does not match, or if you write requesting information on your Birth Mother's name.
Adoptees that were born in Florida and adopted elsewhere (such as NY) can now petition the court of DUVAL COUNTY to have their records opened. Individuals must be prepared to show documents that verify a valid (and urgent) medical need for the information contained in their adoption file. For Birth Parents: FARR is no longer giving Birth Parents ANY information. Birth parents can and should still register with FARR to be included in the state run registry. Birth Fathers can register with FARR, ONLY if they are named on the original birth certificate or some other document. To confirm a possible match: Adoptees are the ONLY party who can confirm whether or not a family member is a match. To confirm information through FARR send a notarized letter from yourself, both birth parents and both adoptive parents (or death certificates of parties if applicable). In your letter state that you are wishing to confirm that named people are your birth parents. Send all letters in the same envelope to FARR at the "Post Adoption Services" address given above. You should allow about a month to 6 weeks for confirmation. For more information, contact:The Florida Adoption Reunion Registry-HRS Children & Families Program Office (using the address at the top of this page). FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ADOPTION IN FLORIDA PLEASE WRITE OR CALL TOLL FREE: Adoption Information Center |
Out of state adoptions:|
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