Laureen Pitman is a Baby Scoop Era adoptee, born and raised in the closed state of California. Laureen is the author of the memoir The Lies that Bind. She is active in the adoptee community, writing for her blog adoptionmytruth.com, participating in roundtables like The Red Couch Rebuttal, contributing to the anthology The Adoptee Survival Guide, and in other projects. 

Mentioned in the podcast:

California Adoptee Access laws: adopteerightslaw.com   Adoption Records (ca.gov) Please be aware that each county may have slightly different procedures and forms available for adoptees. California is a sealed state. 

Waiver of Confidentiality: California requires adoptees and family members to file a waiver giving permission for contact to be included in the adoptees file. If the adoptee and a family member have both filed a waiver saying Yes, they agree to contact, the state is supposed to pass on the contact information. 

Non-Identifying information: California adoptees can contact the county where their adoption took place or go through the Adoption Records portal listed above to request their redacted information. 

Private Investigator: adoptees sometimes resort to hiring a private investigator to assist with searching for family members. This can be quite expensive. Always remember to check to see if the person is licensed, reputable investigator. You can go to bsis.ca.gov to check license status. 

Ghost family/Kingdom: first coined by Betty Jean Lipton, this refers to the fantasy family created by adoptees as stand-ins for the family we have been separated from

CUB, Concerned United Birthparents: a support group for parents and adoptees. concernedunitedbirthparents.org

Commercial DNA companies: there are a number of commercial DNA companies that are useful for adoptees. They have DNA tests as well as subscription services for their databases. The largest company is Ancestry.com. 23andme.com is popular for medical information as well as matches. other companies include My Heritage, Gedmatch, and  Familytreedna  

Search assistance: on Facebook, there are the DNA Detectives, the Search Squad, the Search Co-op. There are others, but these are the three I am familiar with. A search angel provides assistance for FREE. 

Because there is a lot going on in the community right now with the SCOTUS announcement and conflation of adoption with abortion, and because this is going out on Mother's day, I am including the contact information for mental health hotlines. It is important that we be kind to ourselves and give ourselves permission to seek help when we need it. 

National Mental Health Hotline | 866-903-3787

Mental health support: get help - Canada.ca

Mental Health Helpline for Urgent Help - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Helplines - Immediate confidential free support | Mental Health Commission (mhc.wa.gov.au)

Finding an adoptee competent therapist can be challenging. One source I have found is Growbeyondwords.com. I suggest asking specific questions to determine if a therapist is trauma competent. You can find support from the online adoptee community as well. Check out my earlier blog posts for lists of podcasts, and blogs.