Michelle Madden is a fellow Baby Scoop era adoptee. She is also a mom, a Reading Specialist who has been working as a Special Education teacher for many years, and a marvelous person. Join us as we talk about the crucial nature of medical histories, and the difficulties of navigating not just one, but two countries bureaucracies in her search for answers. 

Baby Scoop Era: The Baby Scoop Era was a period of time from roughly 1945 to the 1970s. The Baby Scoop Era was characterized by the shaming of unwed mothers into relinquishing their children for adoption. Adoptions were often shrouded in secrecy, and the falsification of birth records was common. 

Grey Market Adoption: this is an adoption that takes place through a lawyer rather than through an agency. They are sometimes facilitated by doctors. They are legal, but ethically questionable.

Clinical Geneticist: a clinical geneticist is a doctor who works with patients dealing with conditions related to a hereditary issue

Adoptee-centric therapist: an adoptee centric therapist is a therapist educated in the issues that confront adopted people. Often, the therapists are adoptees themselves, and uniquely situated to understand the challenges adoptees face.

Illinois adoptee access to records law: In 2011, Illinois amended their laws, allowing adoptees born before 1946full access to their original birth certificates. Adoptees born after that date who are over 21years of age may receive their original birth certificate if their birth parent did not file a veto before November of 2011.

*note: I am new at this podcast business. You will hear me say Oops at the beginning of this broadcast. Do not be alarmed. That was me realizing I had accidentally hit record before I was ready to record. I thought, I will just edit that out later. If only my computer was so agreeable. I am learning as I go along. 🙂