What information will the counsellor be able to provide me with?

What information will the counsellor be able to provide me with?

Julia Feast (Search and Reunion Consultant) gives expert video advice on: Have adoptive people always been able to access data about their origins?; Will adoptive parents have any information about birth parents?; At what age can I obtain my birth records? and more...

There are two different types of meetings that an adoptive person can have with an adoption worker. If the adoptive person is seeking just the information to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate, then they will have just enough information to enable them to apply for the original birth certificate. But when the adoptive person applies to the adoption agency - the agency that arranged the adoption - then they may get a lot more information. It could be details about why they were adopted, information about their birth, parents - knowing how they look, their heights, all those sorts of things, and in their interest. So that meeting often is a second meeting for many adopted people. It's where they will get a lot more information about their background. However, saying that, not every agency has got a lot of information. Sometimes, if it was a private adoption for example, where an agency hasn't been involved, there could be very limited information.