Dr. Diana Edwards, local mental health therapist and educator, recently attended the 37th Annual American Adoption Congress International Conference in Denver, Colorado. She has been active in adoption reform and in support groups for many years and her private practice includes foster and adoptive families, as well as parents who have surrendered a child to adoption.

Colorado is now the 13th state in which adopted persons have regained the right to have access to their original birth certificates. Although adoption records were originally open, most states began sealing adoption records and issuing new birth certificates to adoptive parents in the decades between 1920 and 1950.

New Mexico has not yet opened access to original birth certificates, although AAC and other reform and support groups recognize the importance to individuals and families of knowing the circumstances of relinquishment, their origins, history, ethnicity, and first family. In some cases, knowing one's medical history can be a matter of life and death; in closed states, this essential information is denied to adopted persons. A request from physicians for medical history must be answered, "adopted, unknown."

The American Adoption Congress (AAC), founded in 1978, is made up of adopted persons, parents who have relinquished a child to adoption, adoptive parents, professionals who work in adoption, and others whose lives have been impacted by adoption and foster care. AAC has been an important source of information and support, and has been active in adoption reform. AAC is a volunteer network of individuals, organizations, and support groups "committed to promoting truth in adoption" and respect for all family connections, whether by birth or adoption.

One of the many useful workshops and sessions at the 37th conference included a panel discussion by the team members who were instrumental in passing the Colorado bill for access to original birth certificates. This bill not only allows adult adoptees access, but also provides access to siblings and parents by birth and adoption.

There were sessions tailored to the interests of all members of the triad (adopted persons, adoptive parents, and birth parents) as well as social workers, therapists, and others.

International adoptions were highlighted by stories from adopted persons born in India, Korea, and post-war Germany. They spoke of additional adoption issues, such as isolation and alienation'always being aware of being different from their adoptive families and often from their schoolmates. As one Korean adoptee phrased it, "I was raised to be white, but never allowed to be white." He said it is "a narrative burden" to be adopted into a transracial and cross-cultural family. Those who are different are "asked to explain themselves." Telling their stories and journeying to the land of their origin was important to them.

Of particular interest to adoptive parents were sessions on strengthening attachment, finding adoption competent therapists, or hearing about the long-term experiences of open adoption, in which adoptive parents keep in contact with birth parents and share some aspects of parenting.

Birth mothers or first mothers, as some parents prefer, had more voice at this conference than in previous years and it was eye-opening for some attendees to hear several generations of mothers who had surrendered, disclose the conditions and often the coercion that accompanied their decision to relinquish. In what has now become known as the "baby scoop era" most unmarried mothers had little choice but to allow their newborns to be placed for adoption.

For families separated by closed adoption, there were sessions on ethical search methods, how to open international adoptions, and how DNA tests have expanded the tools available for finding relatives.

There was also an emphasis on creativity: films, memoirs, and artwork by those who have been affected by adoption. Knowing more about the experiences, emotions, and perspectives of others in the adoption "triad" helps all of us to be respectful and understanding of each other.

For those who would like more information about AAC, they have a website and you may also contact Dr. Edwards, dsedwards43@gmail.com.