Closed adoption
Closed Adoption (sometimes called "secret adoption") is the process where an infant is adopted by another family, but the record of the natural (birth) parent(s) is kept sealed. (Often, the natural father was not recorded--even on the original birth certificate.) An adoption of an older child who already knows his or her natural parent(s) cannot be made closed or secret. This formerly was the most traditional and popular type of adoption. It still exists today, but it's use is rapidly declining in favor of open adoption. The sealed records effectively prevent the adoptee and the natural parents from finding each other (especially in the days before the internet.) Only a court order would allow the records to be unsealed. However, this was extremely rare until the early 1990's.
Prior to adoption, oftentimes the infant would be placed in temporary foster care for a few weeks until the adoption was approved. This would also help insure that he or she was healthy, and nothing was overlooked at the time of birth. Nowadays, this practice is discouraged, as it prevents immediate bonding between the mother and child. With the high demand to adopt an infant, there is usually no reason the adoption cannot be initiated prior to birth.
Under the closed adoption procedures, the infant is issued a second, amended birth certificate that states the adopting parents as the actual parents (as if they were the child's biological parents). The hospital may be omitted, especially if it was intended to serve only unwed mothers, such as the Salvation Army hospitals. (Many were named after its founder William Booth). By the end of the 1970's, all of these hospitals in the USA had closed due to high costs and the reduced need for secrecy. It was no longer considered shameful to have a child out of wedlock in America. More and more mothers were either raising their child as a single parent (often with the help of the newly created institution of government welfare), or having an abortion (which was legal everywhere in the USA by 1973).
Closed adoption has been increasingly criticized in recent years as being unfair to both the adoptee and his or her natural parents. The adoptee often had no genetic medical history, which could be important to disease prevention. In other cases, the adoptee's relationship with their adoptive parents had soured, and he or she knew no other family. The natural mother would often think of the child she had given away, but could not contact him or her--even if they had passed the age of majority (usually 18). Only a court order would allow the adoption records to be unsealed. However, this was extremely rare until the early 1990's. Nowadays, there are internet sites and physical registries (by postal mail) designed so adoptees and their natural parents can locate one another at little or no cost. (Many require the adoptee to be at least 18 years old.) Of course, both must have registered in order for there to be a match. When using one of these methods (especially the internet), make certain it is legitimate to avoid identity theft.
Should these types of registries fail, recent laws in many states of the USA have made it possible for one party to contact the other via a confidential intermediary. This person petitions the court to view the sealed adoption records, then conducts a search similar to that of a private investigator. In case the other party indicates that it does not want to be contacted, by law the information would not be given out. In practice, however, this seldom happens and most often the natural mother and the adoptee are very happy to finally know one another. It is uncommon to find both the natural mother and father at the same time, and often a separate search can be done afterwards for the father. Since males seldom change their surname, and the mother might have additional information, it is usually easier than the initial search for the natural mother. In many cases, adoptees are able to do this second search for their natural father by themselves (or at least try, before paying for assistance). The cost for a confidential intermediary and related court fees is somewhat expensive, costing around US$500, but this varies by state and agency. If the adoptee is unable to locate (or would prefer to use a third person) to find his or her natural father, often the same confidential intermediary can be used for an additional fee.