For what reasons are the records of a child in foster care sealed once they are adopted?

Question

Is it to protect the "system"???

Answer 1

I do believe it is to protect the foster parents and the child but I always thought that they were open to them.  Let me check further and I will get back to you with answer from Texas.

Answer 2

If they were sealed to protect the child from the "abusive" bio parents, then they'd be sealed when the bio parents' rights were terminated.  However, that's not the case; they are ONLY sealed when an adoption takes place.  

This is done to make the "new family" complete.  As stated before, it's an antiquated system in which the child's past is hidden away in order to maintain the integrity of the new adoptive family.  It has nothing to do with protection.

Answer 3

to protect the foster parents and the child, and in some cases to protes the natural parents

Answer 4

I was a foster child, adopted at 3 by my foster parents. The court records relating to my foster care were not sealed.  

My original birth certificate and adoption records are, however, unavailable to me (sealed).

ETA: I'm also a CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocate, working as a volunteer with a child in foster care. CASA's receive training prior to being sworn in by a judge. I work with the court system in California.  Records are not "sealed" while the child is in foster care.  

Records are not "sealed" even upon the termination of parental rights. Sadly, some children are not adopted & remain in foster care until they "age out" or turn 18.  They will have access to their records.  

Those children who are adopted with amended birth certificates & adoption records "sealed" will not have access to the "sealed" records when they turn 18.  Why?  

"Because that's the way we've always done it!"  Makes sense, doesn't it?  {{sarcasm}}

Laurie, Lillie & Heather hit the nail on the head.

"Sealed records" don't protect adopted kids from their biological parents. Especially once they become adults.  If that were the case, kids in foster care would be at risk of harm from their parents, since their records aren't sealed.

Good question Possum.  My adoption records & OBC were probably sealed b/c that's just what happens with every adoption regardless of whether it's processed through a private agency or government entity (like DFCS, CWS, etc.).  

I'll add that in my understanding, foster adoption does not benefit the adoption industry or private adoption agencies.  It is more challenging to find permanent homes for children in foster care, thus it's likely not the $$ maker that infant adoption or international adoption is.

ETA: to LJ & others who think they know everything about everything, my mother did not abuse or neglect me. She did not use drugs or alcohol, & was not a criminal. I was taken from her b/c she wasn't making much $$ & having a hard time financially paying for my daycare & medical expenses. There was no aide to families in the 60's, & children were taken from their parents for minor reasons.  I know what happened and what DID NOT happen b/c I have copies of the court records.  Thankfully, today it's not as easy to remove a child from her parent(s).

Answer 5

It has nothing to do with the system. It has everything to do with protecting the child and biological family from information that could be harmful.  Children that are removed from their families for reasons involving drugs, violence, abuse, parents in jail etc... and the parents rights have been terminated ...

You have to ask yourself, would you want that kind of person knowing where the child was after they were adopted? Probably not. This is why they seal records.

Answer 6

To protect the system.

Somewhere along the line, some adoptive parents that wanted to pretend that their adoptive children were their bio children - wanted to make sure that all information of the adoption and of the child's bio family was sealed forever - thus ensuring that the lie could NEVER be found out. (why else would records by closed for LIFE)

These adoptive parents - along with the money making adoption agencies formed the NCFA (National Council For Adoption) - a huge & well funded lobby group - and they still are one of the strongest opponents of 'open records' to this day.

It's certainly not to protect the bio family and/or the adoptee - as records are only sealed upon finalisation of adoption - not on relinquishment.

Thankfully - today - there are many adoptive parents that think this is ludicrous - but sadly not enough.

The NCFA has worked hard to maintain the status quo - including much money pumped into advertising campaigns to make sealed records appear to be a privacy issue for 'birth' parents - but it's not - that's false - they are essentially lying.

It's to protect them & the agencies.

ETA: So Robin - if this is true - that your court records are not sealed - then I can only think that sealed adoption records are to protect the adoptive parents & the adoption process/agencies then?!?!

Answer 7

Sealed records laws are remnants from our past, from a time when the stigma and shame of illegitimacy were rife.  The laws are outdated and the USA is the only country who still enforces them, thus the stigma lives on.

They were never intended to protect the birthmother, quite the opposite in fact

Answer 8

My guess is to protect the parent who can't care for the child and also to protect the child.

Answer 9

Many times the foster care children were removed from the home for abuse or neglect.  In these cases, even if rights were "terminated volunteerily" the biological parent is not stable enough to be an influence in the child's life.  The state seals the adoption record to prevent the potential for the biological parent to find the child and his/her new family and harass them.  

You may be thinking this is unfair to all the biological mothers and fathers who clean up their act and want some sort of relationship in the future with children they lost.  However, the truth is that getting off drugs and/or alcohol and anger management issues are life long struggles, and it is unfair to the adoptive parents to have to worry about waking up one night to an angry person banging on the door demanding "his/her" kid back.  It is also unfair to the child to have to see and/or experience such things, espescially if the child wants to put the past behind them.  Some adoptees cling to their histories, but some truly just want to assimilate into their new famiies.  The foster care system is designed to protect kids.  It's not perfect, we all know that, but if closing the files protects even 1 in 100 kids from a potentially vindictive biological parent, then it's worth it.

Answer 10

Well, it's obvious it has nothing to do with protecting the child or the natural parents, since the records remain open unless an adoption takes places and finalizes.

Records didn't always seal when an adoption took place.  But, people didn't like "just anyone" being able to find out that their child was adopted.  So, records began sealing from the general public, but remained open to both sets of parents and the adopted person.  After a time, records began sealing from other parties, as well, since people feared natural parents coming back for the child or blackmailing the adoptive parents by saying they would "tell the neighbors"  (so to speak) that the child was adopted.  So, records began sealing from the natural parents.   By the end of WW2, records were sealing from all parties, as adoptive parents wanted the option of not telling their child s/he was adopted, but not having to worry that they might find out via their birth record.  The wanted it to truly appear to everyone, including their child, that the child was born to them.  Bastardy and infertility were great stigmas to carry.  Infertility was a sign in the eyes of many that God was holding back his blessing, so an infertile person must be a "bad" person.  b******s, of course, were thought to possibly come from "bad blood."

Then, there are "system" issues.  People like Georgia Tann who actually kidnapped children in order to have her wealthy and celebrity clients adopt them had to cover their tracks somehow.  Some organizations literally changed data on amended birth certificates such place of birth and a date of birth, even by as much as a year.  There really were those (and still are some) who felt (feel) the need to hide their legal "indiscretions."

So, here we are.

Answer 11

Two reasons

One to protect the child from the abusive parent that they were taken from

Two it is just like anyother adoption in the US where records are sealed

Answer 12

I am not sure but I think it is to protect the parents as if they were not to want their info handed out. That is what I found to be the case.