|
Sealed Birth Records
Sealed birth records refers to the practice of sealing the original birth certificate upon adoption or legitimation, often making a copy of the record unavailable except by court order. Upon finalization of the adoption, the original birth certificate is sealed and replaced with an amended birth certificate declaring the adoptee to be the child of his or her adoptive parents, "as if" born to them. Many states, provinces and countries adopted this practice in the early to mid-20th century with the aim of protecting the adopted person from the shame of an illegitimate birth. Sealed or closed birth records are generally associated with closed adoption. Open records is generally referred to as the practice of opening original birth records to adult adoptees, and should not be confused with open adoption, which can occur with or without sealed records, depending on the laws of the state or province in which it is carried out. Many nations have granted adult adoptees unrestricted access t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birth Certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth. Depending on the jurisdiction, a record of birth might or might not contain verification of the event by such as a midwife or doctor. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17, an integral part of the 2030 Agenda, has a target to increase the timely availability of data regarding age, gender, race, ethnicity, and other relevant characteristics which documents like a birth certificate has the capacity to provide. History and contemporary times The documentation of births is a practice widely held throughout human civilization. The original purpose of vital statistics was for tax purposes and for the determination of available military manpower. In England, births were initially registered with chu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents. Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction. Historically, some societies have enacted specific laws governing adoption, while others used less formal means (notably contracts that specified inheritance rights and parental responsibility (access and custody), parental responsibilities without an accompanying transfer of filiation). Modern systems of adoption, arising in the 20th century, tend to be governed by comprehensive statutes and regulations. History Antiquity ;Adoption for the well-born While the modern form o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legitimation
Legitimation or legitimisation is the act of providing legitimacy. Legitimation in the social sciences refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and values within a given society. It is the process of making something acceptable and normative to a group or audience. Legitimate power is the right to exercise control over others by virtue of the authority of one's superior organization position or status. Power and influence For example, the legitimation of power can be understood using Max Weber's traditional bases of power. In a bureaucracy, people gain legitimate use of power by their positions in which it is widely agreed that the specified person hold authority. There is no inherent right to wield power. For example, a president can exercise power and authority because the position is fully legitimated by society as a whole. In another example, if an individual attempts to convince others that something is "ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adoptee
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents. Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction. Historically, some societies have enacted specific laws governing adoption, while others used less formal means (notably contracts that specified inheritance rights and parental responsibility (access and custody), parental responsibilities without an accompanying transfer of filiation). Modern systems of adoption, arising in the 20th century, tend to be governed by comprehensive statutes and regulations. History Antiquity ;Adoption for the well-born While the modern form o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illegitimate
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''bastardy'', has been the status of a child born outside marriage, such a child being known as a bastard, a love child, a natural child, or illegitimate. In Scots law, the terms natural son and natural daughter bear the same implications. The importance of legitimacy has decreased substantially in Western countries since the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the declining influence of conservative Christian churches in family and social life. Births outside marriage now represent a large majority in many countries of Western Europe and the Americas, as well as in many former European colonies. In many Western-influenced cultures, stigma based on parents' marital status, and use of the word ''bastard'', are now widely considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Closed Adoption
Closed adoption (also called "confidential" adoption and sometimes "secret" adoption) is a process by which an infant is adopted by another family, and the record of the biological parent(s) is kept sealed. Often, the biological father is not recorded—even on the original birth certificate. An adoption of an older child who already knows his or her biological parent(s) cannot be made closed or secret. This used to be the most traditional and popular type of adoption, peaking in the decades of the post-World War II Baby Scoop Era. It still exists today, but it exists alongside the practice of open adoption. The sealed records effectively prevent the adoptee and the biological parents from finding, or even knowing anything about each other (especially in the days before the Internet). However, the emergence of non-profit organizations and private companies to assist individuals with their sealed records has been effective in helping people who want to connect with biological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secrets & Lies (film)
''Secrets & Lies'' is a 1996 drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh. Led by an ensemble cast consisting of many Leigh regulars, it stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Hortense, a well-educated black middle-class London optometrist, who was adopted as a baby and has chosen to trace her family history – and discovers that her birth mother, Cynthia, played by Brenda Blethyn, is a working-class white woman with a dysfunctional family. Claire Rushbrook co-stars as Cynthia's other daughter Roxanne, while Timothy Spall and Phyllis Logan portray Cynthia's brother and sister-in-law, who have secrets of their own affecting their everyday family life. Critically acclaimed, the film won the 1996 Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, as well as the Best Actress award for Blethyn. She also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her portrayal. At the 50th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), the film received seven nominations, winning both Best Briti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Adoption Congress
The American Adoption Congress (AAC) was created in the late 1970s as an umbrella organization by the search and support, adoption reform groups sprouting up across the United States, Canada and around the world. Initiated by Orphan Voyage founder, Jean Paton, people representing many groups gathered in regions around the US and began planning the incorporation. The first AAC Conference was held in Washington, DC in May 1979. The second was in Anaheim, CA in 1980, and the third at the TWA Training facility outside Kansas City in 1981, where it was reincorporated and gained 501(c)3 tax exempt status. Conferences have been held around the United States annually ever since. The American Adoption Congress is composed of individuals, families and organizations committed to adoption reform. They represent persons whose lives are touched by adoption or other loss of family continuity. AAC promotes honesty, openness and respect for family connections in adoption, foster care and assiste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Record Sealing
Record sealing is the practice of sealing or, in some cases, destroying court records that would otherwise be publicly accessible as public records. The term is derived from the tradition of placing a seal on specified files or documents that prevents anyone from reviewing the files without receiving a court order. The modern process and requirements to seal a record and the protections it provides vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and even between civil and criminal cases. Generally, record sealing can be defined as the process of removing from general review the records pertaining to a court case. However, the records may not completely disappear and may still be reviewed under limited circumstances; in most instances, it requires a court order to unseal records once they are sealed. In the United States, some states order records to be destroyed after they are sealed. Once a record is sealed, in some states, the contents are legally considered never to have occurred and ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adoption Law
Adoption law is the generic area of legal theory, policy making, legal practice and legal studies relating to law on adoption. National adoption laws National, or domestic, adoption laws deal with issues such as step-parent adoption, adoption by cohabitees, adoption by single parents and LGBT adoption. Adoption laws in some countries may be affected by religious considerations such as adoption in Islam. Specific laws Laws vary widely from country to country and in the case of adoption in the United States In the United States, adoption is the process of creating a legal parent-child relationship between a child and a parent who was not automatically recognized as the child's parent at birth. Most adoptions in the US are adoptions by a stepparent. ..., from state to state Intercountry adoption laws Intercountry adoption laws vary widely.Cynthia R. Mabry, Lisa Kelly Adoption Law: Theory, Policy and Practice -- 2006 - Page 459 "Some prospective adoptive parents choose certain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
