|
What is Confidential Intermediary service?
Who qualifies for Confidential Intermediary service?
What can Confidential Intermediary service do for me?
What is the process?
How long will the search take?
Who will be appointed as my Confidential Intermediary?
Why is there a fee for CI service?
Illinois law (750 ILCS 50/18.3a) now provides a way for adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents and other birth relatives to connect. A Confidential Intermediary (CI), trained and certified to provide this service, is appointed by the Court to locate your birth relative(s). When the relative is located, the CI explains the reason for the outreach, describes the options available and helps facilitate a mutually agreeable outcome. Each person’s privacy and confidentiality is protected during the process.
The following individuals may petition the Court for appointment of a CI to locate birth relatives. The petition may be filed for any reason. There is no need to prove that medical information is needed or to state any reason at all for requesting the search.
- a surrendered person 21 years of age or over
- an adopted person 21 years of age or over Note: A “surrendered person” is a person who was never adopted but whose birth parents’ rights were surrendered or terminated)
- an adoptive parent of an adopted person under the age of 21
- a legal guardian of an adopted or surrendered person under the age of 21
- a birth parent of an adopted or surrendered person 21 years of age or over
In addition, other birth relatives may file a petition for the appointment of a CI, but must explain to the Court the reason for requesting the search for a birth relative who is 21 years or older. The judge will determine if granting the petition “is of greater benefit.”
- an adult child of a deceased adopted or surrendered person
- an adoptive parent of a deceased adopted or surrendered person
- a legal guardian of a deceased adopted or surrendered person
- a surviving spouse of a deceased adopted or surrendered person
- an adult birth sibling of an adopted or surrendered person whose common birth parent is deceased and whose adopted or surrendered birth sibling is 21 years of age or over
- an adult sibling of a deceased birth parent whose surrendered child is 21 years of age or over
A recent Court ruling also provides that CI service shall be available to persons who were born in Illinois but adopted in another state. However, the success of CI service in such cases depends on the cooperation of authorities in those other states.
By law, your CI cannot release name and address of your relative to you without his consent, but will attempt to locate the relative on your behalf. If your CI is able to locate your birth relative, your CI will explain what you are hoping for and attempt to facilitate a mutually agreeable outcome. For example, you might only want to receive medical information from your relative or you may be hoping for a face-to-face meeting. If you are unsure whether the program can meet your needs, we invite you to call CISI to discuss your situation.
File with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange
Before you can file a petition for the appointment of a Confidential Intermediary, you must file with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (Registry). The person you are hoping to locate may have already filed, making a CI search unnecessary. If however, the person you are seeking has filed a denial – meaning that he does not want to have direct contact with you – then the CI would not be able to search for that relative. You must attach to your petition a copy of the verification letter you will receive from the Registry.
Submit the petition to the Court
A step-by-step guide for filing a petition with and without the assistance of an attorney and fill-in-the-blank forms are available on this web site. The petition may be filed in any county in Illinois. Most Petitioners successfully file their Petition without an attorney. However, for some, using an attorney may be easier since the attorney will handle all the paperwork and guide the petition through the judicial system.
Court Hearing is scheduled
After you file the Petition with the Court, a hearing is scheduled. In most courts, you will be required to appear in person. At the hearing, the Judge will review your Petition and confirm that it is completed correctly, then verify that you are the person filing the Petition. You may request that the Court excuse you from appearing in person if you live some distance from the Court or if it would be a hardship for you in some way. Contact the Court in which you will file the petition to determine whether you may be excused and the proper procedure to follow.
Petition granted by the Court and a CI is appointed for you
After the petition is granted, the Judge will enter an order appointing a Confidential Intermediary from the list of persons who have been certified. The Court will send the Order of Appointment to CISI. Some Judges also send a copy to you, the Petitioner.
Completion of service contract and fee payment
When CISI receives your case from the Court (usually within 4 – 6 weeks after the hearing), we will send you an explanation of the process along with a contract and fee information.
CI obtains records and completes assessment of search potential
After you have paid the CI service fee, signed the service contract and returned it, your CI can begin working on your case. First, the CI will request the sealed Court file, information from adoption agency files if applicable, and various vital records including birth, death and marriage documents. It often takes 8-12 weeks for these documents to arrive. After examining the available information, the CI will prepare a Search Assessment form that indicates how likely it is that a search for various birth relatives would be successful. If little or no information is found, making a successful search unlikely, you may choose to end the process. CISI will retain $95, but the remainder of the fee you paid will be refunded to you. However, in most instances the information received by the CI will be sufficient to proceed with a search.
Search process
CIs use a wide variety of search resources including commercial databases and records held by various governmental agencies. The court order allows access to information and documents that are not available to the public. Search efforts will continue until the person you want to locate is found and is contacted by the CI or until all reasonable attempts to locate the birth relative have been made without success. You will receive a progress report from your CI every two months until the search is completed. Detailed progress reports must also be submitted by the CI to the Court on a regular basis. While it is not possible to guarantee a successful search outcome, program statistics indicate that in more than 90% of cases, the CI is able to find the person being sought or an adult relative of that person.
If the relative is located
Your CI will talk with you about what kind of connection you would like to have with the person for whom you are searching. When the relative is located, the CI will make an outreach to that person to explain why you want contact, reassure the relative that confidentiality will be respected, and to help him understand his options. In many cases, with the consent of both parties, at least one letter and sometimes pictures are exchanged anonymously through the CI. Both you and your found relative then have an opportunity to consider how to proceed. In most cases, the found relative chooses to have some kind of communication; however, whether to respond or not is entirely up to your relative. As in every outreach, the CI will use extreme caution to ensure each person’s privacy and confidentiality. If both you and your found relative choose to have direct contact, the CI will facilitate the exchange of identifying information.
Additional searches
After the first search has been completed, you may request another search if the CI has sufficient information to make additional searches possible. If you choose to do so, service will be provided for an additional fee in the same manner as during the first search.
It is impossible to accurately estimate how long it may take to locate your birth relative and then to receive a response to your request for connection. Some cases are completed within several weeks after the actual search begins. Some very difficult searches require many months of work. At each step of the way, the CI will proceed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Of course, you will be notified immediately when the CI has located your relative.
Each CI is an employee of Midwest Adoption Center and has completed in-depth training and passed an examination before being certified to serve as a Confidential Intermediary through this program. The CIs receive on-going training and supervision and all share a commitment to providing effective service in this most important program.
The CI service fee is not a fee to obtain information such as medical information or the name and address of your relative. By law, the CI is not permitted to give you names and addresses of your birth relatives without their consent, and the files and documents obtained by the CI do not usually contain medical information. The CI service fee covers all the costs of locating and establishing contact with the person(s) you hope to find, including the time spent by the CI obtaining documents and information, search efforts and related expenses such as document retrieval, access to databases, and telephone charges.
Your CI will work closely with you and the relative who is located to facilitate the connection that is desired by both. Although this program is not intended to provide in-depth counseling, your CI will be available to talk with you and your relative at any point in the process.
|
