Adoption register to be expanded

Press, 28 June 1983, Page 8

Adoption register to be expanded

An adoption register for those trying to trace unknown relatives is being expanded in Christchurch. The Christchurch Adoption Support Group says that public demand has led it to open its register to more non-members. An Auckland group, Jigsaw, runs a similar national register for adoptees, their natural and adopted parents, but the head of the Christchurch group, Mrs June Peka, said a more local service was needed. There were many, particularly those living outside Christchurch, who did not want to join the group but wanted to use the register. They now face yet another problem. The Social Welfare Department in Christchurch will no longer give out adoption information, usually the first step recommended to those trying to trace relatives. “If you were paranoid,

you might think it is all part of a conspiracy of silence,” Mrs Peka said. Her group was getting about 12 inquiries each week from those trying to trace others in the adoption “triangle.” She opened a letter yesterday from a woman who said she was still unable to come to terms with giving her son up for adoption 15 years ago. “It reads as though this person could be suicidal,” Mrs Peka said. However, there was little the support group could do to help unless the woman had more information. Until last fortnight the Social Welfare Department in Christchurch gave out non-identifying information about adoptions such as how a child was doing at school, and what their interests were. That was usually the first step for those trying to

trace relatives. Then a social worker or group member who had been through the “search pattern” suggested ways to find further details, stepping in to act as an intermediary before any confrontation was reached. The register was one method of recording clues until a possible match was found. At present a $2 charge is made for using the register, the proceeds going to Telethon. Mr Douglas Seller, who directs the department’s community services in Christchurch, said there were not enough staff to cope with the number of post-adoptive inquiries. “It is a local thing from our point of view,” he said. Work priorities were constantly being reviewed but there was nothing that could be done in the meantime.