Ohio has laws protecting the privacy of people involved in the adoption process
Ohio privacy laws governing adoptions in the state are designed to respect the privacy of the adoptive parents, the natural parents and the children involved in the adoption process. They also specify the rights of each party involved in an adoption to discover the identities of the other parties. Access to non-identifying medical information is permitted under Ohio law, as this may have an impact on the adopted child's health and well-being.
Access to Records
Ohio laws recognizes two types of information contained in adoption records that may be accessed on request. Non-identifying information gives details of information, such as medical history, that does not otherwise disclose the name and contact information of the person or persons who are the subject of the inquiry. Under Ohio law, revised statutes 3107.66, 3107.47 and 3107.49 contain the rights to access non-identifying information. An adopted child over the age of 18 can request access to non-identifying information, as can an adoptive parent of an adopted child below the age of 18. A member of the family of an adoptive child who has died may also request this information, as can the birth parent of an adopted child who is now over the age of 18. A birth sibling over the age of 18 can request the information of an adopted child and any birth family member can request the information if the birth parent is deceased.
Access to Identifying Information
An adopted child, or the child's adoptive parents if the child is under the age of 18, have to submit requests for the child's adoption file to the Ohio Department of Health. Adoption file requests are governed by Ohio revised codes 3107.47 and 3107.49. The request for the file will be denied if the file contains forms completed by both birth parents requesting a denial of release. However, if the file only contains a denial of release form from one birth parent, the file can be released with the identifying information of the birth parent who has supplied the form removed. If the request from the adopted child or the child's adopted parents is denied, or is supplied with part of the information deleted, the Department of Health undertakes to inform the child or his adopted parents if one or both of the birth parents authorize the release of their information at a future date.
Non-Identifying Information
The Ohio revised code gives specific information concerning what constitutes non-identifying information with regard to requests for adoption information. Non-identifying information is specified in Ohio revised codes 3107.66 and 3107.60, and include the birth parent's age at the time the child was adopted, but not the age at the time the child was born, as this could be used to help trace the identity of the birth parent. The medical and genetic history of birth parents is not considered to be identifying information, so this is available on request, along with the sex, age and medical history of the adopted child's siblings and extended family. The ethnic background, religion and occupation of the birth parents is also available on request, and is considered to be non-identifying information.
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