An Overview of Adoption Law
In West Virginia
The Voluntary Adoption Registry and its Purpose: With full recognition of the right to privacy and confidentiality of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees, the WV legislature recognized that some adult adoptees have a strong desire to obtain identifying information about their birth parents and that some birth parents have a strong desire to obtain identifying information about their biological children. Thus, the legislature set up a “ mutual consent voluntary adoption registry ”:
- Where birth parents and adults may register their willingness to the release of identifying information about the other;
- To provide for the disclosure of such identifying information to birth parents or adoptees, or both, through a social worker employed by a licensed adoption agency, provided that each birth parent and the adult adoptee voluntarily registers on his or her own; and
- To provide for the transmission of non-identifying health and social and genetic history to the adult adoptees, birth parents and other specified persons; and
- To provide for disclosure of identifying information for cause shown.
WV CODE § 48-23-102. The information is not accessible by freedom of information act or class action lawsuits.
By Whom is the Registry Operated?: The division of human services establishes and maintains the registry, except that it may contract out the function. The secretary of the department of health and human resources may adopt all rules necessary to implement the registry.
Identifying Information: The registry is available to birth parents and adult adoptees. However, a birth parent is not eligible to use the registry until his/her child who was adopted is 18 years of age or older. An adult adoptee is not eligible so long as he/she has a sibling in his or her adoptive family who is under the age of 18 years old. Pursuant to WV CODE § 28-23-403, a birth father may register if:
- He was named as the father in the original birth certificate;
- He legitimated or formally acknowledged the child as provided by law; or
- He signed a voluntary abandonment and release for the child’s adoption as provided by law.
Prerequisites to Disclosure of Identifying Information: The adult adoptee and each birth parent may voluntarily (without having been contacted by any employee or agent of the registry, place his/her name in the registry before any disclosure can be made. Registration is done by submitting a notarized affidavit, stating name, address, and telephone number and his/her willingness to be identified solely to the other relevant persons who register. The failure of any of the three above persons to file a notarized affidavit with the registry for any reason, including death or disability, precludes the disclosure of identifying information to those relevant persons who do register. WV CODE § 48-23-501.
Unknown Birth Father/Deceased Parent: If the birth father was unknown to the birth mother, or if one or both of the parents are deceased, this information shall be shared with the adult adoptee; however, no identifying information will be provided.
Counseling of Registrants: Upon registering, the registrant must go through at least one hour of counseling with a social worker employed by the entity operating the registry or other approved counselor.
What Information May Be Registered? And How Long is it Maintained?: WV CODE § 48-23-504
Provides that the registrant may register current name and address, any previous name, the original and adopted names of the child, if known, the place and date of birth of the child, or the name and address of the adoption agency or placing agency, if known. The registry will not keep any information relating to the adoptive parents, any siblings of the adult adoptee who are children of the adoptive parents, the income of anyone, or the reasons for adoptive placement. The registered information will be retained for ten years from the date of registration, and the information may be renewed for another ten years.
Matches: When a match has taken place, the department shall directly notify all parties through a direct and confidential contact.
Non-Identifying Information: Prior to placement for adoption, the court should require the agency or other person involved in the adoption, to compile and provide to the prospective adoptive parents a detailed written health history and genetic and social history of the child.
The health history means a comprehensive report of the child ’ s health status at the time of placement for adoption and medical history, including neonatal, psychological and medical care history.
The genetic and social history means a comprehensive report, when obtainable, on the birth parents, siblings to the birth parents, if any, other children of either birth parent, if any, and parents of the birth parents, which shall contain the following information:
-medical history
-health status
-cause of and age at death
-height, weight, eye and hair color
-ethnic origins
-where appropriate, levels of educational and professional achievement; and
-religion, if any.
The history must exclude identifying information and must be set forth in a separate document. The court shall provide to the agency, person, or organization handling the adoption, the forms to be used in the acquisition of this non-identifying information. These records are to be maintained for 99 years. The information is available upon request to the adoptive parents or the child ’ s legal guardian, the adult adoptee, the adoptee ’ s spouse (upon the adoptee ’ s health) if he or she is the legal parent of the adoptee ’ s child , any child of the adoptee who is 18 or older, and the birth parent of the adoptee.
Prohibited Conduct : No person may disclose any confidential information relating to an adoption except as permitted by the Act. Any person who does disclose such information is liable for damages to any party aggrieved thereby. WV CODE § 48-23-701.
*All rights are reserved. These materials are intended to convey general information on West Virginia ’ s adoption law to those visiting the Children's Home Society of West Virginia's web pages. ALTHOUGH PREPARED BY AN ATTORNEY, THIS OUTLINE SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR LEGAL COUNSELING IN SPECIFIC SITUATIONS. THESE MATERIALS SHOULD NOT BE VIEWED AS LEGAL ADVICE AS THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES VARY IN EACH SITUATION. THIS GUIDE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR LEGAL SERVICES.
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