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There are three situations in which we may have contacted you using DCFS Closed File Information and Search Service letterhead:
Click on the statement above that best describes your situation to go to the section that provides more information.
DCFS offers help to birth parents, siblings, aunt/uncles and grandparents who want to locate a family member who was adopted while in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services. When the request is received, we go into the DCFS system including the closed files to find information about the placement. Using that information, we attempt to locate the adoptee. (If the adopted person is under 21, we attempt to locate the adoptive or guardianship parent.).
Since you received a letter from us, we believe that you may be the adopted person for whom we are searching. Our agency has access to many information resources and we do not send this kind of letter out unless we believe there is a good chance you are in fact the correct person. The letter you received states what relative is trying to locate you.
However, in some situations we have only a little information and the search can be quite difficult. In those cases, many letters are sent to people whose name and other identifying information is the same or nearly the same as the adopted person we are trying to find. So it is possible that you are not the correct person but that your name, age or location is similar to that of the sought after adopted person.
Please contact us – by phone, email or letter – so that we can know whether we have located the correct person. If you are the person for whom we have been searching, we will explain what your choices are. Your decision will be respected. No information about you will be given to anyone without your permission.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions
DCFS offers search service to adults who were in the care of the Department and then adopted. The adopted person can request help to locate birth parents, a brother or sister, aunt or uncle or grandparent. When the request is received by our agency, we go into the DCFS system including the closed files to find information about the placement and the birth family. The information we found in DCFS files indicates that you may be the relative that the adopted person is hoping to find.
Your first reaction to reading the letter may be to think that you can’t possibly be related to this person. However, it may well be that you are in fact related but were unaware of the birth. We hope you will contact our agency so that we can explain more about the situation and together try to determine whether you are the birth relative for whom we are searching.
Please contact us – by phone, email or letter – so that we can know whether we have located the correct person. If you are the person for whom we have been searching, we will explain what your choices are. Your decision will be respected. No information about you will be given to anyone without your permission
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions
DCFS offers help to birth parents, siblings, aunt/uncles and grandparents who want to locate a family member who was adopted while in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services. When the request is received, we go into the DCFS system including the closed files to find information about the placement. Using that information, we attempt to locate the adoptee. If the adopted person is under 21, we attempt to locate the adoptive or guardianship parent. We never attempt to contact the adoptee directly if he is under 21 years of age.
An outreach on behalf of a birth relative of your child may be unexpected and raise many concerns. We would like to tell you what kind of connection the birth relative hopes to have. We may also have information that the relative has asked us to share with you. Please contact us – by phone, email or letter – so that we can explain more about the situation and what your choices are.
You may decide that exchanging some information or a letter through the caseworker or having direct contact with a relative would be of value to your child. Or you may decide that a connection at this time is not in your child’s best interest. Your decision will be respected. No information about you or your child will be given to anyone without your permission.
After your child becomes 21, Illinois law specifies that if a birth relative requests search service, we make an outreach directly to the adoptee. The law also permits him to request search service himself to locate birth relatives once he is 21 years of age.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions
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