 Adoption Knowledge Affiliates PO Box 4082 Austin, TX 78765 March 5, 2021 To the Honorable Members of the Texas Legislature: Adoption Knowledge Affiliates (AKA) urges you to support HB1386, legislation which restores, by removing undue burden and hindrance, the right of access for adult adoptees to their original birth certificates. Since 1992, AKA has offered essential knowledge and lifelong support to the adoption community, the general population and key policymakers. For nearly 30 years we have promoted honesty and openness in adoption practices and laws. A cornerstone of that effort has been urging legislators to replace archaic laws with streamlined, equitable access for adoptees to obtain this most critical document, their original birth certificate (OBC).
Adoption Knowledge Affiliates is especially unique in that we bring together all parties of the adoption community. Our membership includes adoptive parents, adopted people, birth family, prospective adoptive and foster parents, and professionals in the field. We are located in Texas. It is with this well-informed service model that we wholeheartedly lend our support to the fight for OBC access in Texas. Our membership and our mission compel us, session after session, to advocate for better laws around adoption and foster care, with special attention around the issue of equal ease and right of access for adoptees to their vital record. We have served thousands of Texas-born adoptees over the past three decades and can attest, the hurdles and barriers to information are not only psychologically harmful, it is an opportunity for bad actors to exploit archaic secrecy practices, as well as a logistical nightmare for adoptees. Please reach out to our office for specific examples of the hardships encountered by adoptees trying to navigate the labyrinth of laws and humiliations built in to the current system. We have scores. It is long overdue that each state removes the stigma and secrecy of adoption by removing the restricted access to OBC’s for their adult adopted citizens. Our laws need to be updated to meet the needs of society today. Please join us in support of original birth certificate access for adult adoptees. Sincerely, Marci Purcell Executive Director Adoption Knowledge Affiliates 512-553-AKA0 (2520) The Adoption Knowledge Affiliates 2021 Board of Directors www.adoptionknowledge.org
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