Missouri Adoptee Rights Movement

10/07/2024

Birth/First Parents: Jenny Rogers Becknell and I are Co-Facilitators for Adoption Knowledge Affiliates' Peer Support Group meeting. Please register today by sending an email to aka@adoptionknowledge.org with subject line RSVP Birth/First Parents' Peer Support and receive the Zoom link in time for tomorrow's meeting. Our theme for October is “Ghost Kingdom.”

10/28/2023

One week from today. We hope to see you there.

10/22/2023

08/14/2023

I found out this morning my friend Judith Bock has now published her memoir, and I want to share it with you. I met her during the many times we joined many others across Missouri trying to get the adoption laws changed so Missouri-born adopted adults could request a copy of their original birth certificates. She and I were speakers during an adoption panel 07/16/2013 for the Department of Counseling and Family Therapy classroom of Bobbi Miller, PhD, Saint Louis University. I ordered her book and can hardly wait to get it. Congratulations, Judith! I am so proud of you!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1916707726?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_dp_KQ751B51MT40S7NEDQYQ&fbclid=IwAR0A4KYqukmJefYtJX45fXKMQTw4ZRdAwWwQfStHG6NVLToslf4ZOvoDFX4

In April 1969, a day before her 22nd birthday, Judith Ellen Bock gave birth to a 5 pound 15 ounce girl in a Tulsa hospital. Under the secrecy of a “NO SHOW, NO TELL” order, even Bock was kept from knowing much of anything about her newborn. Although she consented to the subsequent relinquishment...

07/27/2023

Ever since I first read The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me, and then also True Identity by Paul Fronczak, I have wanted to hear more. I attended CeCe Moore’s conference in Arkansas a few years ago wherein she spoke of how DNA testing had been used to help Paul in his search. I also enjoyed meeting Paul earlier this year in Kentucky at the Untangling Our Roots conference wherein he was Plenary Speaker. Yesterday, my Facebook Feed included a story about his life so I thought I would share it here. If you want to read more, you can Google his name.
Posted by Sharon Cummins

Paul Joseph Fronczak was kidnapped from Chicago's Michael Reese Hospital on April 27, 1964, then returned to his parents a year later — but he wasn't really their son.

07/24/2023

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06/03/2022

An interview I did last month with Julia Daily on her Authors Over 50 Podcast was released today. I just watched it and wanted to share it with you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSVQvtkaONg

I have also read Julia's debut novel, No Names To Be Given by Julia Brewer Daily, and I highly recommend it.

My guest today is an author who has a passion for helping others and fulfills her passion by encouraging those whose lives have been affected by an adoption ...

08/30/2021

If you don’t have the time to watch the whole video below, at least watch the song at the beginning to explain the joy we all experienced from getting the Missouri Adoptee Rights Act passed in Missouri.
https://vimeo.com/584901005
Password: Missouri2016

If you watch it all the way to the end, you will understand why all of the hard work was so worth it. Our dinner this past Saturday night in Jefferson City was the “icing on the cake” to commemorate the anniversary of this important historical Act that first went into effect 08-28-2016. A BIG thanks to EVERY person who made it all possible.

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08/09/2021

Can you believe it's been 5 years?

05/20/2021

ATTENTION IOWA ADOPTEES: Thanks to Michelle Spear of the Iowa Adoptee and Family Coalition; adopted adults who were born in Iowa will be able to access a copy of their original birth certificate. Please visit the link for detailed information and please be sure to send her a thank you for all the years of hard work!

https://idph.iowa.gov/health-statistics/Open-Adoption?fbclid=IwAR0yZG2FArvcCz1umtTUQmXHxFk1wc2UsqPUrDkuH0xtPD_qQuNXhvl8zEM

A person born in Iowa and has been adopted may request a noncertified copy of their original certificate prior to birth. Must be 18 years of age

03/21/2021

You have probably heard me mention this book before but I cannot say enough good things about it: American Baby written by journalist Gabrielle Glaser. I had joined in on the Friday Night Happy Hour by NAAP when she was the speaker, and she was awesome. If you haven't read it, I highly suggest it. Meanwhile, you can hear more from the Sunday Morning show this morning on CBS.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/an-adoption-tale-uncovering-a-lifelong-secret/?fbclid=IwAR059iRA2qkIwifhdXqxgeUqGCp47uA_fG8uwkhBhqNjLJSuFJrsL7UocFA

In the post-war years, social mores forced more than three million u***d mothers into what has been characterized as an adoption industry, when women were coerced to give up their babies. Only now, decades later, are some long-held secrets being revealed.

01/16/2021

When looking at your list of DNA matches, you may be contacted by an adopted adult who shares your DNA. This person may not know the names of either of their birth parents. I was asked to share during a Zoom call with the members of the Ozarks Genealogical Society this coming Wednesday, January 20, 2021, at 10:00 am CST how they might respond should they be contacted in a similar way. This Zoom call will be transferred to the page of OGS for non-members so they can hear this presentation. It will also include information about the Missouri Adoptee Rights Act.
https://www.facebook.com/ozarksgs

http://ozarksgs.org The goals of the society are to encourage the research and preservation of family history, foster solid genealogical research practices, and preserve records of historical and genealogical interest.