In this section:

HEADQUARTERS

The Barker Foundation
7979 Old Georgetown Road
First Floor
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-664-9664

1-800-673-8489

__________

SATELLITE OFFICES

2957 Monticello Drive
Falls Church, VA 22042
703-536-1827

1066 - 30th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-298-7724

Adoption doesn't end at placement. It is a lifelong relationship, connecting birth parents, adoptive parents and adopted persons. The Barker Foundation's commitment to all those involved in an adoption is a lifelong commitment. We can provide information to birth parents, adoptive families and adult adopted persons. An exchange of information between parties can be facilitated by the agency. We are conducting searches with increasing frequency and are available to discuss options with Barker clients. Please contact us for additional information.

Overview

As an adoption agency that has been in existence for nearly 60 years, we receive a substantial number of requests for past or recent information from our files.

The laws of the jurisdiction in which the adoption was filed govern the nature of the information we are able to provide. In most Barker cases, this is the District of Columbia, Maryland or Virginia. The laws stipulate that we may only provide non-identifying information from our records. The amount of information we will be able to provide also depends on the details gathered at the time of the adoption and the contacts that might have occurred since placement. More recent information from birth parents, adoptive families, or adult adopted persons is completely voluntary and will be included, if available.

In all cases we welcome letters for the file from adopted persons, adoptive parents, and birth parents stating their wishes with regard to future contact, informing the agency of their current address, sharing information about themselves, or updating the family health history.
 
Services for Birth Parents

A birth parent may request a written report covering the non-identifying information in the file about the child's family at the time of placement. This information may include the family's lifestyle, personality, religious practice, health, occupation, and family history.

We will also include information regarding communication, if there has been any, from the child or the adoptive parents and the nature of such contacts.
 
Services for Adoptive Families and Adult Adopted Persons

Adoptive parents and adult adopted persons, 18 or older, may request non-identifying background information that is contained in the files. A summary of non-identifying information in the file may be shared in a written report or prepared by n agency social worker. Depending on the amount of information in the file, this may include medical and genetic information, social histories, circumstances of birth parents at the time of placement, birth history, foster home information, and information related to contact, if any, from the birth family since placement.
 
Exchange of Information Between Parties

In cases where there are mutual expressions of interest from an adult adopted person and one of the birth parents, the agency will work with both individuals to determine a suitable course of action. To date, adoption laws in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia prohibit an agency from revealing the identifying information of the inquiring parties.
 
Search

At times the court will order us to open our files and conduct a search for birth relatives based on a request from either the adult adopted person or a birth parent. This is often a very time-consuming process and requires being responsive to all involved persons. While we make every effort to find the birth relative(s), the results of a search cannot be guaranteed.
 

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