GEIS-新闻详情

Adopted children can turn to MSF for help to connect with their birth parents

2024-03-03 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE - Adopted children searching for their biological parents can turn to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), which says it will facilitate contact, if the birth parents are contactable and agree to be connected with their child.

In the past two years, it has received 20 requests from adopted children asking for help to find and connect with their birth parents, its spokesman told The Straits Times.

ST had asked the ministry for an update on an adoption registry that it had first spoken about in 2022, among other questions, such as which government agencies adopted children can turn to for help for information about their biological parents.

The MSF had said in 2022 that it was assessing the suitability of setting up such a register, which would contain information on birth parents and the circumstances under which a child was placed for adoption.

In a reply, an MSF spokesman said: “Access to adoption records can be a sensitive issue for adoptive parents, adoptees and birth parents.

“The MSF is monitoring the impact of recent steps towards greater disclosure, including encouraging all adoption applicants to attend a disclosure briefing, before deciding on whether to set up an adoption registry.”

Disclosure briefings give adoptive parents the skills and knowledge to tell their child about the adoption. Parents are not mandated to tell their child the truth about his birth, although the MSF strongly encourages them to do so.

Get a round-up of the top stories to start your day

Thank you!

By signing up, I accept SPH Media's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy as amended from time to time.

Yes, I would also like to receive SPH Media Group's SPH Media Limited, its related corporations and affiliates as well as their agents and authorised service providers.

marketing and promotions.

Children adopted in Singapore who want to search for their biological parents can contact the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to ask for copies of their previous birth records in the Register of Births, which would reflect their birth parents’ names, the MSF spokesman added.

A spokesman for the Singapore Courts said adopted children can file a request to the Family Justice Courts to inspect their adoption case files, if their adoptive parents consent to their search for the adoption records.

The adoption records will contain the biological parents’ particulars, including their names and addresses, if the information is known at the time of the adoption application.

The Singapore Courts spokesman added that information relating to the submission of such requests is available on the SG Courts website under “Apply for court records: civil and family cases”.

It receives fewer than 10 such requests a year.

Social service professionals who work with adopted children and their parents say that the children can ask their adoptive parents for information on their birth parents.

Ms Deirdre Lim, head of Touch Adoption, said: “It is important to assure adoptive parents that the search is about finding the missing pieces and consolidating their own identity, rather than a rejection of the adoptive parents. This will help to address fears and uncertainties concerning the search.”

She added that the search can be an emotional experience for all involved, and adopted children can consider getting a third party, such as Touch Adoption, to facilitate the reunion.

Touch Adoption staff will prepare both parties for the reunion, and manage their expectations before they meet. They will also provide counselling if it is needed, she added.

She said Touch Adoption facilitates such reunions on an ad hoc basis – about one or two such meetings a year.