March 20 is Independence Day for Ohio adoptees

And, here’s why: 400,000 adopted people will have the right to request their original birth certificates — and receive them. Not since the records closed in 1964 has this been the case.

About time.

Here’s the story.

Something to celebrate in Ohio

“In less than a month, adoptees born in Ohio between Jan. 1, 1964, and Sept. 18, 1996 (about 400,000 people) will gain access to their birth records for the first time without petitioning a court.”

This is thanks in large part to the work of Betsie Norris and Adoption Network Cleveland.

An Adoptee ROARed in Ohio

This short documentary reveals the fascinating story of why Ohio closed adoption records in 1964 and how adoptee Betsie Norris, executive director of Adoption Network-Cleveland, worked for 24 years to change a system her adoptive father inadvertently helped create.

Thanking Governor Kasich