What is an adoption personal belonging?
- A personal belonging, sometimes referred to as a personal effect, is an item that was given to the child-placing agency for the adoptee or birth parent; it is not a form or document related to the adoption. Examples include photographs, letters, family heirlooms, keepsakes and/or documents unrelated to the adoption.
How did the Department of Children, Youth, and Families and child-placing agencies come to possess these items?
- Contact and reunion services. DCYF has had many roles in the placement of children for adoption; some of the items may have been given directly to DCYF from adoptees, birth parents, social workers or other relatives.
- Other items may have come to DCYF from private agencies that closed.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families seeks feedback from community members about access and handling of personal belongings. The department will speak with adopted individuals, adoptive parents and kinship caregivers, birth parents, other relatives and interested individuals through quarterly engagement sessions and smaller work groups.
The first discussion on this topic is scheduled for Wed., Sept. 18, 2024, from 4 - 6 p.m. Participants must be 18 or older.
Meeting will be hosted in person and via Zoom. Meeting links will be sent to those who register to attend.
For accommodation requests or registration questions, contact Betsy Hodek at betsy.hodek@state.mn.us.
