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Some Adoptees Say Ohio is Redacting Info They’re Entitled To
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Some adoptees say the Ohio Department of Health is redacting information in newly unsealed documents that they believe they’re legally entitled to.
Supporters of the statute that unsealed about 400,000 Ohio adoption files tell The Columbus Dispatch the legislation clearly says only the name of a birth parent can be redacted. But Health Department spokeswoman Melanie Amato says employees have been instructed to redact the birth parent’s name, address, city and county.
Amato says the details are all “personal indicators” and private health information.
State Sen. Bill Beagle says such steps go beyond the intent of the law.
The new law took effect in March and gave adults whose adoptions were finalized between Jan. 1, 1964, and Sept. 18, 1996, access to their original birth certificates and adoption files.