We’re back to our regular birthparent meeting at Gahanna Library for June! This meeting is open to birthmothers and birthfathers of all ages. Join us for open discussion and bring a snack to share if you can. Read more…

All Adoption General Meeting
Monday, June 10th 7-9pm
Karl Road Library, Columbus, OH

Men & Adoption
This month, we will be discussing the way that men’s lives are impacted by adoption. We’ll talk about why it’s difficult for men to get support as parents by birth and adoption and as adoptees. Men with personal connections to adoption are especially encouraged to attend (male adoptees, adoptive fathers, birth fathers, adult male children of adoptees, uncles, brothers, grandfathers, etc)! Read more…

Birthmother’s Day 2013
Saturday May 11th, 2-4:30pm
Adoption Network Cleveland Cleveland, OH

Every year, Adoption Network Cleveland hosts a program to honor and celebrate birthmothers on Mother’s Day weekend. All birthmothers and their allies (friends and family) are invited to attend this free program in Cleveland, OH. RSVP is requested. Read more on Adoption Network Cleveland’s website.

All Adoption General Meeting
Monday, May 13th 7-9pm
Karl Road Library, Columbus, OH

Adoption Records: Rights & Reunions
In May’s all-adoption meeting, we will address issues specific to adoption search and reunion. Ohio adoptees and birthparents have recently helped introduce HB 61 and SB 23, state legislation which, if passed, would give adults adopted from 1964-1996 access to their original birth certificates. In this meeting, we’ll outline current Ohio law regarding adoption records and review the proposed changes in HB 61 and SB 23. We’ll also discuss our own experiences with searching for information and/or contacting family that we’ve lost through adoption. Read more…

May Birthparent Support Meeting
Sunday, May 19th 1-4pm
Columbus, OH

With lots of Mother’s Day and Birthmother’s Day events packing our personal calendars, OBG is opting to have a low-key get-together so we can decompress! Instead of our regular birthparent support group, we’ll have a casual dessert potluck for birthparents on Sunday, May 19th from 1-4pm. Read more…

Did you know that individuals adopted in Ohio between 1964 and 1996 are restricted by law from accessing their original birth certificate at Vital Statistics? This original, pre-adoption birth record plays an important role in helping adult adoptees discover answers to questions about their genetic heritage, family medical information, and the story of their adoption. New legislation proposed in Ohio (House Bill 61 and Senate Bill 23) seeks to restore the right of Ohio adoptees to have this basic, fundamental information about their own lives. Read more about this legislation at www.adoptionequityohio.org

The legislators considering these bills seem to understand why adult adoptees want access to their birth certificates, but they still have big concerns about what birthparents will think about this bill. They have MANY false assumptions about what birthparents have experienced in Ohio. In many ways, the success of HB 61 and SB 23 will depend on whether or not birthparents get out to the Statehouse in droves to set the record straight. Your voice as a birthparent is needed to help this law pass!

Adoption Equity Ohio needs birthparents to prepare a 1-page typed testimony and read the testimony aloud at the hearings for HB 61 and SB 23. The attached Birthparent Testimony Guide will show you how to format your testimony and what issues are most important to write about at this point in the legislative process.

The next hearing for House Bill 61 in the House Judiciary Committee Meeting is now scheduled for March 6^th at 3pm at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, OH.  We don’t know yet whether birthparents will be asked to offer testimony at this particular hearing, but ask that you start preparing your testimony immediately for use at this or future hearings. In the event that you are unable to attend a hearing in person, the testimony guide can also be used to format emails to legislators or letters to the editor of your local newspaper.

Kate Livingston of Ohio Birthparent Group is the designated liaison for birthparents in this effort. She can consult with each birthparent on how to write their testimony and what to expect at the hearings.

If you would like to participate, please notify Kate Livingston ASAP at katelivingston@gmail.com or 614.668.7390.  

IMPORTANT! Even if you are not asked to speak at the March 6th hearing, the physical presence of birthparents in the room is very important- Please join us! Members of Ohio Birthparent Group will be on hand to support birthparents in attendance. Important parking, directions an event details are available here.

Ohio Birthparent Group will be presenting a workshop at the conference titled “Does Community Mean Unity? Forging Intergenerational Unity Among Birthparents” on the afternoon of Friday, April 12th. We encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity to learn and connect by joining us in Cleveland.

Early Registration ends on February 15th, so register today through American Adoption Congress!

DOWNLOAD registration packet with conference program

DOWNLOAD information about keynote speakers

Co-Sponsored by Adoption Network Cleveland

Our General Support Meetings (also known as our ‘open’ groups) bring together birthparents, adoptive parents, adult adoptees, family and community members to talk about the ways adoption impacts their lives. Open to anyone interested in learning about adoption issues, General Meetings are spaces to engage in dialogue across the spectrum of experiences in adoption and to share perspectives about this life-long journey. Back by popular, OBG is happy to announce that the General Meeting will now be offered EVERY MONTH in Columbus throughout 2013!

Visit our Events Calendar for detailed descriptions of each of these amazing upcoming General Meetings:

Sunday January 20th- Understanding The Unexpected

Monday February 11th- Spouses and Partners

Monday March 11th- Sibling Relationships

Monday April 8th- Grief, Loss and Trauma

View our 2013 Meeting Calendar

Make A Donation to support OBG

OBG Highlights 2012

• Over 75 birthparents contacted Ohio Birthparent Group this year in search of support, resources and community. 42 birthparents attended at least one monthly support meeting in 2012.

• OBG launched its general adoption support meeting, open to anyone touched by or interested in adoption. Over 40 birthparents, adoptees, adoptive parents, extended family and community members attended at least one quarterly meeting in 2012.

• OBG partnered with the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH  to produce a Visiting Filmmaker Series Event celebrating OBG’s 2nd anniversary on November 27^th, 2012. Author and director Ann Fessler introduced a rare double-feature screening of her films ‘A Girl Like Her’, a birthmother documentary, and ‘Cliff & Hazel’, a film about her adoptive parents. Over 120 people joined OBG for this memorable event, which included a book signing of Fessler’s critically acclaimed book, “The Girls Who Went Away”. OBG is grateful to the Wexner Center and the following additional sponsors for making this event a success: OSU’s Departments of History, Women’s Studies, Art, Arts & Humanities, Social Work, GLBT Alumni Society and Kittie’s Cakes of Columbus.

• Members of our group have been featured lecturers and panelists at national and local adoption events, including: Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture international conference; National Center for Adoption Law and Policy Adoption Academy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital; Summer Adoption Law Institute at Capital Law School; Creating a Family radio show with Dawn Davenport; Columbus Society for Clinical Social Workers; Ohio Adoption Law Roundtable; OhioReach annual conference; Ohio Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) annual conference, among others.

• Members of OBG have served on several important state and national planning groups, including: Ohio Adoption Planning Group (OAPG); Ohio Post Adoption Contact Taskforce; American Adoption Congress.

• Member China Darrington was recognized with the ‘Leaf of Life’ award from the Ohio Multi-County Development Corporation for her work in mental health and recovery support.

• Our meetings and events were featured on NBC4 TV in Columbus!

• 3 of our birthparent members joyfully reunited with the children they placed for adoption!

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW:

http://www.wexarts.org/fv/index.php?eventid=6677

A Film Screening and Public Conversation

with critically acclaimed artist, director and author of

The Girls Who Went Away (Penguin Press, 2006)

ANN FESSLER

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012 – 7pm
Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, OH)

Has it been two years already?! We’re excited to share that we’ve partnered with The Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts to host a very special event celebrating Ohio Birthparent Group’s second anniversary!

Join us for a rare double-feature of A Girl Like Me (2012), Fessler’s new documentary film on the lives of American women who lost children to adoption in the years before Roe vs. Wade, plus Cliff and Hazel (1994/1999), a short film on the complexity of kinship and identity based on Fessler’s own experience as an adoptee.

Ann Fessler herself will be there to engage the audience in a public conversation about adoption after the film!

Stay tuned for event details and ticket information!

Next Meeting- Sunday, October 21^st
Gahanna Public Library Community Room
310 Granville St. Columbus OH 43230

Birthparent Support Meeting: 2pm-4pm

Open Support Meeting: 4:30pm-6:30pm

This is event is free and open to the public. Film screening starts at 7pm at The Ohio State University, Psychology Building Room 0010, 1835 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210.