Open Mic
Turns out, relinquishment and adoption policy issues go deeper than most people understand. Help us replace decades of shame and secrecy with truth and transparency in adoption.
It's good policy for everyone.
About
We believe that laws, rules and regulations should, first and foremost, serve and promote the well-being of those who are directly affected by them. We strongly oppose the commodification of infants, children, and all human beings, including vulnerable mothers experiencing an unplanned or crisis pregnancy.
The Coalition for Truth and Transparency in Adoption (CTTA) was founded with a vision to repeal and replace antiquated, unjust laws rooted in secrecy and shame. We work to meet the urgent need to train and equip advocates, and secure funding for successful initiatives nationwide.
CTTA is a 501(c)(4) organization with deep roots in longtime advocacy and activism, dedicated to creating healthier outcomes, just laws and transparent, ethical practices and records access in the areas of relinquishment, adoption and foster youth.
Though we are a new legal entity, our extensive network of proven, seasoned advocates, attorneys, lobbyists, current and former legislators, and academic subject matter experts extends nationally and internationally.
Image: Wisconsin State Capitol by Ryan Wick on Creative Commons.
Initiatives
Is your legislator interested in sponsoring a bill? Do you know a benefactor who wants to help? Tell us about it.
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Significant Numbers
3.3 Million
The estimated number of original birth certificates now available to adult adoptees and their descendants as a result of retrospective changes to state laws over the past 25 years. With an estimated 6-7 million adoptees in the US, the rest can't wait another 25 years.
1.5 Million
The estimated number of girls and women who surrendered babies for adoption during the post- WWII era in the United States, dubbed the "Baby Scoop Era." Most were voiceless, with no legal representation and did so under duress. Similar unethical and murky practices continue across state lines and internationally.
260,000
The estimated number of children placed in foster care in the US each year. Some 25,000 youth age out of foster care annually with inadequate resources. Of those, 20% become instantly homeless. Only 50% find jobs by age 24. NPR recently exposed the fact that, in at least 35 states, some 10% who are eligible for Social Security benefits unknowingly have those benefits intercepted by the state.
18,000
The estimated number of intercountry adoptees adopted prior to 1982 who are potentially at risk of deportation due to a loophole in the 2000 Child Citizenship Act, which failed to automatically naturalize them as citizens at the time the law was enacted.
"Transparency is seen as the antidote to corruption because secrecy is, if not its cause, then a necessary precondition."
- American Journalist Heather Brooke
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