Adoption Disclosure Information

Ontario Regulation 158/18 of the CYFSA came into effect in April 2018. If the adoption took place through WECAS and you are an eligible person, you may apply to WECAS for non-identifying information pertaining to the adoption.

Eligibility

      1. An adopted person 18 or older or if under 18 with consent of adoptive parent
      2. An adoptive parent
      3. The child of an adopted person if the (adopted) person is deceased and the child is 18 or older
      4. A birth parent
      5. A birth grandparent
      6. A birth sibling who is 18 or older
      7. A sibling of a birth parent if the sibling is 18 or older

Response Requirements
Requests for non-identifying information are completed within 30 days after receiving the completed request (The request must include: your name, date of birth, contact information,  one piece of valid government issued photo ID, and information about what you are seeking).

This timeline may be extended under the following circumstances:

    1. Responding to the request within 30 days would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Society because the information consists of numerous pieces of information or locating the information would necessitate a lengthy search (s. 9(7)(a) O. Reg. 158/18);  OR
    2. Responding to the request within 30 days after receiving it is not reasonably practical because of the time required to render the information non-identifying (s. 9(7)(b) O. Reg. 158.18)

In most cases you will receive a copy of the CAS records with all identifying information redacted (blacked out) as per Adoption Disclosure legislation. If it is not practical to redact a copy of the records, you will be provided with a written summary of the information.

Disclosure of Information
Per Adoption Disclosure legislation, the information you receive from your request may include:

      1. Background information related to,
        1. the adopted person’s birth parents, birth grandparents, birth siblings and other birth family members,
        2. the adopted person’s adoptive parents and adoptive family, or
        3. in the case of an adopted person who was adopted more than once, the adopted person’s former adoptive parents and former adoptive family;
      2. The circumstances leading to an adoption placement;
      3. The details relating to the birth of the adopted person;
      4. The care received by the person prior to their adoption placement;
      5. The developmental progress of the adopted person;
      6. The date of an adoption placement or of an adoption order; and
      7. The name of the Society or of the licensee responsible for the adoption placement.

Further Information for Requestors (these services are only available through ServiceOntario.ca) 

    • As of June 1, 2009, adopted adults and birth parents can apply for post-adoption and birth information from birth records and adoption orders. This allows adults aged 18 and older to apply for a copy of his or her original birth registration and adoption order.
    • A birth parent may receive information from the birth registration and the adoption order of the child that was placed for adoption once the child turns 19 years of age.
    • If an individual wants identifying information to be kept private and if the adoption order was made before September 1, 2008, adopted adults and birth parents can file a Disclosure Veto to prevent the release of any identifying information.
    • Adopted adults and birth family members may place themselves on the Adoption Disclosure Register if they are interested in contacting each other.
    • Further information is available at https://www.ontario.ca/page/search-adoption-records

Acts and Legislation

To submit a request for Adoption Disclosure, complete the Adoption Disclosure Request for Non-Identifying Information form. We understand you may not know all of the information being asked on the form. In that case, please enter “unknown” wherever that applies.

You may wish to provide updated information for the CAS file for the purpose of disclosure. To do so, please complete the Social History Update Information form. We will file your updated information, which may one day be shared (in non-identifying format) with that person if/when they contact us to request Adoption Disclosure. Please note that WECAS does not have the authority to “reach out” to your birth relative and cannot share your updated information unless we are contacted by them.

For questions or more information, please email our Adoption Disclosure Worker at: adoptiondisclosure@wecas.on.ca