[Pat Brown]

Snowwill has given you a good answer and it is wonderful to see the adoption resources listed out for your help. I have been an adoptions counselor, and I know there is information in many adoption records that would come as a shock to the person adopted. Counseling is not meant to insult your coping abilities and maturity, but prepare you for the way new information might change the way you view your own self, your life story, your adoption, and both your adoptive parents and birth parents(and their families). And, yes, I absolutely agree that the information in that record belongs to YOU.It sounds to me like the easy way is to pay the fee, meet the counselor, and see what help you can get in arranging a meeting from the agency. Do some reading to prepare yourself and know what questions you might be asked, and know what information you want the agency to provide.Only if that doesn't get you anywhere would you need to go to the time and effort of searching adoption registries, using adoption search services, etc, , and try to locate the birth parents on your own.