Petition for the Creation of a Global Paternal Registry

Birth Father Registries
By Carrie Craft, About.com

Somewhere in the course of our American history, fathers have become unimportant, and even a joke. You can see it in our media. Fathers are often the punch line, lack decision-making power or skill, and are portrayed as seemingly uncaring about the needs of their families. This attitude is also seen in some adoption laws. Fathers seem to have little to no say in whether or not their children are placed for adoption.

If it takes two to “tango”, shouldn’t it take two to make such an immense decision on the behalf of a child?

Now the “joke” on fathers is being carried out in birth father registries. A putative birth father registry is a listing that a man must sign, if he thinks he may be the father of a baby, in order to be notified of an impending adoption of that baby. He has up to 30 days after birth of the child to sign, or he loses all rights to the child.

This registry isn’t a bad idea, but perhaps it’s not fully thought out. At least not in the case and the situation that contributing author Erik L. Smith encountered when he tried to do the responsible thing in Ohio. He found a circus of problems; and the three ring act included no one knowing what the putative father registry was, where it was located, or why the forms were outdated. Since this report was written by Mr. Smith, Ohio has made changes in the handling of the registry, but its beginnings show that the system needs work.

How can fathers take their rights and responsibilities seriously when the very law that is meant to protect those rights is handled in such a disorganized and disrespectful way? Yes, disrespectful. I find it very disrespectful that there are laws in many states that say a man must sign this registry and then make it next to impossible for him to accomplish that task.

I can only imagine how a teen father would handle such roadblocks!

For putative father registries to work, they need to be better advertised and discussed. The laws need to be clearly outlined, as there are numerous potential problems. What if the woman has the child in another state? What if the man is in the military? Before an adoption can occur, should there be a nation wide search of registries? If there is a search, the state to state difference in the laws concerning the rights of the fathers may cause problems.

There are many men out there who have no desire to parent a child or be financially responsible. “Deadbeat Dads” is a term that is widely used and understood. These “dads” may see pregnancy as a sign of their conquest and power. In these cases, the registry can, and will, weed out the sperm donors and assist the mothers in making the best decision for their unborn children. But in cases where men have the desire to parent, or at least be a part of the decision making process, the lack of knowledge that these registries even exist are cutting them out of the picture.

I am for the registries. I think they are the best idea, so far, to ensure fathers’ rights. A lot of changes need to occur to make them as effective and fair as possible. I believe that it’s possible to make the changes necessary for these registries to work. For example, Indiana notes success since its registry’s beginnings, with both increased revenue to the State Board of Health and with the number of men who have used the registry. This is just one state, though, and one success.

But then I start to think about my own sons and how my husband and I are trying to teach them responsibility. Today everything seems to come and go so easily, with the world often sending the message, “Make a mistake and someone will clean it up for you.”

As disorganized and poorly planned as most of these registries are, in their current state, are we making it too easy for fathers to walk away - leaving all responsibility to the mothers, agencies, and potential adoptive families? Is this really what we want for our future - a future of absentee fathers, sperm donors, and overlooked responsibility?

Perhaps as a part of teaching our sons responsibility about sex, we should also include the importance of filing with the registries and being a father - either as a part of the process of parenting or planning an adoption.

*******

References

1. Smith, E.L. The Ohio Putative Father Registry---The What? July 2, 2003, published on the Adoption GuideSite at About.com.

2. Caldwell, Mardie The Need for State Birth Father Registries, originally published on the LifeTime Adoption Facilitation Center LLC website.

3. Adoption--Consent--ICPC--Putative Father Registry – March 18, 2003, published on the Family Law Reporter, Volume 29, Number 19.

4. Kirsh, Steven Indiana's Putative Father Registry Succeeds, published on Adoption.com.

5. Presumed (Putative) Fathers originally published on the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, May 31, 2003