ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the findings of adoption literature which shows the importance throughout life of information about origins. There are practice implications regarding the format and content of children's records. When adults came to read their records, what they wanted to know was who their birth families were - including putative fathers; their nationality and ethnic origin, state of health, what they looked like, and preferably an indication of their character. Lessons from the past reinforce current growing awareness of the importance of keeping accurate, non-judgmental, nondiscriminatory records. The particular needs of former child migrants for help in coming to terms with their childhood experiences and for information about their past was recently highlighted in a Select Committee report. Social workers working with adults seeking retrospective access to their records have a responsibility to help clients interpret what they read by explaining the historical, social and cultural perspectives in which the records were written.
