Birth Mother Location Services 

Many adoptive parents are now interested in having what is known as an open adoption, where the adoptive parents seek out the birth mother of their adopted child. Some of the benefits of such an arrangement include: having knowledge of health and genetic information on the child, obtaining relevant family history information, allowing the child to be aware of and have pride in their cultural identity and where appropriate, permitting contact between the child and biological mother

Locating the birth mother  of a child adopted  from a foreign country can present some special problems. In Guatemala, for example, the birth mother is often living in an indigenous village and ofttimes speaks only her native Mayan dialect - making her more difficult to locate. Also, searches can be dangerous since the indigenous Mayan villagers are generally wary and distrustful of outsiders. 

Enlisting natives as assistants in the search gives an advantage in finding and communicating with the birth mother by gaining the confidence and trust of the locals, increasing the chances of locating her.  It also provides income for those assisting in the search.

My experience is primarily with Guatemala, which has been the source of many adopted children in the past. I have many Mayan contacts and friends as a result of my work with an educational non profit that I created a few years back.  I use these native friends and contacts in accomplishing the search process.  My Mayan contacts mostly speak Kaqchikel - one of the 30 to 40 Mayan dialects.  I have discovered that, for the most part, a speaker of one dialect can communicate with speakers of other dialects.  Most of my contacts also speak Spanish, as do I.

I have traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Central and South America for more than 20 years, so I am also able to do searches in other Latin American countries as well.

My services include -- 1.the search and location of the birth mother and family, 2.a thorough report of the search including information/ stories/ anecdotes gathered from visiting with the family, 3.obtaining basic family medical information from available records, 4.providing video and photographs of the family and 5.facilitating initial contact with and/ or acting as liaison to the birth mother and family for a period of time.

I can also arrange a trip for a meeting with the biological mother and family when she is located, if you desire to meet with her.

Realizing that reconnecting birth mother with the child or with adoptive parents can be a very sensitive undertaking, every effort is made to facilitate the reconnection with the goal of making it a pleasant and positive experience for all.

If you are interested in locating a birth mother or just want to learn more about this service, call or email today for a free consultation. - 832.287.5072 or loelcoleman@loelcoleman.com

My basic search fee is $2,000 which includes all of the items and services outlined above.

I can reduce the fee for multiple searches where more than one adoptive family initiate searches at the same time, or if an adoptive family wants to do searches for more than one child from the same country at the same time.

My usual arrangement is for 1/2 the fee to be paid in advance with the balance due only if and when the biological mother/ family are located.  Other payment arrangements can be made.

The fee may be higher for searches that are particularly difficult or that may be more dangerous than usual.