HF855 was signed into law on May 19, 2021. Due to this new legislation, beginning January 1, 2022, any adult adoptee 18 years old or older may apply for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption. This same law gives birth parents the right to request redaction of their information from the record.
Iowa maintains a mutual consent adoption registry which can be used to facilitate contact and consent-based sharing of identifying information between adopted people, siblings, and birthparents. The webpage for it disappeared after HF855 was enacted, but contact the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Statistics, Adoption Registry Program, Lucas Office Building, 1st Floor, Des Moines, IA 50319-0075. Phone: 515-281-6263 or email: vitalrecords@idph.iowa.gov.
"Homes for children of deceased soldiers as might be left in destitute circumstances."
In Iowa, the idea first took form in October 1863, in Muscatine, by Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer. The 1st home opened in 1864 in Van Buren County. It was funded by the general public and also from soldiers in the field - organized and run by an association called the Iowa State Orphan Asylum. By 1865 it became necessary to provide more homes due to the large number of children, so a branch was opened at Cedar Falls and Camp Kinsman near Davenport was donated to the cause. In 1866, the Home contained about 450 inmates, became a state-run institution and another branch was established at Glenwood in Mills County.
The library's collections and services are available to all ISU students, faculty, and staff and Parks Library is open to the public.
