
Our Mission
Adoption Network Cleveland connects and empowers individuals, organizations, and communities impacted by adoption and foster care, providing a source of healing for those in need since 1988.
Adoption Network Cleveland connects and empowers individuals, organizations, and communities impacted by adoption and foster care, providing a source of healing for those in need since 1988.
Ten years ago, we witnessed history in the making as we celebrated Opening Day – the day 400,000 Ohio-born adoptees finally had the legal right to apply for their original birth certificates.
Ten years ago, Marni Hall requested her original birth certificate, after Ohio opened up the records for 400,000 adoptees. It led her to reconnect with her birth mother, Karen Uphouse. They exchanged letters and calls before meeting for the first time on June 6, 2015, and taking this selfie to celebrate. They've since built a relationship and commemorate their reunion every year by returning to the same Columbus metropark, walking the same mile loop and updating their selfie.
On March 5, 2025, three former foster youth—Jaleshia Brown, Adam Hassan, and Michael Outrich—testified before the Ohio Children and Human Services Committee in support of adding the Foster-to-College Scholarship Program to the pending Ohio Budget Bill.