Before embarking on a search, it is important to specify what you want to search for. Searching can often imply different things. Some search for more information about their pre-adoptive past, others search for family members or relatives. It is important to be prepared for possible outcomes or no outcome at all.

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Our right to search for origins. In Bolivia, in the current Children’s Code of 2014 (Law N°548) we have the right to have access to our origins under article 95. This means that the Bolivian government should help us in our quest to find information or family members. Below you find a brief overview of the official way to find relatives relying on the assistance of the Bolivian institutions. 

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Searching for information: In Bolivia there are several institutions involved in the process of adoption. These institutions might have some information or archives. Important institutions are: the children’s homes, SEDEGES (supervising authority of the children’s homes), family court, local child protection centres (Defensorias de la Niñez y Adolescencia – DNA) and the Bolivian Central Authority which is part of the Ministry of Justice department: Niñez y Personas Adultas Mayores.

 

Searching for the family of origin: In case you want to find the family of origin, it is important to collect all available information on the adoption. It is important to go through the papers as carefully as possible, because the smallest detail can be relevant. If you have a full name of a family member (e.g.; two first names, and two last names), a birth date, or ID number, this can all help in finding the family member. 

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Which authorities can help us? First, the Central Authority has the authority to support Bolivian adoptees in possible searches for more information about their Bolivian parents. They are the ones that should assist adoptees in getting the information requested. Second, SEDEGES may have access to adoption documents archived in their systems (if the children’s home doesn’t have the papers for example). Third, DNAs may help underage Bolivian adoptees in retrieving some information about the family of origin, in case names or ID numbers are known. 

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The adoptee can also ask for legal permission to search for their Bolivian family by obtaining a document approved by court, drafted by a lawyer, which states that the adoptee has the right to the information about their family of origin. This document may include the request to get access to the following institutions: SERECI, SEGIP, and the three mobile phone companies (TIGO, ENTEL, VIVO).

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Which institutions have information?

• (1)  Servicio General de Identificación Personal (SEGIP): this is the institution that delivers ID cards. They have address, id-photo, id-number, family composition, date of birth, place of birth.

• (2)  Servicio de Registro Civico (SERECI – main office): They have access to all the information of the person, including pictures and family tree.

• (3)  Servicio de Registro Civico (SERECI – local office): They have access to the date of birth, id-number and the neighbourhood where the person last voted.

• (4)  If one has the full name and ID-number, one can also find out through this website where one has voted for the last time. (https://yoparticipo.oep.org.bo)