History 

NJCARE, formerly the New Jersey Coalition for Openness in Adoption (NJCFOA), was founded in 1991. Our primary goal is to advocate adoption reform in New Jersey. To achieve this goal, we work to enlighten our state to the needs of adopted persons, birth parents, and adoptive parents.

The current law concerning adoption records in New Jersey was passed in 1940 and continues to reflect social attitudes prevailing at that time.

• Children born out-of-wedlock had "illegitimate" stamped on their birth certificates.
• Social workers and lawmakers believed that members of the triad needed protection not only from the prying eyes of the public, but from one another.
• Secrecy and denial were accepted as the norm.
• The awareness of the theory of nature vs. nurture was in its infancy, and genetic research was almost nonexistent.

We believe that to bring integrity to adoption in New Jersey, we must re-form the laws and attitudes that have fostered secrecy in adoption.