This workshop will examine two controversies: open vs. closed adoptions and their impact on adopted children and their families, and the legal issues and concerns around allowing adult adoptees the right to access their birth records. Dr. Stacey Patton blends the power of her first-hand experience as an adoptee with powerful research and media coverage as various states grapple with the possibilities and challenges of changing legislation. Dr. Patton will also address the emotional turmoil surrounding the reunion process and discuss the need for appropriate counseling that will help adoptees, adoptive families and biological families more effectively navigate the process of reconnecting and managing expectations.