Interview with Andrea Steiner Coates

Welcome to the Adoption Files Podcast! Today my guest is Andrea Steiner Coates. Andrea is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a DNA Search Angel, and a lovely person who is a staunch Adoptee Advocate. Andrea was instrumental in my search for my paternal family. Today we talk about what a search angel is, how they differ from an intermediary, and what kinds of resources exist to assist people in their searches. We also discuss the importance of being prepared for DNA test results, the laws in the state of Michigan that pertain to adoptees, and the need for kindness when an adoptee contacts DNA matches about their family connections.  Some of the terms: centimorgan: this is a way to measure and express genetic linkage. It is a measure betwen chromosome markers. Basically, the more centimorgans you share with a genetic match, the closer the relationship The Green Chart, or The DNA Green Chart: thisis a chart used by many genealogists to determine the likelihood of a certain relatinship. If you google the DNA Green Chart, you should see a chart pop up that lists centimorgan ranges next to likely relationships.  OBC: original birth certificate Non-identifying information: information about the persons parents that do not identify them by name or provide information that would allow the adoptee to identify family members. May include parents ages, professions and some medical information.  Resources for searching: The Search Squad: a group of volunteers who train to perform DNA based genealogical searches. Their sister group is The DNA Detectives DNA tests. The most commonly recommmended tests are through Ancestry and 23 and Me. Ancestry has the larger database and has many search functions. 23 and Me has an opt in for medical information that can be very helpful for people seeking answers to medical questions. Other companies include ftdna, gedmatch, myheritagedna. Some sites allow free uploading of dna results to their sites. Some provide some basic search functions for no fee. Most of these services require payment for testing and ongoing access to results and search functions.  True People Search: this is a free site that can help provide information about people when you are searching. There are other resources such as Newspapers.com and Legacy.com, findagrave, BeenVerified and more.