I just finished a meeting with our social workers and I was reminded of the work that they do to locate birth documents for our children and, sometimes, their parents. It can be incredibly complicated work, often involving hospitals or community midwives, parishes, local government officials, civil registrars and census offices and other government offices. Often, if our child has no birth document we have to file a delayed registration of birth. This work takes a lot of know-how on the part of our social workers, and a lot of persistance and dedication. Many of our kids do not have any birth record when they  come to live at CSC.  Without a birth document we cannot process adoption papers. And, if a child returns to his or her birth family, or stays with us in our teen home, they will have difficulty in registering for school or finding employment. Its tough to navigate through life if you can't prove you exist!