How Does WARM's Search and Reunion Service Work?

Updated

WARM (Washington Adoption Reunion Movement) is a nonprofit that reunites families separated by adoption, serving adoptees, birth family members, and adoptive families. Its search and reunion work runs primarily through a Confidential Intermediary system, and it specializes in Washington state while cooperating with Superior Courts in several other states. If you want to start a search, the key practical detail is that the application form is not available on the website—you must request it by email or phone, complete it, and mail it back.

Who WARM Serves

WARM works with three groups affected by adoption:

  • Adoptees searching for birth family
  • Birth family members searching for a child placed for adoption
  • Adoptive families seeking information or reunion support

The organization has been reuniting families since 1976 and operates as a nonprofit.

The Confidential Intermediary System

WARM's core method is the Confidential Intermediary system. A confidential intermediary acts as a go-between: rather than handing over identifying information directly, the intermediary contacts the sought-after party, confirms whether they consent to contact or reunion, and manages the exchange in a way that respects both sides' privacy.

WARM's policies and methods using this system have served as a model for searching in other states and Canadian provinces, which suggests the approach is established rather than experimental.

Scope: Washington and Beyond

  • Primary focus: Washington state
  • Additional reach: cooperation with Superior Courts in a number of other states
  • WARM also stays informed on changes in law, policy formation, and implementation that affect adoption searches

If your search falls outside Washington, the court cooperation is worth asking about directly, since the exact reach isn't specified on the site.

How to Apply

The application process is deliberately offline:

  1. Request the application form by email or by phone to the WARM office.
  2. Complete the form once you receive it.
  3. Mail it back to WARM.

There is no online application on the website. According to WARM's privacy statement, no personal information is collected through or retained by the website, and any personal information submitted in any form is never sold or shared with outside entities for marketing or promotional purposes.

Support Beyond the Search

WARM also provides information, referral, and support services, and it maintains a blog and a section on support groups—including guidance on who needs a support group. Reunion is often an emotionally complex process, so these resources sit alongside the search service rather than being separate from it.

What to Keep in Mind

  • Start with contact, not the website. Because the form is only available by email or phone request, your first step is reaching the WARM office.
  • Expect a mail-based process. The completed form goes back by post, so plan for that timeline.
  • Ask about your specific state if the adoption wasn't in Washington, since out-of-state work depends on court cooperation.
  • Privacy is handled offline by design. The website itself collects and retains no personal information.