The Foundling has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of people since we took in our first abandoned baby, and our Records Department has maintained information on all who have come through our doors.  For inquiries, please call 212-206-4171 or send a request for information to:

New York Foundling
Record Information Department
Attn:  Yvonne Wintz
590 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011

Please note:  For privacy reasons, no inquiries may be addressed via email.

Any foster child, foster parent, adoptee, birth parent or adoptive parent who has at any time been served by The Foundling, may request non-identifying, medical, and psychological information from our records.  Information is provided to adoptees and foster care children over the age of 18 as well as to parents of minors.  In some circumstances identifying information may be provided in accordance with New York State law.  The Foundling’s Record Information service acts as a liaison between clients and the New York State Adoption and Medical Information Registry.  We follow rules of strict confidentiality as directed by the New York State Adoption Registry.  We also work with Orphan Train riders and their families.

We are told by people of all ages that the information we provided helped dispel misperceptions and removed the air of secrecy that may have followed them throughout their lives.  For the first time, many people begin to understand why they were placed into care and the circumstances of their family’s life.  This knowledge gives our clients a greater understanding and helps diminish the painful sense of loss that many have carried.