THE RESEARCHER'S SOURCE

PROFESSIONAL RESEARCHER AVAILABLE

AMAZING RESEARCHER at your service. I have almost 10 years experience working as a RESEARCHER/PRODUCER/COORDINATOR in the entertainment media field. Information search savvy and comfortable with all areas of research via internet, lexis-nexis, public records and library. View my Research profile at http://www.mediabistro.com/felicadelapena and contact me at http://www.lamommamedia@yahoo.com and we can discuss your Research needs.

ADOPTION RESOURCES

Address Look Ups by Phone Number
You can even find a map to the person's house here!  Just type in the person's phone number!

Adoption News Headlines
This pulls up anything with the word adoption in the news, changes every 15 minutes or so, and may be helpful.

AMA Physician Select

About.com
Tons of info on adoption related issues!

Access to Adoption Records
Excellent resource - status State by State

Adopted Vietnamese

WHERE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH

DETERMINE WHERE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH (INTERNET VS. THE LIBRARY) Go to the links for this article.

A site visitor writes: Is there any kind of research that is better done in the library than on the Internet? For instance, can you use the Internet to locate abstracts of articles in scholarly journals, or is it better to check a database at a good library?   I doubt that many librarians would dispute the value of the Internet in research. It provides access to numerous reputable free or low-cost databases, journals, books, reports, and other publications as well as to many important commercial resources. Oftentimes, the Internet serves as the sole source of information, or offers the shortest path to an answer. Conversely, libraries house mounds of materials that are not digitized, and likely never will be – at least, not in my lifetime. Libraries give patrons access to databases that sometimes would be otherwise unavailable, or available at a significantly higher cost. Libraries also may provide a greater number of authoritative resources in certain subjects. Determining whether the Internet or a library presents a better research environment depends on at least three factors: Source availability. Which provides credible accessible sources that answer the question? Research skills. Can the researcher find and use the available sources? Use of the information. How will the researcher use the information that results from the research? Consider this example: an undergraduate seeks scholarly articles about a current issue in psychology for a term paper. Both the Internet and academic libraries offer at least one worthy resource -- PsycINFO, a database of bibliographic citations and abstracts to literature in the field of psychology. A student may, or may not, deem it accessible when he discovers he has to pay for its use via the Internet. But, if the student wants to pay to access the database, and knows (or learns) how to search it well enough to retrieve relevant abstracts, and then meets the requirements of the assignment using the information he finds, then the Internet at least provides as good a research environment as a library. But what if the researcher were a doctor investigating the adverse effects of a drug intended for use in a medical study? Both the Internet and medical libraries offer useful resources. Medical libraries undoubtedly provide resources beyond the number and scope of those available on the Internet. Is this important? What about the research skills of the doctor? Is searching the pertinent databases well enough to retrieve relevant abstracts, as in the previous example, sufficient? Or does the outcome -- the use of the information -- demand proficiency? Last year, a Johns Hopkins medical researcher failed to uncover published information about the potentially fatal side effects of the drug, Hexamethonium, when inhaled. Consequently, a young woman participating in an asthma study, died. Because the doctor accessed databases available in the medical library as well as on the Internet, source availability did not influence the outcome. Did he possess the search skills necessary to retrieve essential abstracts from the databases? Did he misjudge the significance of that which he read? I have no answers -- only a suggestion. Before deciding whether to conduct research in a library or on the Internet, ask yourself: "How important is the answer?" If you want to meet the requirements of an assignment -- earning perhaps a better than average grade -- then, by all means, experiment. Test your search skills on the Internet, or in a library. But if the answer is a matter of life or death, recognize your limitations. Not too many people are both subject and research experts.   BY:Genie Tyburski

Free Court Case Docket Monitoring

Paul Bush, founder of Legal Dockets Online

While most attorneys are aware that many courts around the country have been offering inexpensive and free access to case dockets on the Internet for years, many are not aware that dockets can be automatically monitored for free as well. Attorneys and other researchers tend to get set in their ways, relying upon vendors to inform them which court jurisdictions are available for automatic monitoring, and which aren’t. In addition to being too busy or thinking they lack the technical ability, many people just don’t know which courts are offering docket sheets, and the methods used to monitor them.

The method for setting up a system to monitor court cases is very simple.

Federal District and Bankruptcy Courts

Currently, there are about 150 U.S. district and bankruptcy courts that utilize the CM/ECF system. In addition to the obvious benefits of docketing and electronic filing, another valuable feature of CM/ECF is electronic noticing. This is an automated process whereby the text of new case docket entries, and links to the associated documents, are distributed via e-mail. In order to participate in electronic noticing in most courts, you must first obtain an electronic case filing account.

The specific requirements for obtaining an ECF account vary from court to court, but you must be admitted to practice in a court before your ID and password will be issued. Some courts allow an attorney to sign up online. They will activate the account within hours. Others require mailing a hardcopy of the ECF application. They may also require training.

It’s free to create an ECF account, and e-filing is quickly becoming mandatory in the federal courts, so it’s a good idea to sign up. After your account is set up, you’ll receive timely notices of new docket entries free of charge, as well as one free look at documents for cases in which you have appeared.

Although there are different court policies and software releases of CM/ECF being used, the following method should work for monitoring cases you’re not involved in:

1. Log in to the appropriate ECF court site and click "Utilities" on the upper right side of the blue bar that runs across the top of the screen.

2. Under "Your Account," click "Maintain Your Account."*

3. Scroll down and click the button labeled "Email information."

4. Check the box labeled "Send notices in these additional cases," and enter the case numbers for the cases you would like to monitor.

5. Click the button labeled "Return to Account screen."

6. Scroll down and click the button labeled "Submit."

7. You will need to click a "submit" button again, and then see a summary of the options you have selected for your account.

(*If you don’t see the "Your Account" link, this means the court you’re practicing in does not allow you to alter your account options online, and you must call them to make any changes needed. Also, some courts will allow you to participate in electronic noticing without having an e-filing account.)

To use a step-by-step computer training module for electronic noticing, click "Setting Up Automatic E-mail", on the PACER Service Center’s CM/ECF site: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/ecfcbt/dc/.

U.S. Supreme, State, and Local Courts

The U.S. Supreme Court and many state and local courts post free docket sheets online using various systems built in-house or created by legal software companies. The method for setting up a system to monitor these court cases is very simple. Below are the steps needed, for example, to set up monitoring for a U.S. Supreme Court docket.

First go to the court’s Web site and click "docket." Enter the case number or party name and click the search button. Then select the link to the case, which will display the docket in your browser.

Notice how the docket is displayed with its own unique URL address. Using your mouse, highlight and copy the URL. You’ll paste this later to set up the monitoring.

Also, create a direct link to the docket in your favorites, bookmarks or in your Intranet site.

Next, go to a free Web page monitoring site such as WatchThatPage. Follow the directions to create an account, and then paste the docket’s URL into the proper location for monitoring. That’s it! You have just created a free automated mechanism for monitoring a U.S. Supreme Court case docket.

To be sure you’re alerted promptly with updates, customize the frequency for the docket to be checked every few hours, seven days a week. When a docket entry or other change is made, the e-mail address you designate will receive notice with a link to the docket. You’ll also receive an e-mail alert if the court site is not working.

Although I have only used this monitoring method for the U.S. Supreme Court, monitoring other courts’ case docket sheets in this manner should work just as easily. As long as the page where your docket sheet is located can be monitored, you can conduct free, timely automated case monitoring. You should experiment, and not rely solely on this strategy for case docket monitoring, since each court’s public access policies, docketing procedures and technologies are different.

Free Court Dockets

Below is a brief list of some of the courts that offer free dockets online. You can probably monitor them using the above-described method.

U.S. Tax Court
Arizona: Maricopa and Pima County Superior Courts.
California: Butte, Contra Costa, Glenn, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, and Ventura County Superior Courts.
Connecticut: Superior Court civil cases.
Florida: Supreme Court and various Circuit Courts.
Georgia: Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Illinois: Circuit Courts in many counties.
Kansas: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Shawnee County District Court.
Kentucky: Supreme Court.
Massachusetts: Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Michigan: Grand Traverse and Macomb County Circuit Courts.
Mississippi: Supreme Court.
North Carolina: Supreme Court.
North Dakota: Supreme Court.
Ohio: Common Pleas and Municipal Courts in many counties.
Oklahoma: Appellate and District Courts.
Texas: District and County Courts in Brazoria, Comal, Denton, El Paso, Grayson, Gregg, Lamar, Rockwall, Tom Green, Williamson and other counties.
Washington: Pierce County Superior Court.
Wisconsin: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Circuit Courts.

As federal, state and local courts continue to improve their technology regarding online case information, it’s more important than ever to know where to look and how effectively to monitor case dockets. There are always exceptions to rules and procedures, but the two methods of docket monitoring I have described should significantly help to increase the value, timeliness and efficiency of your case monitoring efforts.

Paul Bush is an electronic services analyst with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP, based in New York City. He also is the founder and manager of Legal Dockets Online.

The Art of Public Records Research

Genie Tyburski, Web Manager, The Virtual Chase Originally published in The CyberSkeptic's Guide to Internet Research (November/December 2005). Corporate clients' need for information from public records runs the gamut from validating a businessperson's credentials to gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace. Clients might ask you to assess a potential partner's reputation, find assets, identify ownership, affiliations or relationships, discover activity in a certain field or geographic region, determine consumer reaction to products or services, uncover evidence of legal problems, or conduct research on just about anything that pertains to doing business. Often stimulating intellectually, such work requires attention to detail, creativity, persistence, patience and the ability to elicit information from people who don't know what they know. In other words, it demands superior research skills. Since you are reading The CyberSkeptic's Guide to Internet Research, chances are you already know how to conduct research. But success in public records research means acquiring special knowledge and honing telephone and paper research skills. As the latest statistics indicate, online searching will take you only so far. Sixty-five percent of public records remain offline. Of the 35 percent online, many contain no personally identifying information. (Public Records Online, 5th edition, Facts on Demand Press, 2004, p. 12.) This article explains important differences between public records, public information and private information. It introduces select public records databases and search techniques. It would take a book to cover all worthwhile sources. It's a good thing, then, that public records publisher, BRB Publications, Inc., offers several. What Is Public Record? The first step toward success in finding information about people or companies begins with understanding what constitutes public record, public information and private information. All types of information fall into one of these three categories, or a fourth that I'll define later. But the classification isn't always clear. Generally, personal or confidential information is private. A person's Social Security number, date of birth, and medical, financial or insurance information is private. Likewise, confidential company information, such as unpatented formulas, designs or processes, or undisclosed business practices, is private. But researchers should know that private information sometimes becomes public. This means that you might be able to find it out – legally and ethically. Public records are government records. Generally, real estate records, court records, including bankruptcies, liens and judgments, professional licenses, intellectual property filings and business records, such as business filings, public company filings and UCCs, are public record. There may be exceptions to this rule. For example, juvenile court records generally are not public record. Federal or state law determines what is public record. Because the laws of the 50 states vary, what is public in one state may not be in another. For example, under Maine law, you may use voter registration records to locate a missing heir. But you may not access the records for this, or any other non-political purpose, in several other states. Similarly, you may search records at courthouses for misdemeanors or felonies, but the state's criminal repository – the agency responsible for maintaining criminal histories – may bar access to official rapsheets. Staying on the right side of the law requires discovering whether the records you want are public in the relevant jurisdictions. Fortunately, BRB offers several reference works and databases to help you comply. Information that is not public record is not necessarily private. It may become public information through legitimate or illegal means. If someone reverse engineers a computer program, and then distributes the code via the Internet, it may become public information, albeit unlawfully. If a disgruntled employee shares confidential company information with his prospective employer, the information may become – if not public – an open secret, albeit unethically. But information might become public through several legitimate means. A person might volunteer it. Those with a public telephone number choose (by accepting a public listing) to publish it. Job seekers frequently post resumés to public forums. Sometimes these job summaries contain sufficient personal information – name, address, phone number and Social Security number – to launch an illicit identity theft business. Information might become public through observation. In Remsberg v. DocuSearch, the New Hampshire Supreme Court determined that "where a person's work address is readily observable by members of the public, the address cannot be private…." One of the more common ways private information becomes public, though, is through disclosure in a public record. Bankruptcies and divorce filings typically contain private information, such as bank and credit card account numbers, employment, and the names and ages of minor children. Court records in personal injury litigation may contain detailed medical information. Vehicle accident reports sometimes provide vehicle identification numbers (VIN), license plate numbers and driver's license numbers. There is another category of information that falls somewhere between public record and public information. BRB authors refer to it as "quasi-public" records, or government records that are accessible with restrictions. Military records fall into this category, as do school records and in some states, worker's compensation records and criminal repository records. Under some circumstances, you can obtain limited information. Online Public Records Databases Hundreds of government databases containing public records exist. Resources available at the BRB Web site will help you identify them as well as the many commercial vendors of public records. There are many regional and specialty (special focus) – and often less expensive – vendors in addition to the well known ChoicePoint Inc., LexisNexis and Acxiom. Keep in mind that these data aggregators mix public record and private information. In light of recent incidents of data theft, they monitor access closely. If you use these services, pay attention to the contract. It governs the circumstances under which you may legally use the databases. Finding Federal Court Filings One of my favorite non-commercial sources is the U.S. Party/Case Index. It serves as an index to civil and criminal cases filed in federal courts across the nation. While it doesn't provide access to all federal courts (see "Courts Not on Index" in the main menu), it covers most of them. Access requires registration with PACER. You may search all available courts simultaneously, certain types of courts (bankruptcy) or individual courts. Coverage varies, but generally extends back to the mid-1990s. When searching a person or company, run several queries using variations on the name. For example, for personal names, search with and without a middle initial; for company names, search assumed names (fictitious business names or DBAs) as well as corporate names. Also try searching partial names. This approach will help you find as many relevant filings as possible. Searching for records involving real estate developer Donald Trump illustrates why the strategy is important. If you query the civil index with his middle initial, J, you retrieve almost 70 records. But if the May v. Bucklew (8:00-cv-02079-SDM) case in the Middle District of Florida ultimately proves relevant to the research, you won't find it. For whatever reason, the court indexed the case without Trump's middle initial. How do you know it’s relevant? Examine some of the documents filed in the case. Document number 13 indicates Trump was served at the address of one of his Florida companies. You may check Florida business filings to confirm that Donald J. Trump is, in fact, a corporate officer. Of course, confirming the relevancy of all the cases resulting from a broad search will take some time. But then you and I know that finding useful information often demands diligence. Unskilled searchers may get lucky on occasion, but experts know that luck alone won't yield repeated success. Finding Signs of Trouble Another government database I favor is the Excluded Parties List System. EPLS provides information about people and companies barred from receiving federal contracts or federal financial assistance. In addition to active debarments, you can find information about past actions. In fact, searching the database at the start of an investigation might shortcut the research, providing a clue about what to seek or where to find it. For example, suppose that in running a routine background check on a businessperson, you find an affiliation with the defunct Kansas City pharmacy, Courtney Pharmacy. You check the corporate records to obtain the officers' names and run them through a couple of high quality, low-cost databases such as the U.S. Party/Case Index or EPLS. The strategy holds the costs of the research down while allowing for a more thorough preliminary check. In running the name of one officer – Robert R. Courtney – through EPLS, you discover that he has been banned indefinitely from doing business with the U.S. government. The address in the record offers a clue as to the reason for the ban. But even if you don't recognize it – it's a federal penitentiary – the information is enough of a red flag to warrant more thorough research regarding the connection with the original research subject. Finding Clues in Public Filings A third favorite, EDGAR, provides a useful starting point for finding identifying information about people – but only if you access it through a third-party vendor. The Securities and Exchange Commission's free EDGAR database contains public company filings. Unfortunately, it permits searching only the information appearing in the header. Header information typically consists of the public company's name, address and unique identifier. The text of the filings, however, often contains information valuable to researchers. Using a commercial service, such as LivEDGAR, enables querying the full-text content using advanced search syntax. Suppose a business client asks you to conduct a background check on Donald Trump. She knows what she reads in the news, but she has few identifying details. Since Donald Trump is a businessperson, it makes sense first to query an EDGAR database. You'll find references to him in the body of the filings that reveal useful information, such as his middle initial, business affiliations, business addresses, investments, and more. In another matter, the client might ask you to locate someone who has a common name. If the individual is a public company executive, you might find additional identifying information, such as age, educational background or previous employment. This information might prove helpful in eliminating others with the same name. Business researchers also search EDGAR filings for information about private companies. Private companies do not have to disclose their finances or information pertaining to their business. Yet their public company competitors might mention them. Depending on the context, this could be useful information. Conclusion Creative searchers likely will discover myriad uses for government databases in people or company research. While you should heed warnings about the limitations of online public records, as explained in several books published by BRB, making wise use of them can hold down the costs of preliminary research. They also can keep you out of trouble with commercial vendors if the need for the information – concern about a daughter's new fiancé, for instance – is out of step with the contract.

Professional Researchers, Volunteers & Other Research Services

• Adopted? We Search for Birth Parents, Adoptees, Birth Families, Siblings ~ Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  A licenced professional researcher (also an adoptee/adoptive parent, both reunited) located in Ontario, expertise across Canada, New York State, California and Great Britain. Over 20 years experience. References can be supplied.
• Adoptees Miracle Search Network
  Professional who finds adoptees and their birth parents.
• Adoption Connections
  A Michigan adoption triad informational site.
• Adoption Search and Reunion
  Professional searcher specializing in California adoption searches and reunions.
• Adoption Searches & Investigations ~ London, Ontario, Canada
  Licensed, bonded, adoptee search agency. Adoption articles & links. Searches in Canada only. Contact Anne Patterson.
• California Post Adoption Reconnection
  Birthfamily search and reunion service.
• Catholic Child Welfare Council ~ United Kingdom
  Services for adopted people and others formerly in our care, including child migrants.
• genealogyPro - Adoption Researchers
• How Do I Find My Family?
  Researchers specialising in adoption and family research for adults who were adopted in the U.K.
• IDENTIGENE
  • DNA Family Find
    DNA reunion registry designed exclusively for reuniting adoptees and their birth parents.
• Hearts of Adoption ~ Chillicothe, Ohio
  OHIO adoption searches for biological family members and genealogical support and assistance in locating your missing loved ones.
• Joe Collins Private Investigator
  Adoption searches by private investigator in the state of New Jersey, in New Yory City and in any other location when a name is provided.
• Look 4 U - The Family and Friends Adoption Site
  Designed to offer FREE research to anyone who has lost family or friends in the UK and is looking to be reunited.
• LookupUK.com - Lookup United Kingdom - I am a UK Adoptee
  Comprehensive guide for UK and Ireland adoptee searches. Beginner information.
• The New Zealand Family Tracing Service
  People finding service.
• North East Post Adoption Service
  Adoption search services.
• PBN - Adoption Post, Missing Person Post, and Search Data Base Links
• PeopleFinderNow.com, missing persons. adoption, online searches
  Links to hundreds of databases and other search related resources primarily focused on adoption, locating adoptess or birth parents, missing persons and skips. Many free links plus fee based searches. Located in California.
• Project Roots and the Canadian War Children of World War Two
  Project Roots is a voluntary agency based in the Netherlands which reunites Canadian Veterans with the British and European War Children they left behind at the end of World War Two.
• Scotfinder
  Professional genealogical research in Scotland. Adoption specialist.
• Searchline - Reuniting Adoptees and Birth Parents
  A UK-based professional researcher, specialising in finding and reuniting adoptees and their birth families.
• South Carolina Locator
  Search services for adoptees & birthparents. Free reunion registry.
• The Super Snoops - Nationwide Adoption Searches
• TRACE - Transatlantic Children's Enterprise
  Organization which helps people trace their American GI fathers who they have never known, or have lost touch with.
• Utah Adoptee-Birthmother Searches/Reunions Help
  Professional adoption and reunion searches specializing in Utah/California/Oregon connections.
• Utah Finders
  Adoption searches. Adoptee, birthmother through mediation.

ADOPTION RESOURCES

General Resource Sites

• ABCgenealogy: Adoption
• AdopteeForum.com
  A forum offering members of the adoption triad a place where they can openly voice their experiences and feelings surrounding adoption.
• Adoptees.com - Adoptee Support. Adoption, Adopted, Forums, Issues, Article, Forum
• Adoptees Contact Line
  A registry for adoptees and birth parents.
• Adoptee Searcher's Handbook ~ Canada
• Adoptees Genealogy Search Links
• Adopting.org
• Adoption and Orphans Research
  From RootsWeb's guide to tracing family trees.
• Adoption.com
• AdoptioNetwork
• Adoption Information, Laws and Reforms
  From Kevin McCarty.
• Adoption Puzzle
  Search tools, registries, laws, reform, mailing lists, and more for adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents.
• The Adoption Registration Coalition
  Official Sponsors of International Registration Day.
• Adoption Registry - Records, Record, Reunion Registries, Adoptees, Search Reunite
  Provides many adoptee resources, such as searches, articles and online support.
• Adoption Resources for Your Family Tree
  From the About.com genealogy section.
• Adoption Reunion
  Provides many adoptee resources, such as an online adoption reunion registry, searches, articles, online support and more.
• Adoption Reunion Registries
  Provides many adoptee resources, such as an online adoption reunion registry, searches, articles, online support and more.
• Adoption Search and Reunion
  Adoption reunion search. Full search series, information about all 50 states, lists of mailing lists and registries, over a thousand links to other sites where you can also get help.
• Adoption Search Links by jlight
• Adoptions Reunited
  Post adoption registry service.
• Adoption Triad Outreach
  An online forum for adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents. Featuring a free reunion registry, chat, discussion boards, links, and more.
• Adoptee Birthfamily Connections
• All About Adoption Research
  Online article by Maureen Taylor.
• Ancestry Message Boards - Adoptions
• Becky West's Adoption Page
• BirthQuest
  Online searchable database for searching adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents and siblings.
• Carrie's Adoptee & Genealogy Page
• Dawn's Birthmother/Adoption Resource Page
• FamiliesLost.com
  An adoptee and birthparent reunion site.
• Family Workings Adoption Query Index
• Forget Me Not Family Society
• G'S United States Adoption Registry
• History of Adoption in the United States
• How to Search for Birth Family or Adoptee
• Jewish Orphanages in the United States
• Lia's Links: Adoption Reunion Registries
  Over 190 online adoption reunion registries listed and over 130 other adoption search links! Plus support links.
• Looking 4 Kin - Adoption Genealogy Links
  To aid you in your adoption genealogy research.
• Looking for someone? Find them here!
• Luanne Pruesner's Internet Adoption Page
• Mari's Place - Adoption Links
• Metro Reunion Registry
  A free reunion registry for all members of the adoption triad.
• Missing Birth Children - from Genealogical Journeys in Time
• Missing Birth Parents - from Genealogical Journeys in Time
• Missing Persons - from Genealogical Journeys in Time
• National Statistics - General Register Office - Adoptions ~ U.K.
• Orphan's Home Website
  Transcriptions of orphan, adoptee, and foster children listings in orphanages, homes, and poorhouses from U.S. and Canadian censuses.
• Orphan Voyage Memorials
  Dedicated to adoptees, birthparents and other birth family members who died before they had an opportunity to be reunited with the one they lost to adoption.
• Parent Finders of Sarnia-Lambton
  Search and support group for adoptees, birth relatives, fostered persons; genealogy and completing family tree.
• Relinquished
  International adoption registry focusing on Catholic related adoption searching.
• Reunion Registry.com
• Reunite - Adoption Reunion, Search, Find, Look, Birthmother, Son, Daughter, Family
  Provides many adoptee resources, such as an online adoption reunion registry, searches, articles, online support and more.
• RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees - Lesson 31: Adoption and Orphans Research
• R-U-Out There
  Adoption search bulletin board and information site.
• Searching For People
• Searching for Birth Relatives
• T.I.E.S Homepage
  "Terminal Illness Emergency Search." Program provides free search and support to terminally ill adoptees searching for their birthfamilies.
• The Volunteer Search Network (VSN) Information Page
• Welcome-I'm Adopted
  Adoptee able to get information from sealed records and RAD attachment/intimacy issues.
• World Wide Web Library of Adoptee Related Sites
• www.Aborn.org - Adoptee and Birthparent's for Open Records Nationwide
• Wildfyre's Adoption Reunion Registries
• Yahoo!...Adoption
• Yourfamily.com - Long Lost Family Bulletin Board

---

Locality Specific

• Adoptee's UK - Search & Reunion Help
  A new site aimed at anyone that is affected by adoption. Primarily aimed at people searching for birth families in the United Kingdom.
• Adoption
  From the United Kingdom's familyrecords.gov consortium.
• Adoption Contact Register
  UK adoption contact register for adoptees and birth relatives.
• Adoption/Genealogy Searching in Illinois
  Links and tips on how to conduct adoption and genealogical research in Illinois.
• The Canada-Wide National Registry & Family Finders
  Adoption resources & registry.
• Canadian Adoptees Registry Inc.
  For adoptees, birth mothers/fathers, siblings, relatives, fostered adults & adoptive parents.
• Central Adoption Registry - Michigan
  Information maintained by the Department of Human Services in Lansing. Contains former parent & adult former sibling statements giving consent or denial to have information about themselves released to an adult adopted person who is searching.
• Central Adoption Registry - Texas
  From the Department of State Health Services. The Texas Vital Statistics Central Adoption Registry is part of a voluntary mutual-consent registry system. It enables an adult adoptee, birth parent or sibling to place his or her name on the registry and locate other family members who are also registered.
• Cole Baby Adoption Registry
  Adoptees born in Miami, Florida, between 1927 and 1963.
• Colorado Adoption Search & Reunion Resources
• Family Search
  Information on adoption searches in Oklahoma from the Daily Oklahoman.
• Geborener Deutscher
  Quarterly newsletter that addresses the issues, interests and concerns of German-born adoptees and their birth/adoptive families.
• Illinois Adoption Search Resources
• Hightower Black Market Babies of Texarkana, Texas
  Information about Hightower Babies that were adopted on the black market.
• The Hispanic Adoption Registry
• IOWASEARCH Adoption Search Resources
  An Iowa dedicated database, free registry form, message board, mailing list and links.
• Irish Adoption Contact Register
  From the Adopted Peoples Association.
• Kentucky Adoption Reunion Registry
  Free registry is for Kentucky adoption searchs. Lots of useful search tips and current law regarding Kentucky adoptions. Registry was founded in 1980.
• Kentucky's Adoption Search Services
• Lost In Nebraska
  A site dedicated to adoptees searching in Nebraska. Registry and guestbook.
• The Maine Registry
  For adoptees and birthparents with ties to the state of Maine.
• Maryland State Archives Adoption Records 
• Montreal Angels Adoptee's ~ Quebec, Canada
  Birth family search registry free for canadians.
• National Archives of Scotland Fact Sheets - Adoption
  Requires the free Adobe Acrobat reader software in order to be viewed.
• New Mexico Adoption Registry
• Ohio Adoption Registry
• Oregon Adoptive Rights Association
• Pennsylvania Adoption Search and Education
• Research Guide - Good British Stock - Child & Youth Migration to Australia
  From the National Archives of Australia.
• Researching an Adoption ~ Manatee County, Florida
• Searching In Florida
  Links for adoptees and birthparents searching information mainly in Florida.
• Searching in Ireland - Resources for Irish-Born Adoptees
• Searching in Manitoba
  For Manitoba born adoptees.
• S.E.A.S.Y.P. Greek Adoptees Reunion Registry
• Seeking A "Stranger"
  A Georgia adoptee's adoption and search story. This site provides specific information to help those searching in Georgia in additional to general adoption search information.
• South Dakota Voluntary Adoption Registry
  From the South Dakota Department of Social Services. The Voluntary Adoption Registry consists of adoptees & biological parents who have consented to the release of identifying information about themselves.
• Sylvia's NY Adoption Page
  For adoption triad members that are searching in New York state to register their information. There are also links to sites that may be helpful in their search.
• Tina's Illinois Adoption Information Page
  Free adoption registry for those searching in Illinois.
• Tracing the Birth Parents of Adopted Persons in England and Wales
  From the Federation of Family History Societies. Online brochure provides basic information on adoption searches in England and Wales.
• UK Adoption Tracing Service
  Adoptees or birth relative tracing in the United Kingdom.
• UK Birth Adoption Register ~ Nottingham, England
  UK online birth and adoption cross reference registry.
• Vermont Adoption Registry
  Register if you were adopted in Vermont and are seeking non-identifying or identifying information regarding your adoption or your birth child's, siblings adoption. Also information about Vermont's adoption laws.
• WARM--Washington Adoption Reunion Movement
  Our mission is to provide support, search, reunion, education and training in the life long issues surrounding adoption.
• West Texas Children's Aid and Welfare Assoc. ~ Abilene, Texas
  Information on this Abilene agency (1920-1949) and on its administrator, Rev. W.A. Nicholas.
• White Oak Foundation
  Illinois adoption search information.

Consultants Serving Maine Historical Records Repositories

Provided by the Maine State Archives

This notice is provided for your convenience and does not constitute an endorsement of those listed. No guarantee of work quality is made or implied. Make arrangements directly with the selected consultant. You may wish to have a written agreement to avoid misunderstandings.

These consultants have differing backgrounds and experience; they provide services for a fee, often ranging from $200 to $400 per day, plus travel expenses.

We suggest you clearly describe your project to those you may consider, and request information about their experience and training as it may relate to that project. Indicate your objectives and what you expect in a written report, if any.

For further information, contact Janet Roberts at Maine State Archives, Station 84, Augusta, ME 04333; Phone: 207-287-5791; e-mail Janet Roberts at: janet.roberts@maine.gov

Christopher M. Beam Muskie Archives, Bates College 70 Campus Avenue Lewiston, ME 04240-6018 Phone: 786-6354 (W); 784-8933 (H); FAX: 786-6035 E-mail: cbeam@bates.edu Notes: Workshops, assessments	Paige Lilly 91 U.S. Route 1 Bucksport, ME 04461 Phone: 469-7827 E-mail: paigelilly@verizon.net Notes: Workshops, assessments
Deanna Bonner-Ganter P.O. Box 46  Lincolnville, ME 04849-0046  Phone: 763-3648; FAX: 763-3648 E-mail: deannabg@tidewater.net Notes: Photo, design and other image preservation	Elizabeth Maule 13 Middle Street, Apt. 3, Freeport, ME 04032 Phone: 865-9861; FAX: none E-mail: esmaule@gwi.net Notes: Workshops, assessments
Patricia A. Burdick 213 Lake View Drive Smithfield, ME 04978 Phone: 362-3189 872-3288 (w) E-mail: paburdic@colby.edu Notes: Workshops, Assessments	Museum Research Associates Ron Kley and Jane Radcliffe 11 Spring Street Hallowell, ME 04347 Phone: 395-4837 ;FAX: E-mail: regispeople@juno.com Notes: Assessment of museum collections
Julia Colvin 11 Boody Street Brunswick, ME 04011 Phone: 725-9735 Email: juliacolvin@gwi.net	Northeast Document Conservation Center 100 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 Phone: 978-470-1010; FAX: 987-475-6021 E-mail: nedcc@nedcc.org Notes: Workshops, assessments, conservation
Bill Cook and Susan Smith Bangor Public Library 145 Harlow St. Bangor, ME 04401 Phone: 947-8336 FAX: 945-6694 E-mail: billc@bpl.lib.me.us Notes: Workshops, assessments for archival and artifact collections, artwork, records management.	Roberta L. Ransley-Matteau 18 Smithwheel Road, #12 Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064 Phone: 934-0308 Email: robertaransley@hotmail.com
Martha Harmon 44 Riverside Lane Ellsworth, ME 04605 Phone: 667-8344 E-Mail: harmonmartha@hotmail.com Notes: Assessments	Nina Rayer Rayer Arts Conservation P.O. Box 4874, Portland, ME 04112 Phone: 207-774-4874 FAX:  207-774-8299 E-mail: nr@rayerconservation.com Notes: Paper, art object conservation
Richard Hollinger Special Collections 5729 Fogler Library University of Maine Orono, ME 04468 Phone: 207-581-1688 E-mail: richard.hollinger@umit.maine.edu Notes: Workshops, assessments and consultation on issues relating to records management and /or electronic records.	Abraham Schecter P.O. Box 5414 Portland, ME 04104-5414 Phone: 773-4319 E-mail: abraham@gwi.net Website: www.gwi.net/abraham Notes: Assessments, especially photographs
Brenda Howitson 64 Hopkins Road Hampden, ME 04444 Phone: 826-2036 email bhowitson@tds.net Notes: Arrangment & processing, cataloging, assessments	Anastasia S. Weigle 10 Longwood Avenue Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064 Phone: 207-934-2009 / 207-423-0443 E-mail: inabind.studio@verizon.net Website: www.inabindstudio.com Notes: Workshops, assessments, arrangement & processing, manuscript cataloging, disaster planning, archives management, book conservation, museum archives
Inlook Group Cynthia Swank, C.A., and Peter Parker P.O. Box 405  Portsmouth, NH 03802-0405 Phone: 603-964-9294; FAX: 603-964-9294 E-mail: info@inlookgroup.com Notes: Assessments, planning and training	Albert H. Whitaker 2 Brookwood Drive South Berwick, ME 03908 Phone:676-9890  E-mail: albiehw@aol.com Notes: Surveys, assessments, training

Last updated January 10, 2006

Genealogical Research in the Maine State Archives

The Maine State Archives has many record groups containing information which can be of use to those pursuing family history. These records, many of them on microfilm, can be viewed by the public in our Search Room.

It is suggested that the researcher may wish to begin by consulting records in the Maine State Library, which is also in the Cultural Building. Here can be found many published town and family histories, microfilmed newspapers, and much more material helpful to the genealogist.

• WHAT DO I DO IF I CANNOT VISIT THE MAINE STATE ARCHIVES?
• INDEXES OF MAINE MARRIAGES: 1892-1966 1976-1996.
• INDEX OF MAINE DEATHS: 1960 - 1996.
• VITAL RECORDS (BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS) BEFORE 1892
• VITAL RECORDS FROM 1892-1922
• VITAL RECORDS 1923-PRESENT
• FEDERAL POPULATION CENSUS SCHEDULES (1790-1920)
• MILITARY RECORDS
• JUDICIAL RECORDS
• LEGISLATIVE RECORDS

EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECKS

To check the backgrounds of U.S. people and companies, you will need access to:

* Accurint [http://www.accurint.com], ChoicePoint Online [http://www.choicepoint.com], AutoTrackXP [http://www.autotrackxp.coml, and/or another vendor to use for subject identification

* Dun & Bradstreet [http://www.dnb.com], for private company reports and executive biographies

* LexisNexis [http://www.lexisnexis.com], for news and public records

* Factiva [http://www.factiva.com], for news

* Pacer [http://http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/], for federal civil and criminal cases for most states

* CourtLink [http://www.lexisnexis.com/courtlink/ online], for county-level civil and criminal cases for some states

* Rapsheets.com, for criminal records for some states

If you have Westlaw, Hoover's Online, LIVEDGAR, and Dialog, you can cover even more bases. There are also many specialized resources you will need for certain jurisdictions or purposes.

Some great resources, including many public records, are available for free on the Internet. Here are several indispensable sites for locating these records:

* Search Systems [http://www.searchsystems.net/]

* BRB Publications, Inc. [http://www.brbpub.com/pubrecsites.asp]

* Center for Democracy and Technology [http://www. cdt.org/publications/020821courtrecords.shtml]

Before I explain the methodology of conducting a background investigation, I feel obliged to issue several disclaimers and point out what you will not find. First of all, many jurisdictions still have no online coverage of civil and/or criminal records. For these situations, you can hire someone to go to the courthouse to manually check for records involving your subject. Several document retrieval companies will love to take your money for providing such a service; these include:

* Washington Document Service: http://http://www. wdsdocs.com/company.htm; 800-728-5201

* CourtLink Document Retrieval Services: http://www. courtlink.com; (866) 540-8818

* Others are listed at the BRB Publications site: http:// www.brbpub.com/prrn

My second disclaimer has to do with the issue of criminal records in general. We, as common citizens, do not have access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database maintained by the FBI. This much-coveted database is used primarily by law enforcement personnel. Do not believe any vendor who claims access to this database. If they have it, they have it illegally.

My final disclaimer is that you too need disclaimers. Even if we check a wide range of sources, we cannot guarantee to detect all relevant information. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may have an investigation underway involving your subject that the company has not yet disclosed or news reporters tracked down. You will need to include disclaimers in the report you deliver.

Here's an example of a general disclaimer:

   The purpose of this report is to provide information

   on the subjects you have identified, with an emphasis

   on adverse findings. We searched online

   databases that provide extensive breadth of coverage

   in all areas of business and litigation. However,

   due to limitations of scope provided by the databases,

   we cannot say with certainty that all relevant

   information was detected.

Getting Started: Subject Identification

First, figure out whom you are investigating; this is not always as easy as it sounds. Suppose you are asked to investigate Boca Brokers Inc., a hypothetical small brokerage firm in Boca Raton, Florida. We will use this as an example in going through the research process. The founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Boca Brokers is Jason Oriolanda and the chief financial officer (CFO) is Randy Jones.

You will soon gain a new appreciation for distinctive names. Common names, on the other hand, will become the bane of your existence. But do not worry, we have ways of finding the real Randy Jones.

There are several steps that must be completed upfront:

* Look at the company's Web site, if available. Gather all relevant information about the company's history, services, recent press releases, and executive biographies.

* Verify the company name. Check the incorporation record, available either free on state Web sites (see Search Systems link above) or for a fee on vendor databases such as LexisNexis or ChoicePoint Online.

* Obtain a Dun & Bradstreet report or recent SEC filings. For a private company, Dun & Bradstreet's Business Information Report will often give you more information 011 the executives. For a public company, look at the most recent proxy and 10-K filings, which list key executives, their ages, and biographies.

* Verify the executive names, obtain identifying information and address histories. Do this using Accurint,

ChoicePoint Online, AutoTrackXE or a similar vendor.

In our hypothetical example of Boca Brokers Inc., we go to the company's Web site and learn that Oriolanda started the concern in March 2002. The company provides general brokerage services. We also learn that Randy Jones's full name is Randall C. Jones.

Florida's Department of State has a great Web site for incorporation records: http://www.sunbiz.org/corpweb/ inquiry/cormenu.html.

The incorporation record for Boca Brokers confirms Oriolanda's and Jones' positions as company officers. The address given for the two executives is the same address as the company. Too bad--sometimes home addresses for executives appear in incorporation records.

Next, we pull a Dun & Bradstreet report on Boca Brokers, since this is a privately held company. We learn that Boca Brokers has five employees. In the "History & Operations" section of the report, an executive biography describes Jones as being born in 1959 and having worked for two companies, neither of which appeared in his biographical profile on Boca Broker's Web site. We will need this information on Jones to locate his address history and to search his background effectively in the news databases.

Armed with pretty good information about Oriolanda and Randall C. Jones, age 44 or so, we are ready to obtain their address histories. And that means it is time for an other disclaimer. In order to use vendors that provide this information, you must have an acceptable business reason as defined by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB), also known as the Financial Modernization Act (15 USC, Subchapter I, Sec. 6801-6809). Permitted uses under the Act include "fraud detection and prevention," but your legal counsel may need to review and approve the terms and conditions before using these services.

Assuming we have a legitimate GI.B purpose, we log on to Accurint and conduct a "People Search" for Jason Oriolanda in Florida. As we hoped, he is the only person with this name in the state. We pull a report that gives us Oriolanda's address history, corporate records that match his name/address, whether he has any bankruptcy filings, and various other bits of information. We learn that he has lived in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, for the past 3 years. But before that, he lived in Denver County, Colorado, for 8 years. In the course of our investigation, we will want to find out what Oriolanda was up to in Colorado.

Next, we look for Randall C. Jones in Accurint. Instead of searching all of Florida, we enter Boca Raton as the city with a radius of 40 miles; this is a nice feature of Accurint when the precise city of residence is unknown. We also specify an age range of 43-46 for Jones. By narrowing our search in this way, we may zero in on the correct Randy Jones. The Accurint report on Jones tells us that he has lived in Palm Beach County for at least 12 years.

Research Process: Digging for the Dirt

Once you establish the basics on the company and/or people you are investigating, it's time to rattle the cages of the news and public record databases and see what falls out. The overall approach when conducting due diligence is to search as comprehensively as possible within your time and budget constraints.

Before we hit the news databases, we can check on some of the credentials of Boca Brokers, Oriolanda, and Jones. Since this is a brokerage business, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Web site [http:// pdpi.nasdr.com/PDPI/] should have information. These records will verify registrations, provide employment history for brokers, and let us know if any history of disciplinary actions against the firm or brokers exist. When we look up Oriolanda, the NASD record says "maybe" instead of "none" under Disclosure Events. We click on this and follow the prompts asking for our e-mail address. A few hours later (or the next day), we will receive a report listing the disciplinary action of arbitration proceeding. More than likely, we will also find news articles and descriptions of this incident later in our research.

Let's also check on whether the CFO is licensed as a certified public accountant (CPA) in Florida. The following site is a directory of all CPA licensing Web sites: http://www.cpadi rectory.com/professionalresources/index.cfm?pageid=161.

We search for Jones on the Florida Web site and find that he does not hold a CPA license in the state [https:// www.myfloridalicense.com/licensing/wl11.jsp?SID=].

Armed with good basic information on our subjects, it's time to search the news databases. We will search all dates and all sources, using a broad search strategy unless the results are too unwieldy. We'll also check more than one vendor for news, including LexisNexis, Factiva, and Dialog.

When searching for news articles on your subjects, keep these suggestions in mind (examples are in LexisNexis search syntax):

* Broad search strategies are best. Search for boca brokers not boca brokers inc!. Jason Oriolanda is a unique enough name to search without any qualifiers, e.g., Jason w/2 oriolanda. Review as many of the articles as possible. The idea is to get a handle on the company and the people, absorbing and analyzing the information along the way in order to understand what these people are about and whether or not they pose any risk to your organization.

* Tips for searching common names. If we search jones w/2 (randy or randal)l in NEWS; ALL-NWS, we will get too many false hits even for the most patient among us. To deal with common names, devise several strategies aimed at targeting your subject based on what you already know about the person.

* In the case of Randy Jones, we learned several important clues during the Subject Identification phase of our research, including his full name and employment history. First, try searching randall c jones. This yields a few false hits, but we also get a couple of press releases announcing a promotion at a prior brokerage firm. Next, we try a strategy combining his name with his current and previous employers: rand! w/2 (jones w/100 boca brokers of henderson investors or gator capital or fjc investments).

* We might also try strategies combining his name with other elements such as where he lives and/or his occupation or job title: rand! w/2 jones w/20 (boca raton or crescent ave!) rand! w/2 jones w/20 (cfo or chief financial or controller).These last examples may yield too many false hits, but the idea is to dig deep and creatively into the databases to find nuggets of information that may become critical pieces as you put the puzzle together.

* Tips for narrowing a search yielding too many hits. In our hypothetical example of Boca Brokers Inc., our news search yielded a manageable number of hits to review. But what about searching a larger company or a common name that generates too many hits? I recommend looking at news on a company for the last several months or more (depending on the magnitude of search results) just to be sure you have a good handle on recent events at the company. After this, you can try combining the subject's name with a string of what I call "risky words." The goal is to retrieve articles with any adverse news about the company or person. Here's an example:

   (randall c jones or randall jones or randy

   jones) w/200 (fraud! or defraud or improper

   or embezzl! or bribe! or sanction! or

   violat! or alleged! or allegation! or

   indict! or desist or bilked or scam or

   criminal or felony or misdemeanor or

   censure! or irregularit! or illegal! or

   investigat! or evasion)

If even this type of strategy generates too many hits, try running your search in major business/news publications and appropriate regional newspapers. Remember that using these methods to narrow your search also increases your chances of missing something important because of how words are phrased or events described. Also, you should customize your own list of "risky words" to suit the needs of your organization.

* Follow trails and hunches. Let's return to Boca Brokers. As we reviewed the articles that combined Jones with his previous employers, we learned that "fjc" in FJC Investments stands for Frinde Jones Cutler, and that Alan Frinde was the managing partner of this firm. Alan Frinde sounds familiar and, sure enough, he was mentioned as a "consultant" in several Boca Brokers press releases that we saw while reviewing the company's Web site earlier in our research. Following a hunch, we do a news search for frinde w/2 (alan or al). Some trails turn out to be dead ends, leading to nothing of consequence, but this one hits pay dirt. Our search yields article after article detailing how Frinde ran an investment scam back in the 1980s that cheated hundreds of investors out of millions of dollars. There is no mention of Jones or Oriolanda in these articles. Still, this is important information because Frinde is actively involved with Boca Brokers as a consultant and has previous business ties to at least one of its officers.

In addition to news databases, you must enter the often murky and ever-changing world of public records. This journey will take you through all kinds of known and unknown pitfalls due to inconsistent data, but most of us survive with nothing more than a headache. There are several types of public records available that are relevant to background investigations:

* Incorporation records

* Property and other asset records

* Civil lawsuits

* Criminal records

* Tax liens

* Civil judgment records

* Bankruptcy filings

* Records of violations and/or sanctions imposed by government or quasigovernmental agencies, including the SEC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), etc.

Unfortunately, there is no formula for conducting public records research. You must devise a research plan suited to each situation and the subjects under investigation. For example, if you are researching a banking institution, you should search for any Consent Orders issued by the OCC; for a brokerage firm, you should check for SEC and NASD sanctions. In most situations, you will want to review civil lawsuits/judgments/liens, check criminal records, and verify any bankruptcy filings.

Returning to Boca Brokers, here is our research plan for searching public records:

* Securities violations. As noted earlier, we have already checked the NASD Web site for our subjects' registration and disciplinary history [http://pdpi.nasdr.com/ PDPI/]. If the broker dealt with futures trading, we would also check the National Futures Association Web site at http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/Search. aspx. Another key source is DOCKET;SANCTN on Lexis. Here we will find violation/sanction records from the SEC, NASD, stock exchanges, state mortgage regulators, state real estate regulators, and other federal and state agencies. Our search in DOCKET;SANCTN for Boca Brokers, Oriolanda, Jones, and Frinde yields hits on Oriolanda and Frinde. Both have been disciplined in the form of "cease and desist" orders by SEC regulators for their involvement in the previously mentioned investment scam. The sanction information on Oriolanda corresponds with the NASD record e-mailed to us earlier. The news articles we found on Frinde flesh out the details of this matter.

* Civil lawsuits, judgments, and liens. There are federal lawsuits, consisting of lawsuits filed in the U.S. federal court system, and nonfederal lawsuits, usually consisting of cases filed at the county level. Municipal civil lawsuits tend to involve small claims cases and generally do not concern due diligence researchers.

* To search federal lawsuits, you may use several vendors, including Pacer, Lexis, Westlaw, and CourtLink. You should also search federal and state case law decisions, which often include extensive details about a case if a judge has rendered a written decision on the lawsuit. Our Lexis search on the Boca Brokers subjects in DOCKET;USDKT and MEGA;NEWER finds no federal lawsuits.

* To search nonfederal cases, we will need to look at county records for Palm Beach County, Florida, and Denver County, Colorado, the two areas in which our subjects have been located or resided within the last 10 years.

* After comparing vendor coverage of Palm Beach County civil lawsuits, we find that Westlaw has some coverage of civil actions filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court whereas Lexis and CourtLink do not. We will also order a manual courthouse search from a document retrieval vendor for civil lawsuits involving our subjects in Palm Beach County, since the online coverage may not be up-to-date.

* Our Westlaw search finds a few cases in which individuals have sued Boca Brokers. The index records give only basic details about the cases. If we want more information, such as the specific allegations, we will need to order a copy of the complaint from a document retrieval vendor.

* For civil judgments and tax liens we check DOCKET;FLJGT and DOCKET;COJGT on Lexis. Westlaw also has good coverage of lien and judgment records.

* Finally, we need to check Denver County, Colorado, lawsuits because Oriolanda resided there before moving to the Boca Raton area 3 years ago. CoCourts.com is the best online choice for searching nonfederal courts in Colorado.

* Criminal records. Rapsheets.com is a good source for criminal records, but you need to check the fine print detailing coverage for each county. For Palm Beach County, we find that it includes court records of misdemeanor and felony dispositions dating back to 1990. Our search for Oriolanda comes back clean. When searching for Jones, we have the option of entering his date of birth to narrow the search; he, too, comes back clean. To check Oriolanda's criminal record in Denver County, a search in CoCourts.com covers both civil and criminal cases.

* Bankruptcy filings. Many vendors offer information on bankruptcy filings, and coverage for most states is good. However, dates of coverage often differ among vendors. I recommend checking several sources for your subjects. In the case of the Boca Brokers subjects, we check the Accurint profiles, bankruptcy files on Lexis (DOCKET; FLBKT and DOCKET;COBKT), and Pacer No bankruptcy filings for our subjects were found.

Our research so far has included subject identification, comprehensive news searching, and public record searches targeted in jurisdictions relevant to our subjects. Of course, you should also see what you can find on the Internet using at least one of the general search engines such as Google, AltaVista, or AlltheWeb. You may find biographical information from an alumni newsletter that you would not find elsewhere. Or, there may be one of those "Company X Sucks" Web sites that, although of questionable quality, may give you leads that more reputable sources do not mention.

For public companies, investor message boards such as Yahoo! [http://biz.yahoo.com/I] and Raging Bull [http:// ragingbull.lycos.com/cgi-bin/static.cgi/a=index.txt&d= mainpages] can be good sources, taken with a hefty grain of salt, for rumors and speculation about the company.

There are also many specialized Web sites that should be checked, depending on the situation, such as The Diligizer Board, which maintains a "black list" of people allegedly involved in fraudulent investment transactions [http://pub159.ezboard.com/fdiligizerduediligence].

Analyzing Your Findings: Making Sense of It All

This is probably the most difficult component of the investigation process and also the hardest to teach or learn. It is one thing to have superior research skills and another to apply those skills when it comes to reviewing what you have found and interpreting which findings are relevant to a background investigation, especially when dealing with shades of gray rather than black and white. This is the kind of work that requires both good skills and good instincts.

Our hypothetical research on Boca Brokers yielded dark and light results. We found that both Oriolanda and Jones were previously involved in business endeavors with Alan Frinde, who is listed as a consultant to Boca Brokers. Frinde ran an investment scam in the 1980s that was shut down by regulators. Both Frinde and Oriolanda, who worked for Frinde at the time, were censured and fined by the SEC. Jones does not appear to have been involved in the seam, but was business partners with Frinde in a subsequent, now-defunct company. Those are the bottom-line facts that we will want to convey in our report.

This sort of work requires a blending of many skills and attributes, including curiosity, patience, determination, and a nose for things that smell fishy. It also requires the ability to think analytically and evaluate findings, not just churn out raw data and hand it over for someone else to figure out. In the simplest terms, a background investigation is meant to find out what you did not know but need to know about a subject. If you take on a background investigation, you must find and interpret those nuggets of information that fall into the "need to know" category.

Think in terms of the bottom line. It is important to separate the routine from the materially relevant. Looking back at your findings, are there points about the subjects that raised red flags? If you found no red flags but many "shades of gray," try dividing your findings into categories such as "financial difficulties," "shareholder lawsuits," or "changes in management." Be organized, think analytically, and keep your focus on the bottom line in terms of anything that could be a risk factor.

Reporting the Results: Telling the Story

Whether you give your findings verbally or in writing, keep in mind that your report should be accurate and clear, conveying whatever is relevant to the situation. I like to think of this work as ending with the telling of a story--not fiction, but facts presented in a manner that relays the essence of what the company and people are about based on what I could find out through publicly available sources.

Important business decisions may rest on your findings. This makes it imperative to be sure you get it right. I once reported on the shady business dealings of an insurance broker with a common name in Texas. I felt certain it was the same individual as my subject because his age, city of residence, and line of work all matched up. But it turned out to be someone completely unrelated to my subject. These incidents will humble you. It is not easy work and situations of mistaken identity do happen. It is a delicate balance between performing a background investigation with confidence and becoming too arrogant with that confidence. May the skill and instincts of Agent 007 be with you.

Specialized Vendors

Access Kansas

http://www.accesskansas.org/on line-services, html

Public records, including civil and criminal cases, for several Kansas counties.

Access Plus / Law 8ulletin

http://accessplus.lawbulletin.com

Public records, including civil lawsuits, for Northern Illinois jurisdictions.

Alacourt.com

http://www.alacourt.com/

Trial court records for counties in Alabama.

CoCourts.com

http://www.cocourts.com/

Public records, including civil and criminal cases, for Colorado counties.

Dialog Datastar

http://www.datastarweb.com/

Good coverage of European news sources.

Global Securities Information Inc.

http://www.gsionline.com/info.htm

LIVEDGAR search platform for SEC and EDGAR documents.

Infomart

http://financialpost.infomart.ca/

Good coverage of Canadian news sources.

ISI Emerging Markets

http://www.securities.com/

News and other informational sources covering countries in Latin and Central America, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

KYC News Inc.

http://www.offshorebusiness.com/

Formerly Offshore Business News & Research Inc. Coverage of offshore financial crime issues and litigation, including civil cases in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

Merlin Information Services

http://www.merlindata.com/

Strong coverage of California public records.

Quicklaw

http://www.quicklaw.com/

Strong coverage of Canadian litigation.

SLED

http://www.sled.state.sc.us/default.htm

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division database of criminal records in the state.

Strategis

https://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/bankruptcy/bankruptcySearch/engdocl?i cservices=e_ban

Coverage of Canadian bankruptcy filings.

Tolfin

http://www.targetnewspapers.com/

Hong Kong company and people information, including legal actions.

Key Web Sites for Background Investigations

Corrections.com

http://www.corrections.com/links/viewlinks.asp?Cat=20

Links to prison inmate locator Web sites by state.

The Diligizer Board

http://pub159.ezboard.com/fdiligizerduediligence

A resource created "for those who seek information regarding the backgrounds of and/or the experiences others have had with individuals/entities who/which have offered or are offering fraudulent investment transactions...."

Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator

http://inmateloc.bop.gov/locatordocs/NameSearchPage.jsp

Directory of individuals who are or were inmates in a federal prison since 1982.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Enforcement Decisions and Orders

http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/enforcement/index.html

Search for FDIC enforcement actions.

GuideStar

http://www.guidestar.org/

Information on nonprofit databases including the organizations' recent Form 990s filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

National Association of Securities Dealers Public Disclosure Program

http://pdpi.nasdr.com/PDPI/

Look up brokerage firms and licensed broker dealers and check their disciplinary history.

National Futures Association

http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/search.aspx

Search for futures-related regulatory enforcement actions and arbitration proceedings.

Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of Treasury

http://www.treas.gov/offices/eotffc/ofac/

Includes Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons List, which contains names of alleged terrorists and other "most wanted" suspects.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Enforcement Actions

http://www.occ.treas.gov/enforce/enf%5Fsearch.htm

Search for OCC enforcement actions.

Search Systems

http://www.searchsystems.net/

Indispensable site with links to public records by state, county, and beyond.

Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, Stanford Law School

http://securities.stanford.edu/

Includes extensive information on many class-action securities lawsuits.

The Smoking Gun

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/search/search.html

Owned by Court TV, this site includes documents on high-profile court cases and scandals.

U.S. Newspaper List

http://www.usnpl.com/

Links to newspapers and media outlets by state and city, including many small-town newspapers not covered by online vendors.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Form ADVs

http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/lapdMain/iapd_SiteMap.asp

Search investment advisor firms' Forms ADV, which includes a section on disciplinary history.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, titillation Releases

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases.shtml

Listings, by date, and full text of civil lawsuits brought against companies and individuals by the SEC.