OKDHS Adoption Subsidy Employee Judy Ott Finds Long-Lost Sister After More Than 40 Years

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- When Judy Ott was an 8-year-old girl growing up in Asher, Okla., she, her little brother and sister were torn away from her mother and grandmother in 1959 through what she believes was an illegal adoption and despite Ott’s memories of a happy childhood with her biological family.
“I’m in the situation knowing that we were well taken care of and never abused by my biological family,” Ott said. “The judge who did the adoption is dead, and I don’t think people really knew about it. I’ve tried to get copies of my adoption and my siblings’ and authorities have found no records of them.

“I believe the judge involved was taking away children from women who were single or not living with a man. Still, I was old enough to know we weren’t mistreated by our family.”

Today, Ott, 53, works as an administrative assistant II in Adoption Subsidy in the Children and Family Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. She serves the people of Oklahoma by assisting people with adoption issues. And although she was reunited with most of her biological family when she was 16, for more than 40 years, she has searched for her little sister, Connie Justene. Connie was just 1½-years-old when she was taken away. Now, more than four decades later, she, OKDHS and technological innovations have found Connie Justene.

“When I came to work for OKDHS’ Children and Family Services Division in 1998,” Ott said, “one of my bosses said, ‘We’re going to see if we can find your sister.’ Mary Payne, a confidential intermediary who contracts with OKDHS, had searched and searched, but finally told me that she didn’t think we’d be able to find her because she kept running into dead ends.

“The case was officially closed, but Mary kept looking. The other day, I was informed that I wasn’t going to believe it, but my sister had been found! I’m elated to know she’s alive and safe. It has been a long journey, especially after thinking we wouldn’t find her. I just spoke with her yesterday for the first time! My boss called me into her office and told me how happy she was for me.”

Ott’s sister is now named Elizabeth Larson. She is married with two children and works as a flagger for a line crew at a telephone company in the state of Washington. Larson had been told that her biological mother was dead and that she had no siblings. Ott said they both shared difficult placement issues after their adoptions and were treated poorly by their adoptive families.

“First, there were tears when we talked,” Ott said. “She didn’t think she had any family. We’re so much alike. We both named one of our children Jennifer Lynn. She told me I’d have a big e-mail with photos of her family in the morning waiting for me when I come to work and to call her anytime in the day or night. We’re trying to save up money for plane tickets so that we can visit each other.”

For Ott, reuniting with her sister is the end of a heartfelt search and the beginning of a new journey. She said the adoptive family she was placed with in Oklahoma City wasn’t a good environment. Still, she had strong memories of her grandmother and family and was determined to return to them when she could.

“They (the adoptive family) treated me like a maid,” she said. “Thankfully, I was old enough to remember where my grandmother, Lillie Bell Knight, lived in Asher. After I got married, I had my husband go to her door so that she wouldn’t have a heart attack.

“My aunts and uncles had tried to get my grandmother to move in with them, but she’d tell them, ‘No, I want to be here when Judy comes home.’ Somehow, she knew I’d return one day.”

Ott said that as the oldest sibling, she has always dreamed of finding her sister.

“We were a close family,” Ott said. “We played together constantly and lived next door to my Granny. Working at OKDHS for nearly 26 years, I can relate very well to children and parents involved in adoptions. I feel for them. My sister told me today to give Mary a big hug for not giving up!”

Ott said she encourages parents to tell their adopted children that they are adopted. This may help them avoid future confusion and to address any biological medical histories needed in the future.

The latest figures show that OKDHS has 1,215 waiting children with a case plan of adoption and in need of a loving family. Children who are available for adoption through OKDHS have been removed from their own families because of abuse, neglect or other family problems that make it unsafe for the child to live at home.

If the child’s parents can’t correct the problems to make their home safe, then adoption with a new family usually becomes the goal. These children are of all races and most are school-aged. They may have physical, developmental or emotional problems or have brothers and sisters that need to be placed in the same adoptive home.

Adoption subsidy is available for most children to help with the financial costs of their special needs. If you are interested in adopting a child, please call 1-877-OKSWIFT (1-877-657-9438). For information on the Mutual Consent Voluntary Registry and Search Program, as well as information on old adoption records and other information relating to adult adoptees, please call Jacquelyn Hill Anderson, program field representative, CFSD, at 1-405-521-3832.

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