how would I go about finding a relative that was taken into care over 20 years ago?

[loppylou]

My cousin was taken into care when she was 5 or 6 years old. I was only a teenager myself and we where very close and would like to contact her now as she will be in her 20's now.

[Janet C]

I would contact salvation army, they are usually very good at finding people. Best of luck

[digital_nomad]

If you know her full name, why not begin checking sites like whitepages.com 411.com, etc for FREE info first. If those sites do not provide results (it helps to know what city, state they live in, some sites use age to help narrow your search) Then you might consider using a pay service like peoplefinder or ussearch - they charge to access other databases that can access court records that usually require $2 -$5. You can order the service and then cancel before the next month.
Stay away from private eyes - they would just do the same as above.

[carmen]

if you mean foster care then it is very likely that she had been adopted since she was so young going in. so her name has changed and in that situation the biological family has no parental rights to know who she is living with so they wouldnt know her new last name. it is going to be very hard to find her. i wish you luck

[SeaEff]

If you live in the UK you could try the social work department in the council area she was taken into care from.
They won't give you details but you may be able to leave your details should she decide to look for relatives.

[♥cornwall♥]

Hey

Have you tried facebook? A lot of people have facebook these days and you could do a search for her. It is definately worth a try! Or you could try bebo or myspace or any other social networking site but these are the main sites. However this may not work if her name has been changed.

Hope you find your cousin!