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Home > Adoption > For Prospective Adoptive Parents > Legal Considerations for Prospective and Adoptive Parents
Legal Considerations for Prospective and Adoptive Parents
Summaries of the legal issues involved in adoption, including consent to adoption and State regulation of adoption expenses.
Access to Adoption Records
In nearly all States, adoption records are sealed and withheld from public inspection after the adoption is finalized. Most States, therefore, have procedures by which parties to an adoption may obtain nonidentifying and identifying information about an adopted person and the adopted person's birth relatives from an adoption record. This resource, current through June 2004, provides definitions of nonidentifying and identifying information, an overview of who may access such information, and information about access to original birth certificates. Formerly titled: Access to Family Information by Adopted Persons
Collection of Family Information About Adopted Persons, Birth Parents, and Adoptive Parents
Requirements for collecting information about persons involved in an adoption vary from State to State. Each State has laws that specify the kinds of information that may be collected and shared among the parties. State laws specify the persons or entities authorized to collect information. In most States, information about the child to be adopted and the child?s birth family is compiled by the child-placing agency or the department of social services. In some States, the court may designate another qualified person, such as a social worker or specially trained investigator, to complete the history of the birth family. In ...
Concurrent Planning for Permanency for Children
Reviews State laws that permit an agency to plan for another permanent placement for a child at the same time efforts are made to reunify the child with his or her family of origin.
Consent to Adoption
Reviews State laws that specify the persons who must consent to a child's adoption, time frames for consent, and guidelines for revocation of consent.
Court Hearings for the Permanent Placement of Children
Court hearings are used to review the status and determine the permanent placement of children who have been placed in out-of-home care, including foster care. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 (P.L. 105-89) amended title IV-E of the Social Security Act in an effort to provide added safety and permanency for children in foster placement. ASFA placed an emphasis on expediting and improving planning and decision-making for the permanent placement of children in the child welfare system.
Court Jurisdiction and Venue for Adoption Petitions
Provides the laws that specify the appropriate State courts, by type and location, for handling adoption petitions.
Criminal Background Checks for Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents
Current as of April 2008, this factsheet presents a national summary as well as State statutes regarding criminal background checks of parents who want to serve as foster or adoptive parents. All States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have statutes or regulations requiring background investigations of prospective foster and adoptive parents and all adults residing in their households. In most States, the background investigation includes a check of Federal and State criminal records. Many States also require checks of child abuse and neglect registries. States may deny approval of a foster care license or adoption application if ...
Determining the Best Interests of the Child
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2005)
Text from the laws of most States defining how they determine the best interests of the child.
Disclosure of Confidential Child Abuse and Neglect Records
The records of child abuse and neglect reports are maintained by State child protection or social services agencies to aid in the investigation, treatment, and prevention of child abuse cases and to maintain statistical information for staffing and funding purposes. In many States, these records and the results of investigations are maintained in databases, often known as central registries. The type of information contained in registry and department records varies from State to State, as does access to the information maintained. Under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA),1 in order to receive a Federal grant, States must preserve ...
Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights
Reviews State laws that detail the specific circumstances that must be present when a court terminates the legal parent-child relationship.
A Guide to the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 as Amended by the Interethnic Provisions of 1996
National Resource Center on Legal and Court Issues (1998)
Provisions, common questions, and checklists for implementation.
Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Children
Leaving a will is the best way to ensure heirs or descendants may inherit from your estate. Issues of property distribution may arise when a birth parent or adoptive parent dies without making a valid will or without naming an heir to particular property (referred to as "intestacy"). In these cases, State law determines who may inherit from whom. Laws in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands specify an adopted child?s rights of inheritance from and through the adoptive and birth parents. Current through March 2006.
National Center for Adoption Law and Policy
Child welfare and adoption law information for prospective adoptive parents, biological parents, adoption and child welfare lawyers, juvenile and family court judges, and child advocates.
Online Resources for State Child Welfare Law and Policy
Provides links to websites where State statutes and regulations can be accessed and lists the parts of each State and territory's code that contain laws addressing child protection, child welfare, and adoption.
Placement of Children With Relatives
This publication summarizes State laws and statutes regarding placement of children with relatives when they are removed from their home and enter foster care. In order for States to receive Federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance, Federal law requires that they "consider giving preference to an adult relative over a nonrelated caregiver when determining placement for a child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant State child protection standards." Most States give preference or priority to relative placements in their statutes. This publication discusses definitions of "relative," financial support for relative placement, and adoption by relatives.
Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families
Postadoption contact agreements, sometimes referred to as cooperative adoption or open adoption agreements, are arrangements that allow some kind of contact between a child's adoptive family and members of the child's birth family after the child's adoption has been finalized. These arrangements can range from informal, mutual understandings between the birth and adoptive families to written, formal contracts. Agreements for postadoption contact or communication have become more prevalent in recent years, due to several factors: -- There is wider recognition of the rights of birth parents to make choices for their children -- Many adoptions involve older children, such as ...
Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children
Reasonable efforts refer to efforts made by State social services agencies to provide the assistance and services needed to preserve and reunify families. Laws in all States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico require the provision of services that will assist families in remedying the conditions that brought the child and family into the child welfare system. The statutes in most States, however, use a broad definition of what constitutes reasonable efforts. Some commonly used terms associated with reasonable efforts include "family reunification," "family preservation," "family support," and "preventive services."
The Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers
Discusses the rights of the alleged fathers of children born out-of-wedlock and whether States have registries for such fathers.
Standby Guardianship
This briefing reviews State laws regarding standby guardianship. Statutes dealing with how to establish a standby guardian, who can nominate a standby guardian, how the guardian's authority is activated, the involvement of the non-custodial parent, the relationship between authority of the parent and the standby, and withdrawing guardianship are identified for each State, the District of Columbia, and five territories. The print version of this resource is current through May 31, 2003.
State Regulation of Adoption Expenses
Nearly all States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories have enacted statutes that provide some regulation of the fees and expenses that adoptive parents are expected to pay when arranging an adoptive placement. Some of the fees and expenses that are typically addressed in the statutes are placement costs, such as agency fees; legal and attorney expenses for adoptive and birth parents; and some of the expenses of the birth mother during pregnancy. This briefing provides general information on birth parent expenses, agency fees and costs, use of an intermediary, and reporting adoption-related expenses to the court.
Intercountry Adoptions Finalized Abroad
Intercountry adoptions may be finalized abroad or domestically. Most State statutes give full effect and recognition to intercountry adoptions finalized abroad. Full effect of a foreign adoption decree means that adoptive parents and adopted children have the same rights and obligations as they would have if a State court had issued the adoption decree. Recognition of a foreign adoption decree means that the decree is just as valid and binding as a decree issued by a State court. Additionally, most State statutes provide for validation of the foreign adoption or readoption of the child under State law and establish application ...
Termination of Parental Rights
National Center for State Courts
Issues surrounding termination of parental rights (TPR), differences in State laws, and links to how TPR cases are expedited in appellate courts.
Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements
All States permit the placement of children for adoption by agencies, either publicly sponsored agencies, such as a department of the State government, or private child- placing agencies that have been licensed by the State. Many people choose to adopt, and many birth parents choose to place their children for adoption, without the involvement of an agency. These placements are known as private placements or independent adoptions. Private placement is often preferred by people who want to adopt newborn infants from the United States and avoid the often years-long waiting lists of adoption agencies. The challenge for prospective adoptive parents ...
Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?
This briefing reviews State laws regarding parties to an adoption. General information dealing with who may adopt, who may be adopted, and who may place a child for adoption is identified. In order for an adoption to take place, a person available to be adopted must be placed in the home of a person or persons eligible to adopt. All States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands have laws that specify which persons are eligible as adopting parents and which persons can be adopted. In addition, all States, the ...
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