Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 101 Second Substitute (2017GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Redd, E.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/23/2017

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• addresses who may conduct a home study as part of a preplacement adoptive evaluation;
• requires a home study to contain certain information; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

ADOPTIVE STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Edward H. Redd
Senate Sponsor: 
Wayne A. Harper
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions related to adoptive evaluations.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ addresses who may conduct a home study as part of a preplacement adoptive
evaluation;
▸ requires a home study to contain certain information; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
78B-6-103
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapters 137 and 194
78B-6-113
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 340
78B-6-128
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 458
78B-6-130
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
78B-6-103
 is amended to read:
78B-6-103.
Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Adoptee" means a person who:
(a) is the subject of an adoption proceeding; or
(b) has been legally adopted.
(2) "Adoption" means the judicial act that:
(a) creates the relationship of parent and child where it did not previously exist; and
(b) except as provided in Subsection 
78B-6-138
(2), terminates the parental rights of
any other person with respect to the child.
(3) "Adoption document" means an adoption-related document filed with the office, a
petition for adoption, a decree of adoption, an original birth certificate, or evidence submitted
in support of a supplementary birth certificate.
(4) "Adoption service provider" means [
a
]:
(a) 
a
 child-placing agency; [
or
]
(b) 
a
 licensed counselor who has at least one year of experience providing professional
social work services to:
(i) adoptive parents;
(ii) prospective adoptive parents; or
(iii) birth parents[
.
]
; or
(c) the Office of Licensing within the Department of Human Services.
(5) "Adoptive parent" means a person who has legally adopted an adoptee.
(6) "Adult" means a person who is 18 years of age or older.
(7) "Adult adoptee" means an adoptee who is 18 years of age or older and was adopted
as a minor.
(8) "Adult sibling" means a brother or sister of the adoptee, who is 18 years of age or
older and whose birth mother or father is the same as that of the adoptee.
(9) "Birth mother" means the biological mother of a child.
(10) "Birth parent" means:
(a) a birth mother;
(b) a man whose paternity of a child is established;
(c) a man who:
(i) has been identified as the father of a child by the child's birth mother; and
(ii) has not denied paternity; or
(d) an unmarried biological father.
(11) "Child-placing agency" means an agency licensed to place children for adoption
under Title 62A, Chapter 4a, Part 6, Child Placing.
(12) "Cohabiting" means residing with another person and being involved in a sexual
relationship with that person.
(13) "Division" means the Division of Child and Family Services, within the
Department of Human Services, created in Section 
62A-4a-103
.
(14) "Extra-jurisdictional child-placing agency" means an agency licensed to place
children for adoption by a district, territory, or state of the United States, other than Utah.
(15) "Genetic and social history" means a comprehensive report, when obtainable, on
an adoptee's birth parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, which contains the following
information:
(a) medical history;
(b) health status;
(c) cause of and age at death;
(d) height, weight, and eye and hair color;
(e) ethnic origins;
(f) where appropriate, levels of education and professional achievement; and
(g) religion, if any.
(16) "Health history" means a comprehensive report of the adoptee's health status at the
time of placement for adoption, and medical history, including neonatal, psychological,
physiological, and medical care history.
(17) "Identifying information" means information in the possession of the office, which
contains the name and address of a pre-existing parent or adult adoptee, or other specific
information that by itself or in reasonable conjunction with other information may be used to
identify that person, including information on a birth certificate or in an adoption document.
(18) "Licensed counselor" means a person who is licensed by the state, or another state,
district, or territory of the United States as a:
(a) certified social worker;
(b) clinical social worker;
(c) psychologist;
(d) marriage and family therapist;
(e) [
professional
] 
clinical mental health
 counselor; or
(f) an equivalent licensed professional of another state, district, or territory of the
United States.
(19) "Man" means a male individual, regardless of age.
(20) "Mature adoptee" means an adoptee who is adopted when the adoptee is an adult.
(21) "Office" means the Office of Vital Records and Statistics within the Department
of Health operating under Title 26, Chapter 2, Utah Vital Statistics Act.
(22) "Parent," for purposes of Section 
78B-6-119
, means any person described in
Subsections 
78B-6-120
(1)(b) through (f) from whom consent for adoption or relinquishment
for adoption is required under Sections 
78B-6-120
 through 
78B-6-122
.
(23) "Potential birth father" means a man who:
(a) is identified by a birth mother as a potential biological father of the birth mother's
child, but whose genetic paternity has not been established; and
(b) was not married to the biological mother of the child described in Subsection
(23)(a) at the time of the child's conception or birth.
(24) "Pre-existing parent" means:
(a) a birth parent; or
(b) a person who, before an adoption decree is entered, is, due to an earlier adoption
decree, legally the parent of the child being adopted.
(25) "Prospective adoptive parent" means a person who seeks to adopt an adoptee.
(26) "Relative" means:
(a) an adult who is a grandparent, great grandparent, aunt, great aunt, uncle, great
uncle, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepparent, first cousin, stepsibling, sibling of a child, or
first cousin of the child's parent; and
(b) in the case of a child defined as an "Indian" under the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25
U.S.C. Sec. 1903, an "extended family member" as defined by that statute.
(27) "Unmarried biological father" means a person who:
(a) is the biological father of a child; and
(b) was not married to the biological mother of the child described in Subsection
(27)(a) at the time of the child's conception or birth.
Section 2. Section 
78B-6-113
 is amended to read:
78B-6-113.
Prospective adoptive parent not a resident -- Preplacement
requirements.
(1) When an adoption petition is to be finalized in this state with regard to any
prospective adoptive parent who is not a resident of this state at the time a child is placed in
that person's home, the prospective adoptive parent shall[
: (a)
] comply with the provisions of
Sections 
78B-6-128
 and 
78B-6-130
[
; and
]
.
[
(b) (i) if the child is in state custody:
]
[
(A) submit fingerprints for a Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal history
record check through the Criminal and Technical Services Division of the Department of
Public Safety in accordance with the provisions of Section 
62A-2-120
; or
]
[
(B) submit to a fingerprint based Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal
history record check through a law enforcement agency in another state, district, or territory of
the United States; or
]
[
(ii) subject to Subsection (2), if the child is not in state custody:
]
[
(A) submit fingerprints for a Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal history
records check as a personal records check; or
]
[
(B) complete a criminal records check and child abuse database check for each state
and, if available, country, where the prospective adoptive parent resided during the five years
immediately preceding the day on which the adoption petition is to be finalized.
]
[
(2) For purposes of Subsection (1)(b)(ii):
]
[
(a) if the adoption is being handled by a human services program, as defined in
Section 
62A-2-101
:
]
[
(i) the criminal history check described in Subsection (1)(b)(ii)(A) shall be submitted
in accordance with procedures established by the Criminal Investigations and Technical
Services Division of the Department of Public Safety; and
]
[
(ii) subject to Subsection (3), the criminal history check described in Subsection
(1)(b)(ii)(B) shall be submitted in a manner acceptable to the court that will:
]
[
(A) preserve the chain of custody of the results; and
]
[
(B) not permit tampering with the results by a prospective adoptive parent or other
interested party; and
]
[
(b) if the adoption is being handled by a private attorney, and not a human services
program, the criminal history checks described in Subsection (1)(b)(ii), shall be:
]
[
(i) submitted in accordance with procedures established by the Criminal Investigations
and Technical Services Division of the Department of Public Safety; or
]
[
(ii) subject to Subsection (3), submitted in a manner acceptable to the court that will:
]
[
(A) preserve the chain of custody of the results; and
]
[
(B) not permit tampering with the results by a prospective adoptive parent or other
interested party.
]
[
(3) In order to comply with Subsection (2)(a)(ii) or (b)(ii), the manner in which the
criminal history check is submitted shall be approved by the court.
]
[
(4)
] 
(2)
 Except as provided in Subsection 
78B-6-131
(2), in addition to the other
requirements of this section, before a child in state custody is placed with a prospective foster
parent or a prospective adoptive parent, the Department of Human Services shall comply with
Section 
78B-6-131
.
Section 3. Section 
78B-6-128
 is amended to read:
78B-6-128.
Preplacement adoptive evaluations -- Exceptions.
(1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a child may not be placed in an
adoptive home until a preplacement adoptive evaluation, assessing the prospective adoptive
parent and the prospective adoptive home, has been conducted in accordance with the
requirements of this section.
(b) Except as provided in Section 
78B-6-131
, the court may, at any time, authorize
temporary placement of a child in a [
potential
] 
prospective
 adoptive home pending completion
of a preplacement adoptive evaluation described in this section.
(c) 
(i)
 Subsection (1)(a) does not apply if a pre-existing parent has legal custody of the
child to be adopted and the prospective adoptive parent is related to that child or the
pre-existing parent as a stepparent, sibling by half or whole blood or by adoption, grandparent,
aunt, uncle, or first cousin, unless the [
evaluation is otherwise requested by the
] court
otherwise requests the preplacement adoption
.
(ii)
 The prospective adoptive parent described in this Subsection (1)(c) shall obtain the
information described in Subsections (2)(a) and (b), and file that documentation with the court
prior to finalization of the adoption.
(d) 
(i)
 The [
required
] preplacement adoptive evaluation [
must
] 
shall
 be completed or
updated within the 12-month period immediately preceding the placement of a child with the
prospective adoptive parent.
(ii)
 If the prospective adoptive parent has previously received custody of a child for the
purpose of adoption, the preplacement adoptive evaluation [
must
] 
shall
 be completed or
updated within the 12-month period immediately preceding the placement of a child with the
prospective adoptive parent and after the placement of the previous child with the prospective
adoptive parent.
(2) The preplacement adoptive evaluation shall include:
(a) 
a
 criminal history [
record information
] 
background check
 regarding each
prospective adoptive parent and any other adult living in the prospective home, prepared no
earlier than 18 months immediately preceding placement of the child in accordance with the
following:
(i) if the child is in state custody, each prospective adoptive parent and any other adult
living in the prospective home shall[
:
] 
submit fingerprints to the Department of Human
Services, which shall perform a criminal history background check in accordance with Section
62A-2-120
; or
[
(A) submit fingerprints for a Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal history
record check through the Criminal and Technical Services Division of the Department of
Public Safety in accordance with the provisions of Section 
62A-2-120
; or
]
[
(B) submit to a fingerprint based Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal
history record check through a law enforcement agency in another state, district, or territory of
the United States; or
]
(ii) subject to Subsection (3), if the child is not in state custody, [
each prospective
adoptive parent and any other adult living in the prospective home shall: (A) submit
fingerprints for a Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal history records check as a
personal records check; or
] 
an adoption service provider or an attorney representing a
prospective adoptive parent shall submit fingerprints from the prospective adoptive parent and
any other adult living in the prospective home to the Criminal and Technical Services Division
of Public Safety for a regional and nationwide background check, or to the Office of Licensing
within the Department of Human Services for a background check in accordance with
62A-2-120
.
[
(B) complete a criminal records check, if available, for each state and country where
the prospective adoptive parent and any adult living in the prospective adoptive home resided
during the five years immediately preceding the day on which the adoption petition is to be
finalized;
]
(b) a report containing all information regarding reports and investigations of child
abuse, neglect, and dependency, with respect to each prospective adoptive parent and any other
adult living in the prospective home, obtained no earlier than 18 months immediately preceding
the day on which the child is placed in the prospective home, pursuant to waivers executed by
each prospective adoptive parent and any other adult living in the prospective home, that:
(i) if the prospective adoptive parent or the adult living in the prospective adoptive
parent's home is a resident of Utah, is prepared by the Department of Human Services from the
records of the Department of Human Services; or
(ii) if the prospective adoptive parent or the adult living in the prospective adoptive
parent's home is not a resident of Utah, prepared by the Department of Human Services, or a
similar agency in another state, district, or territory of the United States, where each
prospective adoptive parent and any other adult living in the prospective home resided in the
five years immediately preceding the day on which the child is placed in the prospective
adoptive home;
(c) in accordance with Subsection (6), [
an evaluation
] 
a home study
 conducted by 
an
adoption service provider that is
:
(i) an expert in family relations approved by the court;
(ii) a certified social worker;
(iii) a clinical social worker;
(iv) a marriage and family therapist;
(v) a psychologist;
(vi) a social service worker, if supervised by a certified or clinical social worker; [
or
]
(vii) a [
professional
] 
clinical mental health
 counselor; [
and
] 
or
(viii) an Office of Licensing employee within the Department of Human Services who
is trained to perform a home study; and
(d) in accordance with Subsection (7), if the child to be adopted is a child who is in the
custody of any public child welfare agency, and is a child who has a special need as defined in
Section 
62A-4a-902
, the preplacement 
adoptive
 evaluation shall be conducted by the
Department of Human Services or a child-placing agency that has entered into a contract with
the department to conduct the preplacement 
adoptive
 evaluations for children with special
needs.
(3) For purposes of Subsection (2)(a)(ii)[
: (a) if the adoption is being handled by a
human services program, as defined in Section 
62A-2-101
: (i) the criminal history check
described in Subsection (2)(a)(ii)(A) shall be submitted through the Criminal Investigations
and Technical Services Division of the Department of Public Safety, in accordance with the
provisions of Section 
62A-2-120
; and (ii)
]
,
 subject to Subsection (4), the criminal history
background
 check described in Subsection (2)(a)(ii)[
(B)
] shall be submitted in a manner
acceptable to the court that will:
[
(A)
] 
(a)
 preserve the chain of custody of the results; and
[
(B)
] 
(b)
 not permit tampering with the results by a prospective adoptive parent or
other interested party[
; and
]
.
[
(b) if the adoption is being handled by a private attorney, and not a human services
program, the criminal history checks described in Subsection (2)(a)(ii) shall be:
]
[
(i) submitted in accordance with procedures established by the Criminal Investigations
and Technical Services Division of the Department of Public Safety; or
]
[
(ii) subject to Subsection (4), submitted in a manner acceptable to the court that will:
]
[
(A) preserve the chain of custody of the results; and
]
[
(B) not permit tampering with the results by a prospective adoptive parent or other
interested party.
]
(4) In order to comply with Subsection (3)[
(a)(ii) or (b)(ii)
], the manner in which the
criminal history 
background
 check is submitted shall be approved by the court.
(5) Except as provided in Subsection 
78B-6-131
(2), in addition to the other
requirements of this section, before a child in state custody is placed with a prospective foster
parent or a prospective adoptive parent, the Department of Human Services shall comply with
Section 
78B-6-131
.
(6) (a) [
A person
] 
An individual
 described in [
Subsection (2)(c)
] 
Subsections (2)(c)(i)
through (vii)
 shall be licensed to practice under the laws of:
(i) this state; or
(ii) the state, district, or territory of the United States where the prospective adoptive
parent or other person living in the prospective adoptive home resides.
[
(b) The evaluation described in Subsection (2)(c) shall be in a form approved by the
Department of Human Services.
]
[
(c)
] 
(b)
 Neither the Department of Human Services nor any of [
its
] 
the department's
divisions may proscribe who qualifies as an expert in family relations or who may conduct
[
evaluations
] 
a home study
 under Subsection (2)(c).
(c) The home study described in Subsection (2)(c) shall be a written document that
contains the following:
(i) a recommendation to the court regarding the suitability of the prospective adoptive
parent for placement of a child;
(ii) a description of in-person interviews with the prospective adoptive parent, the
prospective adoptive parent's children, and other individuals living in the home;
(iii) a description of character and suitability references from at least two individuals
who are not related to the prospective adoptive parent and with at least one individual who is
related to the prospective adoptive parent;
(iv) a medical history and a doctor's report, based upon a doctor's physical examination
of the prospective adoptive parent, made within two years before the date of the application;
and
(v) a description of an inspection of the home to determine whether sufficient space
and facilities exist to meet the needs of the child and whether basic health and safety standards
are maintained.
(7) Any fee assessed by the evaluating agency described in Subsection (2)(d) is the
responsibility of the adopting parent [
or parents
].
(8) The person [
or agency
] conducting the preplacement adoptive evaluation shall, in
connection with the 
preplacement adoptive
 evaluation, provide the prospective adoptive parent
[
or parents
] with literature approved by the Division of Child and Family Services relating to
adoption, including information relating to:
(a) the adoption process;
(b) developmental issues that may require early intervention; and
(c) community resources that are available to the prospective adoptive parent [
or
parents
].
(9) A copy of the preplacement adoptive evaluation shall be filed with the court.
Section 4. Section 
78B-6-130
 is amended to read:
78B-6-130.
Preplacement and postplacement adoptive evaluations -- Review by
court.
(1) 
(a)
 If the person [
or agency
] conducting the 
preplacement adoptive evaluation or
postplacement adoptive
 evaluation disapproves the adoptive placement, [
either in the
preplacement or postplacement adoptive evaluation,
] the court may dismiss the petition[
.
However, upon
] 
for adoption.
(b) Upon
 request [
of
] 
by
 a prospective adoptive parent, the court shall order that an
additional preplacement 
adoptive evaluation
 or postplacement adoptive evaluation be
conducted, and 
shall
 hold a hearing on the suitability of the adoption, including testimony of
interested parties.
(2) [
Prior to
] 
Before
 finalization of a petition for adoption the court shall review and
consider the information and recommendations contained in the preplacement 
adoptive
evaluation
 and postplacement adoptive [
studies required by
] 
evaluation described in
 Sections
78B-6-128
 and 
78B-6-129
.
(3) With respect to the home study required as part of the preplacement adoptive
evaluation described in Subsection 
78B-6-128
(2)(c), a court may review and consider
information other than the information contained in the home study described in Subsection
78B-6-128
(6)(c).