BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 687
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 687 (Fletcher)
As Amended August 30, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 12, 2011) |SENATE: |38-0 |(September 7, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Makes changes to adoption processes and adoptive
placement considerations. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the agency doing an adoption investigation to make an
attempt to identify the natural father. Requires that the
inquiry include the names and whereabouts of every man
presumed or alleged to be the father of the child. Requires
the agency that completes the inquiry to file a written report
of its findings with the court.
2)Allows certain full service, licensed private adoption
agencies to make specified determinations under the Interstate
Compact on the Placement of Children for any interstate
placement of nondependent children, and requires that the
agency verify that the pre-placement interview of the
prospective adoptive parents has been completed.
3)Allows a court to enter an adoption order nunc pro tunc (back
dated) when it will serve public policy and the best interests
of the adoptee, but requires that the order not precede the
date that parental rights were initially terminated.
4)Allows a consent to a step-parent adoption to be signed in
front of an authorized representative of an licensed adoption
agency. Requires that the consent be filed when signed or
simultaneously with the adoption request.
5)Requires the court, in any action to set aside an order of
adoption, to consider the child's best interests along with
other factors required by law, if the facts are legally
sufficient to set aside the order. Clarifies that this does
not apply to adoptions of children with developmental
disabilities or mental illness identified prior to the
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adoption. Provides that an action to set aside based on fraud
must be commenced within three years of entry of the order or
90 days of discovery of the fraud, whichever is earliest.
Provides that the Department of Social Services may not, under
any circumstances, be required to investigate a set aside
petition or represent a child who is the subject of such a
proceeding.
6)Provides venue options for filing a petition for adult
adoption, including the county where the proposed adult
adoptee was born or the county where the adoption agency that
placed the adoptee when he or she was a minor is located.
7)Provides that a foster care license or certificate is not
required for placement of a nondependent child who is
relinquished for adoption to a licensed adoption agency,
provided the child is placed with prospective adoptive parents
who have an approved adoption home study, as specified.
Limits the placement to 30 days, as specified and requires
in-home supervisory visits, as specified.
8)Makes other technical changes.
The Senate amendments delete timing requirements for issuance of
a new birth certificate post-adoption, limit the adoption
agencies that can make specified determinations under the
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, add conditions
to the nunc pro tunc order and to when a license is not required
for placement of a nondependent child, limit when an adoption
order based on fraud can be set aside, and specify that the
Department of Social Services is not required to investigate
such a set aside petition.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, in a proceeding to terminate parental rights as part
of an adoption proceeding, that efforts be made to identify
the natural father and report that information to the court.
2)Allows the court to dispense with a hearing to terminate
parental rights and may instead issue an ex parte order
terminating those rights in the following situations:
a) The identity or whereabouts of the father are unknown;
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b) The alleged father has validly executed a waiver of the
right to notice, or a waiver or denial of paternity; or,
c) The alleged father has been served with written notice
of his alleged paternity and the proposed adoption, and has
failed to bring an action to determine the existence of a
parent-child relationship, as required.
3)Specifies how consent shall be obtained for a step-parent
adoption.
4)Provides an action to set aside an adoption order on any
ground, except fraud, must be brought within one year. An
action based on fraud must be brought with three years.
5)Allows for a petition for adoption of an adult to be filed
only in the county in which either the prospective adoptive
parent or the proposed adoptee resides.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This is the Academy of California Adoption Lawyers'
annual adoption bill to resolve technical issues and other more
substantive issues in order to streamline adoption procedures.
Over the years, procedures to identify and locate presumed or
alleged fathers and then seek their consent to, or waiver of
notice about, termination of parental rights prior to adoption
have been amended in various ways in attempt to streamline the
process. This bill makes several changes to clarify the process
and make the various code sections consistent. In particular,
this bill requires the agency that completes an investigation of
the name and whereabouts of every possible presumed or alleged
father to file that report with the court. The bill also allows
private adoption agencies to perform step-parent adoption
investigations.
Adult adoptions are often used to help provide children who have
emancipated out of the foster care system with permanent
families. However, once children have emancipated out of foster
care, the adoption petition cannot be filed in the county where
the child was in foster care. Current law allows for a petition
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for adoption of an adult to be filed only in the county in which
either the prospective adoptive parent or the proposed adoptee
resides. This bill expands the venue list to include where the
adult adoptee was born or the county where the adoption agency
that placed the adoptee when he or she was a minor is located.
Adoption of minors and adults differ in key aspects. In
particular, an adult adoption is a legal contract that can be
changed, and it does not offer the same permanency as adoption
of a minor does. Permanency is particularly important for
foster children who often emancipate out of foster care without
support and stability. Health insurance rules may also prevent
parents from providing health insurance to a child who is
adopted as an adult, even if the child is 18 at adoption. This
bill allows a court to enter an adoption order nunc pro tunc,
allowing the court to back date the order, where it will serve
public policy and the best interests of the child. This allows
a court the ability to do justice, particularly for former
foster children who emancipate out of the system without
permanency.
Existing law provides, except in specified cases, that an action
to set aside an adoption must be brought within one year for any
reason except fraud (for which the set aside period, as amended
by the bill, is three years from entry of the order or 90 days
of discovery of the fraud, whichever is earlier). The statute
is silent as to what the court must consider when determining
whether to grant the petition. This bill requires the court to
consider, among other factors, the adopted child's best
interests. This will ensure that the court considers the
child's interests, in addition to the interests of the adults
involved.
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334
FN: 0002451