BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 687 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 687 (Fletcher) As Amended August 30, 2011 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 12, 2011) |SENATE: |38-0 |(September 7, | | | | | | |2011) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 687 Page 2 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; AB 687 Page 3 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 AB 687 Page 4 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