BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 848
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 848 (Patterson)
As Amended July 2, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-0 |(April 8, 2013) |SENATE: |38-0 |(September 3, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Makes changes to adoption processes. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Clarifies that, in an agency adoption, if a birth parent
waives the right to revoke the relinquishment for adoption
before an authorized representative of the adoption agency,
the relinquishment becomes final and irrevocable at the close
of the next business day after the later of the date it was
signed or the expiration of any holding period specified in
writing.
2)Clarifies that a birth parent's waiver of the right to revoke
the relinquishment for adoption is void if the relinquishment
is determined to be invalid, the relinquishment is revoked
during any holding period specified in writing, or the
relinquishment is rescinded, as specified. Provides that this
does not in any way limit the birth parent's right to rescind
the relinquishment.
3)Clarifies that unless ordered otherwise by a court, the
Department of Social Services (DSS) or the licensed adoption
agency overseeing the adoption may, in its discretion, do an
abbreviated home study for the following individuals only:
a) A licensed foster parent with whom the child has lived
for at least six months;
b) An approved relative caregiver or non-related extended
family member with whom the child has had an ongoing and
significant relationship;
c) A court-appointed relative guardian who has had physical
custody of the child for at least one year and has been
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investigated and approved under the guardianship process;
or
d) A prospective adoptive parent who has completed an
agency-supervised adoption within the last two years.
4)Provides that unless otherwise ordered by a court, at a
minimum, the home study assessment must include a review by
the department or adoption agency of all previous guardianship
investigation reports, home study assessments and preplacement
evaluations. Provides that, notwithstanding any other law
regarding the confidential nature of these reports, the
department or adoption agency may receive them if the request
is accompanied by a signed release from the applicant.
Provides that these provisions and the provisions in 3) above,
do not apply to independent adoptions.
The Senate amendments add specific requirements for abbreviated
home study assessments for agency adoptions and make other
technical changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies how a birth parent may relinquish a child for
adoption. Allows that parent to revoke the relinquishment
within 10 days of the relinquishment for agency adoptions and
within 30 days for independent adoptions.
2)Allows birth parents either going through an independent
adoption or utilizing an agency for the adoption to waive
their right to revoke relinquishment of their child for
adoption by signing the waiver in the presence of: a) a
representative of the Department of Social Services (DSS) or
the delegated county adoption agency; b) a judicial officer,
adoption service provider or agency representative, if the
birth parents are represented by independent legal counsel, as
provided.
3)Specifies abbreviated home study requirements for prospective
adoptive parents who are already foster parents or relative
caregivers to the child.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, minor, absorbable administrative costs to the DSS, as
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the provisions codify existing regulations with regard to home
study processes. Potential minor net fee revenue loss of less
than $50,000 (General Fund) per year due to authorizing a
broader class of lower income prospective adoptive parents
eligibility for a reduced fee home study. It is assumed the
full cost fee would have otherwise been cost prohibitive to some
lower income prospective parents. Removing this financial
barrier could result in a greater number of adoptive parents,
offsetting the impact of the reduced fee.
COMMENTS : This non-controversial bill is the Academy of
California Adoption Lawyers' annual adoption bill. According to
the author, this bill is necessary to resolve two technical
issues that emerged as the result of last year's AB 1757
(Fletcher), Chapter 638, Statutes of 2012.
After a birth parent consents to have his or her child adopted,
that parent is still given time to change his or her mind and
revoke the consent - 10 days for parents going through an agency
adoption and 30 days for parents going through an independent
adoption. However, the birth parent may decide that she wants
finality sooner and may waive that revocation right. The waiver
also provides faster certainty to the prospective adoptive
parents.
In addition to the revocation rights, birth parents can rescind
their relinquishment of the child under limited circumstances,
which include 1) the mutual consent of the birth parents and the
adoption agency, and 2) the child is not placed with the
prospective adoptive parents named in the relinquishment signed
by the birth parents.
This bill does not change the revocation rights, the waiver of
those rights or the rescission rights. It simply clarifies
that, in an agency adoption, waiver of the right to revoke the
consent to adoption is void if the relinquishment is found to be
invalid, the relinquishment is revoked, as specified, or the
relinquishment is rescinded. This clarification protects the
birth parents' rights, even if they have signed a waiver of
their right to revoke consent to the adoption.
Home studies are conducted prior to the finalization of an
adoption to ensure that the child is being placed in a safe and
secure environment. Full home studies can take many months to
complete and can cost nearly $5,000. By contrast abbreviated
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home studies can take just weeks to complete and cost less than
half what a full study costs. However, an abbreviated study is
not as thorough and, consequently, may not be as protective of
the child. However, if families have been reviewed before, it
may not be necessary to do a full home study again and an
abbreviated study may be a reasonable choice.
This bill clarifies when abbreviated home studies may be used in
place of the full assessment. The sponsor writes that this is
necessary because several prospective adoptive parents have used
the existing law to attempt to avoid completing the full home
study required prior to adoption. When DSS objected, these
prospective adoptive parents applied to the court for
declaratory relief. The sponsor writes that the ensuing court
decisions - all unpublished - have been "inconsistent and
sometimes diametrically opposed to one another." This bill
seeks to remove any ambiguities in the current law and clarify
which prospective adoptive parents qualify for an abbreviated
home study assessment.
As with current law, DSS or the licensed adoption agency has
discretion to decide whether to use the abbreviated home study.
By balancing the need for permanency with the need for safety,
this bill helps ensure that an abbreviated home study will only
be used when appropriate and help ensure that children are
placed in safe homes with loving and supportive families.
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334
FN: 0001719