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            relinquishment is rescinded, as specified.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 


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