BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2488|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2488
Author: Leno (D)
Amended: 6/20/06 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/13/06
AYES: Dunn, Morrow, Escutia, Harman, Kuehl
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/11/06 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Adoption: sibling contact
SOURCE : Childrens Law Center of Los Angeles
DIGEST : This bill lowers the age of consent to
disclosure of contact information between adoptees and
their siblings from 21 to 18. For those children under 18,
this bill allows them to consent to disclosure of their
information provided that their adoptive parent, legal
parent or guardian consents. Additionally, this bill
authorizes a court to appoint a confidential intermediary
to obtain the consent of an adoptee or their sibling who
has not already consented to disclosure.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that adoption records
are confidential and shall not be disclosed by the
Department of Social Services (DSS) or an adoption agency
CONTINUED
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unless otherwise authorized by law.
Existing law requires DSS or an adoption agency to release
the names and addresses of siblings to one another if both
are 21 years of age and have filed a written request for
contact and a waiver of their disclosure rights. DSS or an
adoption agency may not solicit the execution of a waiver
by siblings who have not already done so.
This bill lowers the age of consent to waiver from 21 to
18. This bill additionally allows an adoptee or sibling of
adoptee under the age of 18 to consent to release of their
contact information provided that their adoptive or legal
parent or guardian consents. The dependency court may
provide that consent for siblings under their jurisdiction
where when no legal parent or guardian is available to
provide consent.
This bill allows a court to appoint a confidential
intermediary to attempt to obtain the consent of the
adoptee, sibling, or adoptive birth parent required to make
the disclosure, provided that contact would not be
detrimental to the adoptee or sibling with whom contact is
sought. If consent is sought from an individual under age
18, the confidential intermediary must seek the consent of
the child's legal parent or the dependency court, when no
legal parent exists, prior to contacting the child.
This bill requires the confidential intermediary to be
either the department or adoption agency that conducted the
adoptee's adoption, unless that agency is unable to serve
as the intermediary due to economic hardship, in which case
the agency shall provide all records to the court and the
court shall appoint an alternate confidential intermediary.
This bill requires that intermediary to make all
reasonable efforts to locate and obtain the consent of the
adoptee, sibling, or adoptive birth parent.
Existing law allows DSS to adopt regulations to require a
biological sibling, who remained in the custody and control
of his/her birth parents until age 18, to obtain the
consent of the shared birth parents prior to the release of
his/her contact information. That requirement appears in
Part (F) of DSS' Form AD-904A (Waiver of Rights to
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Confidentiality for Siblings). [Section 9205(d) of the
Family Code, 22 CCR 35063 (a)(4)]
This bill deletes that provision.
Existing law allowing release to siblings applies to
adoptees and their biological siblings.
This bill defines sibling to include half-siblings and
step-siblings.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/5/06)
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Association of Adoption Agencies
California Coalition for Youth
Children's Defense Fund, California
City and County of San Francisco
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
Los Angeles Affiliate of the National Association of
Counsel for Children
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Center on Youth Law
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author,
"California law should be amended to remove overly
restrictive barriers and make it easier for siblings to
find each other after one or more of them have been adopted
through the foster care system." Statistics provided by
the author report that over two-thirds of the California
children in foster care "had at least one sibling in
out-of-home care. Of these youth, an astounding 58% were
separated from one or more of their sisters or brothers."
While the Legislature has previously supported
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post-adoptive sibling contact, the author states that
"current law makes it difficult, and in some cases
impossible, for siblings to find each other when one or
more of them has been adopted." Accordingly, this bill
will facilitate sibling contact by lowering the age of
consent from 21 to 18, allow the release of contact
information for a sibling under age 18, with their legal
parent or guardian's consent, and allow an adoptee or
sibling for whom no waiver is on file to petition the court
to appoint a confidential intermediary to obtain that
waiver.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Arambula, Baca, Bass, Berg, Bermudez,
Blakeslee, Bogh, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez,
Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Coto, Daucher, De La Torre, DeVore,
Dymally, Emmerson, Evans, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg,
Hancock, Harman, Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton,
Houston, Huff, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Klehs, La Malfa,
La Suer, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Liu,
Matthews, Maze, McCarthy, Montanez, Mountjoy, Mullin,
Nakanishi, Nation, Nava, Negrete McLeod, Niello, Oropeza,
Parra, Pavley, Plescia, Richman, Ridley-Thomas, Sharon
Runner, Ruskin, Salinas, Spitzer, Strickland, Torrico,
Tran, Umberg, Vargas, Villines, Walters, Wolk, Wyland,
Yee, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Benoit, Koretz, Leslie, Saldana
RJG:mel 7/5/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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