This document includes Senate Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Thu, Feb 2, 2017 at 10:41 AM by lucydaynes.
1     
ADOPTION ACT AMENDMENTS

2     
2017 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Lyle W. Hillyard

5     
House Sponsor: Val K. Potter

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill modifies the Utah Adoption Act relating to professional counselors.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     replaces "professional counselor" with "clinical mental health counselor"; and
13          ▸     makes technical changes.
14     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
15          None
16     Other Special Clauses:
17          None
18     Utah Code Sections Affected:
19     AMENDS:
20          78B-6-103, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapters 137 and 194
21          78B-6-128, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 458
22     

23     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
24          Section 1. Section 78B-6-103 is amended to read:
25          78B-6-103. Definitions.
26          As used in this part:
27          (1) "Adoptee" means a person who:
28          (a) is the subject of an adoption proceeding; or
29          (b) has been legally adopted.
30          (2) "Adoption" means the judicial act that:
31          (a) creates the relationship of parent and child where it did not previously exist; and
32          (b) except as provided in Subsection 78B-6-138(2), terminates the parental rights of
33     any other person with respect to the child.
34          (3) "Adoption document" means an adoption-related document filed with the office, a
35     petition for adoption, a decree of adoption, an original birth certificate, or evidence submitted
36     in support of a supplementary birth certificate.
37          (4) "Adoption service provider" means a:
38          (a) child-placing agency; or
39          (b) licensed counselor who has at least one year of experience providing professional
40     social work services to:
41          (i) adoptive parents;
42          (ii) prospective adoptive parents; or
43          (iii) birth parents.
44          (5) "Adoptive parent" means [a person] an individual who has legally adopted an
45     adoptee.
46          (6) "Adult" means [a person] an individual who is 18 years of age or older.
47          (7) "Adult adoptee" means an adoptee who is 18 years of age or older and was adopted
48     as a minor.
49          (8) "Adult sibling" means [a] an adoptee's brother or sister [of the adoptee], who is 18
50     years of age or older and whose birth mother or father is the same as that of the adoptee.
51          (9) "Birth mother" means the biological mother of a child.
52          (10) "Birth parent" means:
53          (a) a birth mother;
54          (b) a man whose paternity of a child is established;
55          (c) a man who:
56          (i) has been identified as the father of a child by the child's birth mother; and
57          (ii) has not denied paternity; or
58          (d) an unmarried biological father.
59          (11) "Child-placing agency" means an agency licensed to place children for adoption
60     under Title 62A, Chapter 4a, Part 6, Child Placing.
61          (12) "Cohabiting" means residing with another person and being involved in a sexual
62     relationship with that person.
63          (13) "Division" means the Division of Child and Family Services, within the
64     Department of Human Services, created in Section 62A-4a-103.
65          (14) "Extra-jurisdictional child-placing agency" means an agency licensed to place
66     children for adoption by a district, territory, or state of the United States, other than Utah.
67          (15) "Genetic and social history" means a comprehensive report, when obtainable, [on
68     an adoptee's birth parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, which] that contains the following
69     information on an adoptee's birth parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents:
70          (a) medical history;
71          (b) health status;
72          (c) cause of and age at death;
73          (d) height, weight, and eye and hair color;
74          (e) ethnic origins;
75          (f) where appropriate, levels of education and professional achievement; and
76          (g) religion, if any.
77          (16) "Health history" means a comprehensive report of the adoptee's health status at the
78     time of placement for adoption, and medical history, including neonatal, psychological,
79     physiological, and medical care history.
80          (17) "Identifying information" means information that is in the possession of the
81     office[, which] and that contains the name and address of a pre-existing parent or an adult
82     adoptee, or other specific information that by itself or in reasonable conjunction with other
83     information may be used to identify [that person] a pre-existing parent or an adult adoptee,
84     including information on a birth certificate or in an adoption document.
85          (18) "Licensed counselor" means [a person] an individual who is licensed by the state,
86     or another state, district, or territory of the United States as a:
87          (a) certified social worker;
88          (b) clinical social worker;
89          (c) psychologist;
90          (d) marriage and family therapist;
91          (e) [professional counselor] clinical mental health counselor; or
92          (f) an equivalent licensed professional of another state, district, or territory of the
93     United States.
94          (19) "Man" means a male individual, regardless of age.
95          (20) "Mature adoptee" means an adoptee who is adopted when the adoptee is an adult.
96          (21) "Office" means the Office of Vital Records and Statistics within the Department
97     of Health operating under Title 26, Chapter 2, Utah Vital Statistics Act.
98          (22) "Parent," for purposes of Section 78B-6-119, means any person described in
99     Subsections 78B-6-120(1)(b) through (f) from whom consent for adoption or relinquishment
100     for adoption is required under Sections 78B-6-120 through 78B-6-122.
101          (23) "Potential birth father" means a man who:
102          (a) is identified by a birth mother as a potential biological father of the birth mother's
103     child, but whose genetic paternity has not been established; and
104          (b) was not married to the biological mother of the child described in Subsection
105     (23)(a) at the time of the child's conception or birth.
106          (24) "Pre-existing parent" means:
107          (a) a birth parent; or
108          (b) [a person] an individual who, before an adoption decree is entered, is, due to an
109     earlier adoption decree, legally the parent of the child being adopted.
110          (25) "Prospective adoptive parent" means [a person] an individual who seeks to adopt
111     an adoptee.
112          (26) "Relative" means:
113          (a) an adult who is a grandparent, great grandparent, aunt, great aunt, uncle, great
114     uncle, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepparent, first cousin, stepsibling, sibling of a child, or
115     first cousin of [the] a child's parent; and
116          (b) in the case of a child defined as an "Indian child" under the Indian Child Welfare
117     Act, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903, an "extended family member" as defined by that statute.
118          (27) "Unmarried biological father" means a [person] man who:
119          (a) is the biological father of a child; and
120          (b) was not married to the biological mother of the child described in Subsection
121     (27)(a) at the time of the child's conception or birth.
122          Section 2. Section 78B-6-128 is amended to read:
123          78B-6-128. Preplacement adoptive evaluations -- Exceptions.
124          (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a child may not be placed in an
125     adoptive home until a preplacement adoptive evaluation, assessing the prospective adoptive
126     parent and the prospective adoptive home, has been conducted in accordance with the
127     requirements of this section.
128          (b) Except as provided in Section 78B-6-131, the court may, at any time, authorize
129     temporary placement of a child in a potential adoptive home pending completion of a
130     preplacement adoptive evaluation described in this section.
131          (c) Subsection (1)(a) does not apply if a pre-existing parent has legal custody of the
132     child to be adopted and the prospective adoptive parent is related to that child or the
133     pre-existing parent as a stepparent, sibling by half or whole blood or by adoption, grandparent,
134     aunt, uncle, or first cousin, unless the evaluation is otherwise requested by the court. The
135     prospective adoptive parent described in this Subsection (1)(c) shall obtain the information
136     described in Subsections (2)(a) and (b)[,] and file that documentation with the court prior to
137     finalization of the adoption.
138          (d) The required preplacement adoptive evaluation must be completed or updated
139     within the 12-month period immediately preceding the placement of a child with the
140     prospective adoptive parent. If the prospective adoptive parent has previously received custody
141     of a child for the purpose of adoption, the preplacement adoptive evaluation must be completed
142     or updated within the 12-month period immediately preceding the placement of a child with the
143     prospective adoptive parent and after the placement of the previous child with the prospective
144     adoptive parent.
145          (2) The preplacement adoptive evaluation shall include:
146          (a) criminal history record information regarding each prospective adoptive parent and
147     any other adult living in the prospective home, prepared no earlier than 18 months immediately
148     preceding placement of the child in accordance with the following:
149          (i) if the child is in state custody, each prospective adoptive parent and any other adult
150     living in the prospective home shall:
151          (A) submit fingerprints for a Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal history
152     record check through the Criminal and Technical Services Division of the Department of
153     Public Safety in accordance with the provisions of Section 62A-2-120; or
154          (B) submit to a fingerprint based Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal
155     history record check through a law enforcement agency in another state, district, or territory of
156     the United States; or
157          (ii) subject to Subsection (3), if the child is not in state custody, each prospective
158     adoptive parent and any other adult living in the prospective home shall:
159          (A) submit fingerprints for a Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal history
160     records check as a personal records check; or
161          (B) complete a criminal records check, if available, for each state and country where
162     the prospective adoptive parent and any adult living in the prospective adoptive home resided
163     during the five years immediately preceding the day on which the adoption petition is to be
164     finalized;
165          (b) a report containing all information regarding reports and investigations of child
166     abuse, neglect, and dependency, with respect to each prospective adoptive parent and any other
167     adult living in the prospective home, obtained no earlier than 18 months immediately preceding
168     the day on which the child is placed in the prospective home, pursuant to waivers executed by
169     each prospective adoptive parent and any other adult living in the prospective home, that:
170          (i) if the prospective adoptive parent or the adult living in the prospective adoptive
171     parent's home is a resident of Utah, is prepared by the Department of Human Services from the
172     records of the Department of Human Services; or
173          (ii) if the prospective adoptive parent or the adult living in the prospective adoptive
174     parent's home is not a resident of Utah, prepared by the Department of Human Services, or a
175     similar agency in another state, district, or territory of the United States, where each
176     prospective adoptive parent and any other adult living in the prospective home resided in the
177     five years immediately preceding the day on which the child is placed in the prospective
178     adoptive home;
179          (c) in accordance with Subsection (6), an evaluation conducted by:
180          (i) an expert in family relations approved by the court;
181          (ii) a certified social worker;
182          (iii) a clinical social worker;
183          (iv) a marriage and family therapist;
184          (v) a psychologist;
185          (vi) a social service worker, if supervised by a certified or clinical social worker; or
186          (vii) a [professional counselor] clinical mental health counselor; and
187          (d) in accordance with Subsection (7), if the child to be adopted is a child who is in the
188     custody of any public child welfare agency, and is a child who has a special need as defined in
189     Section 62A-4a-902, the preplacement evaluation shall be conducted by the Department of
190     Human Services or a child-placing agency that has entered into a contract with the department
191     to conduct the preplacement evaluations for children with special needs.
192          (3) For purposes of Subsection (2)(a)(ii):
193          (a) if the adoption is being handled by a human services program, as defined in Section
194     62A-2-101:
195          (i) the criminal history check described in Subsection (2)(a)(ii)(A) shall be submitted
196     through the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division of the Department of
197     Public Safety, in accordance with the provisions of Section 62A-2-120; and
198          (ii) subject to Subsection (4), the criminal history check described in Subsection
199     (2)(a)(ii)(B) shall be submitted in a manner acceptable to the court that will:
200          (A) preserve the chain of custody of the results; and
201          (B) not permit tampering with the results by a prospective adoptive parent or other
202     interested party; and
203          (b) if the adoption is being handled by a private attorney, and not a human services
204     program, the criminal history checks described in Subsection (2)(a)(ii) shall be:
205          (i) submitted in accordance with procedures established by the Criminal Investigations
206     and Technical Services Division of the Department of Public Safety; or
207          (ii) subject to Subsection (4), submitted in a manner acceptable to the court that will:
208          (A) preserve the chain of custody of the results; and
209          (B) not permit tampering with the results by a prospective adoptive parent or other
210     interested party.
211          (4) In order to comply with Subsection (3)(a)(ii) or (b)(ii), the manner in which the
212     criminal history check is submitted shall be approved by the court.
213          (5) Except as provided in Subsection 78B-6-131(2), in addition to the other
214     requirements of this section, before a child in state custody is placed with a prospective foster
215     parent or a prospective adoptive parent, the Department of Human Services shall comply with
216     Section 78B-6-131.
217          (6) (a) Ŝ→ [A [person] professional] An individual ←Ŝ described in Subsection (2)(c) shall
217a     be licensed to
218     practice under the laws of:
219          (i) this state; or
220          (ii) the state, district, or territory of the United States where the prospective adoptive
221     parent or other person living in the prospective adoptive home resides.
222          (b) The evaluation described in Subsection (2)(c) shall be in a form approved by the
223     Department of Human Services.
224          (c) Neither the Department of Human Services nor any of its divisions may proscribe
225     who qualifies as an expert in family relations or who may conduct evaluations under
226     Subsection (2)(c).
227          (7) Any fee assessed by the evaluating agency described in Subsection (2)(d) is the
228     responsibility of the adopting parent or parents.
229          (8) The person [or agency] conducting the preplacement adoptive evaluation shall, in
230     connection with the evaluation, provide the prospective adoptive parent or parents with
231     literature approved by the Division of Child and Family Services relating to adoption, including
232     information relating to:
233          (a) the adoption process;
234          (b) developmental issues that may require early intervention; and
235          (c) community resources that are available to the prospective adoptive parent or
236     parents.
237          (9) A copy of the preplacement adoptive evaluation shall be filed with the court.




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