AN ACT Relating to adoption; amending RCW 26.33.080, 26.33.090, 26.33.100, 26.33.110, 26.33.160, and 26.33.310; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. Section 8, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.080 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A parent, an alleged father, the department, or an agency may file with the court a petition to relinquish a child to the department or an agency. The parent's or alleged father's written consent to adoption shall accompany the petition. The written consent of the department or the agency to assume custody shall be filed with the petition.

(2) A parent, alleged father, or prospective adoptive parent may file with the court a petition to relinquish a child to the prospective adoptive parent. The parent's or alleged father's written consent to adoption shall accompany the petition. The written consent of the prospective adoptive parent to assume custody shall be filed with the petition. The identity of the prospective adoptive parent need not be disclosed to the petitioner.

(3) A petition for relinquishment, together with the written consent to adoption, may be filed before the child's birth.

Sec. 2. Section 9, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.090 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The court shall set a time and place for a hearing on the petition for relinquishment. The hearing may not be held sooner than forty-eight hours after the child's birth or the signing of all necessary consents to adoption, whichever is later. The court may enter a temporary order giving custody of the child to the prospective adoptive parent, if a preplacement report has been filed, or to the department or agency to whom the child will be relinquished pending the court's hearing on the petition.

(2) Notice of the hearing shall be served on any relinquishing parent((~~, any~~)) or alleged father, and the department((,)) or agency((~~, or prospective adoptive parent~~)) in the manner prescribed by RCW 26.33.310.

(3) The court may require the parent to appear personally and enter his or her consent to adoption on the record. The court shall determine that any written consent has been validly executed. If the court determines it is in the best interests of the child, the court shall approve the petition for relinquishment.

(4) If the court approves the petition, it shall award custody of the child to the department, agency, or prospective adoptive parent, who shall be appointed legal guardian. The legal guardian shall be financially responsible for support of the child until further order of the court. The court shall also enter an order pursuant to RCW 26.33.130 terminating the parent-child relationship of the parent and the child.

(5) An order of relinquishment to an agency or the department shall include an order authorizing the agency to place the child with a prospective adoptive parent.

Sec. 3. Section 10, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.100 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A petition for termination of the parent-child relationship of a parent or alleged father who has not executed a written consent to adoption may be filed by:

(a) The department or an agency; ((or))

(b) The prospective adoptive parent to whom a child has been or may be relinquished if the prospective adoptive parent has filed or consented to a petition for relinquishment; or

(2) The petition for termination of the parent-child relationship shall contain a statement of facts identifying the petitioner, the parents, the legal guardian, a guardian ad litem for a party, any alleged father, and the child. The petition shall state the facts forming the basis for the petition and shall be signed under penalty of perjury or be verified.

(3) The petition may be filed before the child's birth.

Sec. 4. Section 11, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.110 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The court shall set a time and place for a hearing on the petition for termination of the parent-child relationship, which shall not be held sooner than forty-eight hours after the child's birth.

(2) Notice of the hearing shall be served on the petitioner, the ((~~parents, any~~)) nonconsenting parent or alleged father, the legal guardian of a party, and the guardian ad litem of a party, in the manner prescribed by RCW 26.33.310.

(3) The notice of the petition shall:

(a) State the date and place of birth. If the petition is filed prior to birth, the notice shall state the approximate date and location of conception of the child and the expected date of birth, and shall identify the mother;

(b) Inform the nonconsenting parent or alleged father that: (i) He or she has a right to be represented by counsel and that counsel will be appointed for an indigent person who requests counsel; and (ii) failure to respond to the termination action within twenty days of service will result in the termination of his or her parent-child relationship with respect to the child;

(c) Inform an alleged father that failure to file a claim of paternity under chapter 26.26 RCW or to respond to the petition, within twenty days of the date of service of the petition is grounds to terminate his parent-child relationship with respect to the child.

Sec. 5. Section 16, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.160 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in RCW 26.33.170, consent to an adoption shall be required of the following if applicable:

(a) The adoptee, if fourteen years of age or older;

(b) The parents and any alleged father of an adoptee under eighteen years of age;

(d) The legal guardian of the adoptee.

(2) Consent to adoption is revocable by the consenting party at any time before the consent is approved by the court. The revocation may be made in either of the following ways:

(a) Written revocation may be delivered or mailed to the clerk of the court before approval; or

(b) Written revocation may be delivered or mailed to the clerk of the court after approval, but only if it is delivered or mailed within forty-eight hours after a prior notice of revocation that was given within forty-eight hours after the birth of the child. The prior notice of revocation shall be given to the agency or person who sought the consent and may be either oral or written.

(3) Except as provided in subsection (2)(b) of this section and in this subsection, a consent to adoption may not be revoked after it has been approved by the court. Within one year after approval, a consent may be revoked for fraud or duress practiced by the person, department, or agency requesting the consent, or for lack of mental competency on the part of the person giving the consent at the time the consent was given. A written consent to adoption may not be revoked more than one year after it is approved by the court.

(4) The written consent to adoption shall be signed under penalty of perjury and shall state that:

(a) It is given subject to approval of the court;

(b) It has no force or effect until approved by the court;

(c) The consent will not be presented to the court until forty-eight hours after it is signed or forty-eight hours after the birth of the child, whichever occurs later;

(d) It is revocable by the consenting party at any time ((~~prior to~~)) before its approval by the court((;

(e) A consenting party who seeks to revoke the consent must notify the agency or person who obtained the consent verbally or in writing within forty-eight hours of signing the consent, and, if the initial notice is oral, the party seeking to revoke must mail written notification of revocation to the clerk of the court no less than forty-eight hours after the oral notice was given)). It may be revoked in either of the following ways:

(i) Written revocation may be delivered or mailed to the clerk of the court before approval of the consent by the court; or

(ii) Written revocation may be delivered or mailed to the clerk of the court after approval, but only if it is delivered or mailed within forty-eight hours after a prior notice of revocation that was given within forty-eight hours after the birth of the child. The prior notice of revocation shall be given to the agency or person who sought the consent and may be either oral or written;

((~~(f)~~)) (e) The address of the clerk of court where the consent will be presented is included; and

((~~(g)~~)) (f) After it has been approved by the court, the consent is not revocable except for fraud or duress practiced by the person, department, or agency requesting the consent or for lack of mental competency on the part of the person giving the consent at the time the consent was ((~~executed by the person signing the consent~~)) given. A written consent to adoption ((~~shall~~)) may not be revoked more than one year after it is approved by the court.

((~~(3)~~)) (5) A written consent to adoption which meets all the requirements of this chapter but which does not name or otherwise identify the adopting parent ((~~shall be~~)) is valid if it contains a statement that it is voluntarily executed without disclosure of the name or other identification of the adopting parent.

Sec. 6. Section 31, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.310 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Petitions governed by this chapter shall be served in the same manner as a complaint in a civil action under the superior court civil rules. Subsequent notice, papers, and pleadings may be served in the manner provided in superior court civil rules.

(2) If personal service on the parent or any ((~~identified~~)) alleged father, either within or without this state, cannot be given, notice shall be given: (a) By registered mail, mailed at least twenty days before the hearing to the person's last known address; and (b) by publication at least once a week for three consecutive weeks with the first publication date at least twenty- five days before the hearing. Publication shall be in a legal newspaper in the city or town of the last known address within the United States and its territories of the parent or alleged father, whether within or without this state, or, if no address is known or the last known address is not within the United States and its territories, in the city or town where the proceeding has been commenced.

(3) Notice and appearance may be waived by the department, an agency, a parent, or an alleged father before the court or in a writing signed under penalty of perjury. The waiver shall contain the current address of the department, agency, parent, or alleged father. The face of the waiver for a hearing on termination of the parent-child relationship shall contain language explaining the meaning and consequences of the waiver and the meaning and consequences of termination of the parent-child relationship. A person or agency who has executed a waiver shall not be required to appear.

(4) If a person entitled to notice is known to the petitioner to be unable to read or understand English, all notices, if practicable, shall be given in that person's native language or through an interpreter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.