AN ACT Relating to adoption; amending RCW 26.33.070, 26.33.090, 26.33.100, and 26.33.160; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. Section 7, chapter 155, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.33.070 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for any parent or alleged father under eighteen years of age in any proceeding under this chapter. The court may appoint a guardian ad litem for a child adoptee or any incompetent party in any proceeding under this chapter. The guardian ad litem for a parent or alleged father, in addition to determining what is in the best interest of the party, shall make an investigation and report to the court concerning whether any written consent to adoption or petition for relinquishment signed by the parent or alleged father was signed voluntarily and with an understanding of the consequences of the action.

(2) The petitioner or other appropriate party, or both, as determined by the court, shall bear the cost of the fees of a guardian ad litem or attorney appointed under this chapter unless the court determines that the petitioner and all other appropriate parties are indigent and unable to pay, in which case the county in which ((a)) the petition is filed shall pay the fees of ((a)) the guardian ad litem or attorney ((~~appointed under this chapter~~)).

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 parent, any alleged father, and the department, 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 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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. 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.