AN ACT
Relating to adoption support; amending RCW 74.13.118, 74.13.121, 26.33.110,
26.33.310, and 26.33.260; adding a new section to chapter 26.33 RCW; and
creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. The
legislature finds that it is in the best interest of the people of the state of
Washington to support the adoption process in a variety of ways, including
easing administrative burdens on adoptive parents receiving financial support,
providing finality for adoptive placements and stable homes for children, and
not delaying adoptions.
Sec.
2. RCW
74.13.118 and 1985 c 7 s 138 are each amended to read as follows:
At
least ((annually)) once every five years, the secretary shall
review the need of any adoptive parent or parents receiving continuing support
pursuant to RCW 26.33.320 and 74.13.100 through 74.13.145, or the need of any
parent who is to receive more than one lump sum payment where such payments are
to be spaced more than one year apart. ((Such review shall be made not
later than the anniversary date of the adoption support agreement.))
At the
time of such ((annual)) review and at other times ((during the year))
when changed conditions, including variations in medical opinions, prognosis
and costs, are deemed by the secretary to warrant such action, appropriate
adjustments in payments shall be made based upon changes in the needs of the
child, in the adoptive parents' income, resources, and expenses for the care of
such child or other members of the family, including medical and/or
hospitalization expense not otherwise covered by or subject to reimbursement
from insurance or other sources of financial assistance.
Any
parent who is a party to such an agreement may at any time in writing request,
for reasons set forth in such request, a review of the amount of any payment or
the level of continuing payments. Such review shall be begun not later than
thirty days from the receipt of such request. Any adjustment may be made
retroactive to the date such request was received by the secretary. If such
request is not acted on within thirty days after it has been received by the
secretary, such parent may invoke his rights under the hearing provisions set
forth in RCW 74.13.127.
Sec.
3. RCW
74.13.121 and 1985 c 7 s 139 are each amended to read as follows:
So
long as any adoptive parent is receiving support pursuant to RCW 26.33.320 and
74.13.100 through 74.13.145 he or she shall, ((not later than two
weeks after it is filed with the United States government)) upon request,
file with the secretary a copy of his or her federal income tax return.
Such return and any information thereon shall be marked by the secretary
"confidential", shall be used by the secretary solely for the
purposes of RCW 26.33.320 and 74.13.100 through 74.13.145, and shall not be
revealed to any other person, institution or agency, public or private,
including agencies of the United States government, other than a superior court,
judge or commissioner before whom a petition for adoption of a child being
supported or to be supported pursuant to RCW 26.33.320 and 74.13.100 through
74.13.145 is then pending.
In
carrying on the review process authorized by RCW 26.33.320 and 74.13.100
through 74.13.145 the secretary may require the adoptive parent or parents to
disclose such additional financial information, not privileged, as may enable
him or her to make determinations and adjustments in support to the end
that the purposes and policies of this state expressed in RCW 74.13.100 may be
carried out, provided that no adoptive parent or parents shall be obliged, by
virtue of this section, to sign any agreement or other writing waiving any
constitutional right or privilege nor to admit to his or her home any agent,
employee, or official of any department of this state, or of the United States
government.
Such
information shall be marked "confidential" by the secretary, shall be
used by him or her solely for the purposes of RCW 26.33.320 and
74.13.100 through 74.13.145, and shall not be revealed to any other person,
institution, or agency, public or private, including agencies of the United
States government other than a superior court judge or commission before whom a
petition for adoption of a child being supported or to be supported pursuant to
RCW 26.33.320 and 74.13.100 through 74.13.145 is then pending.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 4. The
legislature recognizes that some prospective adoptive parents may not have
finalized the adoption of a foster child in their care because the adoption
support program as it is presently structured may offer special children with
complex needs fewer necessary services than the foster care program provides
them through exceptional cost plans. Enhancement of the adoption support
program could increase the likelihood that such special needs children could be
adopted.
The
department of social and health services is directed to conduct a study to
determine the costs, program impact, and appropriateness of extending
exceptional cost rate foster care plans for special needs children to the
adoption support program. The department of social and health services shall
complete the study and report its findings to the legislature no later than
September 1, 1995.
Sec.
5. RCW
26.33.110 and 1987 c 170 s 5 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. However, if the child is an
Indian child, the hearing shall not be held sooner than ten days after the
child's birth and the time of the hearing shall be extended up to twenty
additional days from the date of the scheduled hearing upon the motion of the
parent, Indian custodian, or the child's tribe.
(2)
Notice of the hearing shall be served on the petitioner, the 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. If the child is
an Indian child, notice of the hearing shall also be served on the child's
tribe in the manner prescribed by 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1912(a).
(3)
Except as otherwise provided in this section, 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 if served within the state
or thirty days if served outside of this state, 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;
(d)
Inform an alleged father of an Indian child that if he acknowledges paternity
of the child or if his paternity of the child is established prior to the
termination of the parent-child relationship, that his parental rights may not
be terminated unless he: (i) Gives valid consent to termination, or (ii) his
parent-child relationship is terminated involuntarily pursuant to chapter 26.33
or 13.34 RCW.
Sec.
6. RCW
26.33.310 and 1987 c 170 s 9 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)) set forth in
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 any parent or alleged father who has not consented to the
termination of his or her parental rights can be given, the summons and notice
of hearing on the petition to terminate parental rights shall be served at
least twenty days before the hearing date if served within the state or thirty
days if served outside of this state.
(3)
If personal service on the parent or any alleged father, either within or
without this state, cannot be given, notice shall be given: (a) By first
class and registered mail, mailed at least ((twenty)) thirty
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)) thirty 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 to the petitioner, publication shall be in the city or town of the
last known whereabouts within the United States and its territories; or if no
address or whereabouts are known to the petitioner 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)))
(4) 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 except in the
case of an Indian child where consent to termination or adoption must be
certified before a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to 25 U.S.C. Sec.
1913(a).
(((4)))
(5) 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.
(((5)))
(6) Where notice to an Indian tribe is to be provided pursuant to this
chapter and the department is not a party to the proceeding, notice shall be
given to the tribe at least ten business days prior to the hearing by
registered mail return receipt requested.
Sec.
7. RCW
26.33.260 and 1984 c 155 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The entry of a decree of adoption divests any parent or alleged father who is
not married to the adoptive parent or who has not joined in the petition for
adoption of all legal rights and obligations in respect to the adoptee, except
past-due child support obligations. The adoptee shall be free from all legal
obligations of obedience and maintenance in respect to the parent. The adoptee
shall be, to all intents and purposes, and for all legal incidents, the child,
legal heir, and lawful issue of the adoptive parent, entitled to all rights and
privileges, including the right of inheritance and the right to take under
testamentary disposition, and subject to all the obligations of a natural child
of the adoptive parent.
(2)
Any appeal of an adoption decree shall be decided on an accelerated review
basis.
(3)
Except as otherwise provided in RCW 26.33.160(3) and (4)(h), no person may
challenge an adoption decree on the grounds of:
(a)
A person claiming or alleging paternity subsequently appears and alleges lack
of prior notice of the proceeding; or
(b)
The adoption proceedings were in any other manner defective.
(4)
It is the intent of the legislature that this section provide finality for
adoptive placements and stable homes for children.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 8. A new
section is added to chapter 26.33 RCW to read as follows:
An
adoption shall not be delayed or denied on the basis of the race, color, or
national origin of the adoptive parent or the child involved. However, when
the department or an agency considers whether a placement option is in a
child's best interests, the department or agency may consider the cultural,
ethnic, or racial background of the child and the capacity of prospective
adoptive parents to meet the needs of a child of this background. This
provision shall not apply to or affect the application of the Indian Child
Welfare Act of 1978, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.
