BILL REQ. #:  S-3552.2 

Read first time 01/21/2004.   Referred to Committee on Children & Family Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to adoption; amending RCW 26.33.010, 26.33.045, 26.33.150, 26.33.190, and 26.33.240; reenacting and amending RCW 43.79A.040; and adding new sections to chapter 26.33 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 26.33.010 and 1984 c 155 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((The legislature finds that the purpose of adoption is to provide stable homes for children. Adoptions should be handled efficiently, but the rights of all parties must be protected. The guiding principle must be determining what is in the best interest of the child.)) It is the intent of the legislature to ensure that children whose parents are unable to provide for their care are placed with safe and stable families through the process of adoption. Placement of such children with qualified families is presumed to be in the best interest of the child. The purpose of adoption is to find a safe and stable family for each child, not the reverse. It is the intent of the legislature that adoptions be handled efficiently and equitably with the rights of all parties protected. Under no circumstances shall adoptions be delayed, denied, or given preferential treatment based upon the race of the child or prospective adoptive parents. Nor shall any adoption-related fees be based upon the race or physical characteristics of the child, nor of the ability of the prospective adoptive parents to pay the adoption-related fees.
     The legislature intends for all adoption-related fees to be fully disclosed by prospective adoptive parents to the court and approved prior to the granting of the adoption petition.
     The legislature intends to eliminate any artificial barriers to adoption, such as fees exceeding the actual cost of the adoption-related services provided.
     It is the intent of the legislature to establish a fund to assist prospective adoptive parents in meeting the actual costs of adopting a child.
     It is the intent of the legislature that this chapter be used only as a means for placing children in adoptive homes and not as a means for parents to avoid responsibility for their children unless the department, an agency, or a prospective adoptive parent is willing to assume the responsibility for the child.

Sec. 2   RCW 26.33.045 and 1995 c 270 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     An adoption shall not be delayed ((or)), denied, or given preferential treatment 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)) An adoption placement ((option)) with a qualified family is presumed to be 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, unless to do so would result in a delay or denial of placement with an otherwise qualified family. Under no circumstances shall an adoption be delayed, denied, or given preferential treatment based on the ability of the prospective adoptive parents to pay for adoption-related fees. 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.

Sec. 3   RCW 26.33.150 and 1984 c 155 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) An adoption proceeding is initiated by filing with the court a petition for adoption. The petition shall be filed by the prospective adoptive parent.
     (2) A petition for adoption shall contain the following information:
     (a) The name and address of the petitioner;
     (b) The name, if any, gender, and place and date of birth, if known, of the adoptee;
     (c) A statement that the child is or is not an Indian child covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act; and
     (d) The name and address of the department or any agency, legal guardian, or person having custody of the child.
     (3) The written consent to adoption of any person, the department, or agency which has been executed shall be filed with the petition.
     (4) The petition shall be signed under penalty of perjury by the petitioner. If the petitioner is married, the petitioner's spouse shall join in the petition.
     (5) If a preplacement report prepared pursuant to RCW 26.33.190 has not been previously filed with the court, the preplacement report shall be filed with the petition for adoption.
     (6) If a financial disclosure statement as described in section 5 of this act has not been previously filed with the court, the financial disclosure statement shall be filed with the petition for adoption.

Sec. 4   RCW 26.33.190 and 1991 c 136 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any person may at any time request an agency, the department, an individual approved by the court, or a qualified salaried court employee to prepare a preplacement report. A certificate signed under penalty of perjury by the person preparing the report specifying his or her qualifications as required in this chapter shall be attached to or filed with each preplacement report and shall include a statement of training or experience that qualifies the person preparing the report to discuss relevant adoption issues. A person may have more than one preplacement report prepared. All preplacement reports shall be filed with the court in which the petition for adoption is filed.
     (2) The preplacement report shall be a written document setting forth all relevant information relating to the fitness of the person requesting the report as an adoptive parent. The report shall be based on a study which shall include an investigation of the home environment, family life, health, facilities, and resources of the person requesting the report. The report shall include a list of the sources of information on which the report is based. The report shall include a recommendation as to the fitness of the person requesting the report to be an adoptive parent. The report shall also verify that the following issues were discussed with the prospective adoptive parents:
     (a) The concept of adoption as a lifelong developmental process and commitment;
     (b) The potential for the child to have feelings of identity confusion and loss regarding separation from the birth parents;
     (c) Disclosure of the fact of adoption to the child;
     (d) The child's possible questions about birth parents and relatives; and
     (e) The relevance of the child's racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage.
     (3) All preplacement reports shall include an investigation of the conviction record, pending charges, or disciplinary board final decisions of prospective adoptive parents. The investigation shall include an examination of state and national criminal identification data provided by the Washington state patrol criminal identification system as described in chapter 43.43 RCW.
     (4) An agency, the department, or a court approved individual may charge a reasonable fee based on the time spent in conducting the study and preparing the preplacement report. The court may set a reasonable fee for conducting the study and preparing the report when a court employee has prepared the report. An agency, the department, a court approved individual, or the court may reduce or waive the fee ((if the financial condition of the person requesting the report so warrants)). An agency's, the department's, or court approved individual's((,)) fee ((is subject to review by the court upon request of the person requesting the report)) must be included in the prospective adoptive parents' financial disclosure statement consistent with section 5 of this act.
     (5) The person requesting the report shall designate to the agency, the department, the court approved individual, or the court in writing the county in which the preplacement report is to be filed. If the person requesting the report has not filed a petition for adoption, the report shall be indexed in the name of the person requesting the report and a cause number shall be assigned. A fee shall not be charged for filing the report. The applicable filing fee may be charged at the time a petition governed by this chapter is filed. Any subsequent preplacement reports shall be filed together with the original report.
     (6) A copy of the completed preplacement report shall be delivered to the person requesting the report.
     (7) A person may request that a report not be completed. A reasonable fee may be charged for the value of work done.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 26.33 RCW to read as follows:
     In addition to a preplacement report as provided in RCW 26.33.190 and a post-placement report as provided in RCW 26.33.200, the prospective adoptive parents shall file a financial disclosure statement with the court. The financial disclosure statement shall itemize any and all adoption-related fees paid or anticipated to be paid by the prospective adoptive parents. Itemized fees shall include any and all adoption-related fees including but not limited to medical, legal, preplacement report, and post-placement report adoption-related fees. The financial disclosure statement shall disclose the fee amount and date paid, to whom the fee was paid, services provided, and whether any fees were reduced or waived. The financial disclosure statement shall be filed with the court consistent with RCW 26.33.150(6). The court shall review the financial disclosure statement and either approve all adoption-related fees or reduce or waive the fees as the court deems appropriate, prior to entering a decree of adoption.

Sec. 6   RCW 26.33.240 and 1987 c 170 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) After the reports required by RCW 26.33.190, section 5 of this act, and 26.33.200 have been filed, the court shall schedule a hearing on the petition for adoption upon request of the petitioner for adoption. Notice of the date, time, and place of hearing shall be given to the petitioner and any person or agency whose consent to adoption is required under RCW 26.33.160, unless the person or agency has waived in writing the right to receive notice of the hearing. If the child is an Indian child, notice shall also be given to the child's tribe. Notice shall be given in the manner prescribed by RCW 26.33.310.
     (2) Notice of the adoption hearing shall also be given to any person who or agency which has prepared a preplacement report. The notice shall be given in the manner prescribed by RCW 26.33.230.
     (3) If the court determines, after review of the petition, preplacement and post-placement reports, and other evidence introduced at the hearing, that all necessary consents to adoption are valid or have been dispensed with pursuant to RCW 26.33.170 and that the adoption is in the best interest of the adoptee, and, in the case of an adoption of an Indian child, that the adoptive parents are within the placement preferences of 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1915 or good cause to the contrary has been shown on the record, the court shall enter a decree of adoption pursuant to RCW 26.33.250.
     (4) If the court determines the petition should not be granted because the adoption is not in the best interest of the child, the court shall make appropriate provision for the care and custody of the child.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 26.33 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The adoption expense assistance account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. Expenditures from the account shall be made exclusively to assist prospective adoptive parents in the payment of adoption-related fees under this chapter. The account is subject to the allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures. Only the secretary of social and health services or the secretary's designee may authorize expenditures from the account.
     (2) The department of social and health services shall solicit and may receive gifts, grants, or endowments from public or private sources for deposit to the adoption expense assistance account, as well as legislative appropriations to the account.
     (3) By rule, the department of social and health services shall establish eligibility criteria for distribution of funds from the account for assistance to prospective adoptive parents, using a sliding scale based solely on the economic need of the prospective adoptive parents. Funds shall be distributed once annually unless the funds in the account are sufficient to allow additional distributions. Distributions from the account shall not exceed the investment earnings of the account; the account principal shall not be expended.

Sec. 8   RCW 43.79A.040 and 2003 c 403 s 9, 2003 c 313 s 10, 2003 c 191 s 7, 2003 c 148 s 15, 2003 c 92 s 8, and 2003 c 19 s 12 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Money in the treasurer's trust fund may be deposited, invested, and reinvested by the state treasurer in accordance with RCW 43.84.080 in the same manner and to the same extent as if the money were in the state treasury.
     (2) All income received from investment of the treasurer's trust fund shall be set aside in an account in the treasury trust fund to be known as the investment income account.
     (3) The investment income account may be utilized for the payment of purchased banking services on behalf of treasurer's trust funds including, but not limited to, depository, safekeeping, and disbursement functions for the state treasurer or affected state agencies. The investment income account is subject in all respects to chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for payments to financial institutions. Payments shall occur prior to distribution of earnings set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
     (4)(a) Monthly, the state treasurer shall distribute the earnings credited to the investment income account to the state general fund except under (b) and (c) of this subsection.
     (b) The following accounts and funds shall receive their proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or fund's average daily balance for the period: The Washington promise scholarship account, the college savings program account, the Washington advanced college tuition payment program account, the adoption expense assistance account, the agricultural local fund, the American Indian scholarship endowment fund, the students with dependents grant account, the basic health plan self-insurance reserve account, the contract harvesting revolving account, the Washington state combined fund drive account, the Washington international exchange scholarship endowment fund, the developmental disabilities endowment trust fund, the energy account, the fair fund, the fruit and vegetable inspection account, the game farm alternative account, the grain inspection revolving fund, the juvenile accountability incentive account, the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' plan 2 expense fund, the local tourism promotion account, the produce railcar pool account, the rural rehabilitation account, the stadium and exhibition center account, the youth athletic facility account, the self-insurance revolving fund, the sulfur dioxide abatement account, the children's trust fund, and the investing in innovation account. However, the earnings to be distributed shall first be reduced by the allocation to the state treasurer's service fund pursuant to RCW 43.08.190.
     (c) The following accounts and funds shall receive eighty percent of their proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or fund's average daily balance for the period: The advanced right of way revolving fund, the advanced environmental mitigation revolving account, the city and county advance right-of-way revolving fund, the federal narcotics asset forfeitures account, the high occupancy vehicle account, the local rail service assistance account, and the miscellaneous transportation programs account.
     (5) In conformance with Article II, section 37 of the state Constitution, no trust accounts or funds shall be allocated earnings without the specific affirmative directive of this section.