BP BHEAD INT H

AN ACT Relating to adoption; and amending RCW 26.33.020, 26.33.340, 26.33.345, 26.33.380, and 26.33.390.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 26.33.020 and 1990 c 146 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Alleged father" means a person whose parent-child relationship has not been terminated, who is not a presumed father under chapter 26.26 RCW, and who alleges himself or whom a party alleges to be the father of the child. It includes a person whose marriage to the mother was terminated more than three hundred days before the birth of the child or who was separated from the mother more than three hundred days before the birth of the child.

(2) "Child" means a person under eighteen years of age.

(3) "Adoptee" means a person who is to be adopted or who has been adopted.

(4) "Adoptive parent" means the person or persons who seek to adopt or have adopted an adoptee.

(5) "Court" means the superior court.

(6) "Department" means the department of social and health services.

(7) "Agency" means any public or private association, corporation, or individual licensed or certified by the department as a child placing agency under chapter 74.15 RCW or as an adoption agency.

(8) "Parent" means the natural or adoptive mother or father of a child, including a presumed father under chapter 26.26 RCW. It does not include any person whose parent-child relationship has been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(9) "Legal guardian" means the department, an agency, or a person, other than a parent or stepparent, appointed by the court to promote the child's general welfare, with the authority and duty to make decisions affecting the child's development.

(10) "Guardian ad litem" means a person, not related to a party to the action, appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a party who is under a legal disability.

(11) "Relinquish or relinquishment" means the voluntary surrender of custody of a child to the department, an agency, or prospective adoptive parents.

(12) "Individual approved by the court" or "qualified salaried court employee" means a person who has a master's degree in social work or a related field and one year of experience in social work, or a bachelor's degree and two years of experience in social work, and includes a person not having such qualifications only if the court makes specific findings of fact that are entered of record establishing that the person has reasonably equivalent experience.

(13) "Birth parent" means the biological mother or biological or alleged father of a child, including a presumed father under chapter 26.26 RCW, whether or not any such person's parent-child relationship has been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction. "Birth parent" does not include a biological mother or biological or alleged father, including a presumed father under chapter 26.26 RCW, if the parent-child relationship was terminated because of an act for which the person was found guilty under chapter 9A.42 or 9A.44 RCW.

(14) "Nonidentifying information" includes, but is not limited to, the following information about the birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptee:

(a) Age in years at the time of adoption;

(b) Heritage, including nationality, ethnic background, and race;

(c) Education, including number of years of school completed at the time of adoption, but not name or location of school;

(d) General physical appearance, including height, weight, color of hair, eyes, and skin, or other information of a similar nature;

(e) Religion;

(f) Occupation, but not specific titles or places of employment;

(g) Talents, hobbies, and special interests;

(h) Circumstances leading to the adoption;

(i) Medical and genetic history of birth parents;

(j) First names;

(k) Other children of birth parents by age, sex, and medical history;

(l) Extended family of birth parents by age, sex, and medical history;

(m) The fact of the death, and age and cause, if known;

(n) Photographs;

(o) Name of agency or individual that facilitated the adoption.

Sec. 2. RCW 26.33.340 and 1990 c 145 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

Department ((~~and~~)), agency, and court files regarding an adoption shall be confidential except ((~~the department or agency may disclose~~)) that nonidentifying information may be disclosed upon the ((~~receipt of a verified~~)) written request for the information from the adoptive parent, the adoptee, or the ((~~natural~~)) birth parent. If the adoption facilitator refuses to disclose nonidentifying information, the individual may petition the superior court. Identifying information may also be disclosed through the procedure described in RCW 26.33.343.

Sec. 3. RCW 26.33.345 and 1990 c 145 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department of social and health services, adoption agencies, and independent adoption facilitators shall release the name and location of the court where a relinquishment of parental rights or finalization of an adoption took place to an adult adoptee, a birth parent of an adult adoptee, an adoptive parent, a birth or adoptive grandparent of an adult adoptee, or an adult sibling of an adult adoptee, or the legal guardian of any of these.

(2) For adoptions finalized after October 1, 1993, the department of vital records shall make available a noncertified copy of the original birth certificate of a child to the child's birth parents and the adoptee after the adoptee's eighteenth birthday upon request.

Sec. 4. RCW 26.33.380 and 1989 c 281 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

Every person, firm, society, association, or corporation receiving, securing a home for, or otherwise caring for a minor child shall transmit to the prospective adopting parent prior to placement and shall make available to all persons with whom a child has been placed by adoption, a family background and child and family social history report, which includes a chronological history of the circumstances surrounding the adoptive placement and any available psychiatric reports, psychological reports, court reports pertaining to dependency or custody, or school reports. Such reports or information shall not reveal the identity of the ((~~natural~~)) birth parents of the child but shall contain nonidentifying information.

Sec. 5. RCW 26.33.390 and 1991 c 136 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) All persons adopting a child through the department shall receive written information on the department's adoption-related services including, but not limited to, adoption support, family reconciliation services, archived records, mental health, and developmental disabilities.

(2) Any person adopting a child shall receive from the adoption facilitator written information on adoption-related services. This information may be that published by the department or any other social service provider and shall include information about how to find and evaluate appropriate adoption therapists, and may include other resources for adoption-related issues.

(3) Any person involved in providing adoption-related services shall respond to requests for written information by providing materials explaining adoption procedures, practices, policies, fees, and services. Every prospective adoptive applicant shall be given a copy of the state of Washington brochure entitled "Adoption in the State of Washington."