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Am. Sub. H. B. No. 92 As Enrolled
(129th General Assembly)
(Amended Substitute House Bill Number 92)
AN ACT
To amend sections 3107.02 and 5103.16 of the Revised
Code to allow an adult to be adopted if the adult
is the child of the spouse of the adoption
petitioner, is totally or permanently disabled,
had established a kinship caregiver relationship
with the petitioner, or was in a planned permanent
living arrangement with a public children services
or private child placing agency, and the adult
consents to the adoption and to extend to a
grandparent's spouse the exemption from certain
adoptive placement requirements.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 3107.02 and 5103.16 of the Revised
Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3107.02. (A) Any minor may be adopted.
(B) An adult may be adopted under any of the following
conditions:
(1) If the adult is totally and or permanently disabled;
(2) If the adult is determined to be a mentally retarded
person
as defined in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code;
(3) If the adult had established a child-foster caregiver,
kinship caregiver, or child-stepparent relationship with the
petitioners as a minor, and the adult consents to the adoption;
(4) If the adult was, at the time of the adult's eighteenth
birthday, in the permanent custody of or in a planned permanent
living arrangement with a public children services agency or a
private child placing agency, and the adult consents to the
adoption;
(5) If the adult is the child of the spouse of the
petitioner, and the adult consents to the adoption.
(C) When proceedings to adopt a minor are initiated by the
filing of a petition, and the eighteenth birthday of the minor
occurs prior to the decision of the court, the court shall require
the person who is to be adopted to submit a written statement of
consent or objection to the adoption. If an objection is
submitted, the petition shall be dismissed, and if a consent is
submitted, the court shall proceed with the case, and may issue an
interlocutory order or final decree of adoption.
(D) Any physical examination of the individual to be adopted
as part of or in contemplation of a petition to adopt may be
conducted by any health professional authorized by the Revised
Code to perform physical examinations, including a physician
assistant, a clinical nurse specialist, a certified nurse
practitioner, or a certified nurse-midwife. Any written
documentation of the physical examination shall be completed by
the healthcare professional who conducted the examination.
(E) An adult who consents to an adoption pursuant to division
(B)(4) of this section shall provide the court with the name and
contact information of the public children services agency or
private child placing agency that had permanent custody of or a
planned permanent living arrangement with that adult. The
petitioner shall request verification from the agency as to
whether the adult was or was not in the permanent custody of or in
a planned permanent living arrangement with that agency at the
time of the adult's eighteenth birthday and provide the
verification to the court.
(F) As used in this section:
(1) "Kinship caregiver" has the same meaning as in section
5101.85 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Mentally retarded person" has the same meaning as in
section 5123.01 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Permanent custody" and "planned permanent living
arrangement" have the same meanings as in section 2151.011 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 5103.16. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this
section, no child shall be placed or accepted for placement under
any written or oral agreement or understanding that transfers or
surrenders the legal rights, powers, or duties of the legal
parent, parents, or guardian of the child into the temporary or
permanent custody of any association or institution that is not
certified by the department of job and family services under
section 5103.03 of the Revised Code, without the written consent
of the office in the department that oversees the interstate
compact for placement of children established under section
5103.20 of the Revised Code or the interstate compact on the
placement of children established under section 5103.23 of the
Revised Code, as applicable, or by a commitment of a juvenile
court, or by a commitment of a probate court as provided in this
section. A child may be placed temporarily without written consent
or court commitment with persons related by blood or marriage or
in a legally licensed boarding home.
(B)(1) Associations and institutions certified under section
5103.03 of the Revised Code for the purpose of placing children in
free foster homes or for legal adoption shall keep a record of the
temporary and permanent surrenders of children. This record shall
be available for separate statistics, which shall include a copy
of an official birth record and all information concerning the
social, mental, and medical history of the children that will aid
in an intelligent disposition of the children in case that becomes
necessary because the parents or guardians fail or are unable to
reassume custody.
(2) No child placed on a temporary surrender with an
association or institution shall be placed permanently in a foster
home or for legal adoption. All surrendered children who are
placed permanently in foster homes or for adoption shall have been
permanently surrendered, and a copy of the permanent surrender
shall be a part of the separate record kept by the association or
institution.
(C) Any agreement or understanding to transfer or surrender
the legal rights, powers, or duties of the legal parent or parents
and place a child with a person seeking to adopt the child under
this section shall be construed to contain a promise by the person
seeking to adopt the child to pay the expenses listed in divisions
(C)(1), (2), and (4) of section 3107.055 of the Revised Code and,
if the person seeking to adopt the child refuses to accept
placement of the child, to pay the temporary costs of routine
maintenance and medical care for the child in a hospital, foster
home, or other appropriate place for up to thirty days or until
other custody is established for the child, as provided by law,
whichever is less.
(D) No child shall be placed or received for adoption or with
intent to adopt unless placement is made by a public children
services agency, an institution or association that is certified
by the department of job and family services under section 5103.03
of the Revised Code to place children for adoption, or custodians
in another state or foreign country, or unless all of the
following criteria are met:
(1) Prior to the placement and receiving of the child, the
parent or parents of the child personally have applied to, and
appeared before, the probate court of the county in which the
parent or parents reside, or in which the person seeking to adopt
the child resides, for approval of the proposed placement
specified in the application and have signed and filed with the
court a written statement showing that the parent or parents are
aware of their right to contest the decree of adoption subject to
the limitations of section 3107.16 of the Revised Code;
(2) The court ordered an independent home study of the
proposed placement to be conducted as provided in section 3107.031
of the Revised Code, and after completion of the home study, the
court determined that the proposed placement is in the best
interest of the child;
(3) The court has approved of record the proposed placement.
In determining whether a custodian has authority to place
children for adoption under the laws of a foreign country, the
probate court shall determine whether the child has been released
for adoption pursuant to the laws of the country in which the
child resides, and if the release is in a form that satisfies the
requirements of the immigration and naturalization service of the
United States department of justice for purposes of immigration to
this country pursuant to section 101(b)(1)(F) of the "Immigration
and Nationality Act," 75 Stat. 650 (1961), 8 U.S.C. 1101
(b)(1)(F), as amended or reenacted.
If the parent or parents of the child are deceased or have
abandoned the child, as determined under division (A) of section
3107.07 of the Revised Code, the application for approval of the
proposed adoptive placement may be brought by the relative seeking
to adopt the child, or by the department, board, or organization
not otherwise having legal authority to place the orphaned or
abandoned child for adoption, but having legal custody of the
orphaned or abandoned child, in the probate court of the county in
which the child is a resident, or in which the department, board,
or organization is located, or where the person or persons with
whom the child is to be placed reside. Unless the parent, parents,
or guardian of the person of the child personally have appeared
before the court and applied for approval of the placement, notice
of the hearing on the application shall be served on the parent,
parents, or guardian.
The consent to placement, surrender, or adoption executed by
a minor parent before a judge of the probate court or an
authorized deputy or referee of the court, whether executed within
or outside the confines of the court, is as valid as though
executed by an adult. A consent given as above before an employee
of a children services agency that is licensed as provided by law,
is equally effective, if the consent also is accompanied by an
affidavit executed by the witnessing employee or employees to the
effect that the legal rights of the parents have been fully
explained to the parents, prior to the execution of any consent,
and that the action was done after the birth of the child.
If the court approves a placement, the prospective adoptive
parent with whom the child is placed has care, custody, and
control of the child pending further order of the court.
(E) This section does not apply to an adoption by a
stepparent, a grandparent, a grandparent's husband or wife, or a
guardian.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 3107.02 and 5103.16 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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