Bill Title: To extend to a grandparent's spouse the exemption from certain adoptive placement requirements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-01-26 - To Judiciary & Ethics
[HB46 Detail]Download: Ohio-2011-HB46-Introduced.html
As Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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A BILL
| To amend section 5103.16 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
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extend to a grandparent's spouse the exemption | 2 |
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from certain adoptive placement requirements. | 3 |
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 5103.16 of the Revised Code be | 4 |
amended as follows: | 5 |
Sec. 5103.16. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this | 6 |
section, no child shall be placed or accepted for placement under | 7 |
any written or oral agreement or understanding that transfers or | 8 |
surrenders the legal rights, powers, or duties of the legal | 9 |
parent, parents, or guardian of the child into the temporary or | 10 |
permanent custody of any association or institution that is not | 11 |
certified by the department of job and family services under | 12 |
section 5103.03 of the Revised Code, without the written consent | 13 |
of the office in the department that oversees the interstate | 14 |
compact for placement of children established under section | 15 |
5103.20 of the Revised Code or the interstate compact on the | 16 |
placement of children established under section 5103.23 of the | 17 |
Revised Code, as applicable, or by a commitment of a juvenile | 18 |
court, or by a commitment of a probate court as provided in this | 19 |
section. A child may be placed temporarily without written consent | 20 |
or court commitment with persons related by blood or marriage or | 21 |
in a legally licensed boarding home. | 22 |
(B)(1) Associations and institutions certified under section | 23 |
5103.03 of the Revised Code for the purpose of placing children in | 24 |
free foster homes or for legal adoption shall keep a record of the | 25 |
temporary and permanent surrenders of children. This record shall | 26 |
be available for separate statistics, which shall include a copy | 27 |
of an official birth record and all information concerning the | 28 |
social, mental, and medical history of the children that will aid | 29 |
in an intelligent disposition of the children in case that becomes | 30 |
necessary because the parents or guardians fail or are unable to | 31 |
reassume custody. | 32 |
(2) No child placed on a temporary surrender with an | 33 |
association or institution shall be placed permanently in a foster | 34 |
home or for legal adoption. All surrendered children who are | 35 |
placed permanently in foster homes or for adoption shall have been | 36 |
permanently surrendered, and a copy of the permanent surrender | 37 |
shall be a part of the separate record kept by the association or | 38 |
institution. | 39 |
(C) Any agreement or understanding to transfer or surrender | 40 |
the legal rights, powers, or duties of the legal parent or parents | 41 |
and place a child with a person seeking to adopt the child under | 42 |
this section shall be construed to contain a promise by the person | 43 |
seeking to adopt the child to pay the expenses listed in divisions | 44 |
(C)(1), (2), and (4) of section 3107.055 of the Revised Code and, | 45 |
if the person seeking to adopt the child refuses to accept | 46 |
placement of the child, to pay the temporary costs of routine | 47 |
maintenance and medical care for the child in a hospital, foster | 48 |
home, or other appropriate place for up to thirty days or until | 49 |
other custody is established for the child, as provided by law, | 50 |
whichever is less. | 51 |
(D) No child shall be placed or received for adoption or with | 52 |
intent to adopt unless placement is made by a public children | 53 |
services agency, an institution or association that is certified | 54 |
by the department of job and family services under section 5103.03 | 55 |
of the Revised Code to place children for adoption, or custodians | 56 |
in another state or foreign country, or unless all of the | 57 |
following criteria are met: | 58 |
(1) Prior to the placement and receiving of the child, the | 59 |
parent or parents of the child personally have applied to, and | 60 |
appeared before, the probate court of the county in which the | 61 |
parent or parents reside, or in which the person seeking to adopt | 62 |
the child resides, for approval of the proposed placement | 63 |
specified in the application and have signed and filed with the | 64 |
court a written statement showing that the parent or parents are | 65 |
aware of their right to contest the decree of adoption subject to | 66 |
the limitations of section 3107.16 of the Revised Code; | 67 |
(2) The court ordered an independent home study of the | 68 |
proposed placement to be conducted as provided in section 3107.031 | 69 |
of the Revised Code, and after completion of the home study, the | 70 |
court determined that the proposed placement is in the best | 71 |
interest of the child; | 72 |
(3) The court has approved of record the proposed placement. | 73 |
In determining whether a custodian has authority to place | 74 |
children for adoption under the laws of a foreign country, the | 75 |
probate court shall determine whether the child has been released | 76 |
for adoption pursuant to the laws of the country in which the | 77 |
child resides, and if the release is in a form that satisfies the | 78 |
requirements of the immigration and naturalization service of the | 79 |
United States department of justice for purposes of immigration to | 80 |
this country pursuant to section 101(b)(1)(F) of the "Immigration | 81 |
and Nationality Act," 75 Stat. 650 (1961), 8 U.S.C. 1101 | 82 |
(b)(1)(F), as amended or reenacted. | 83 |
If the parent or parents of the child are deceased or have | 84 |
abandoned the child, as determined under division (A) of section | 85 |
3107.07 of the Revised Code, the application for approval of the | 86 |
proposed adoptive placement may be brought by the relative seeking | 87 |
to adopt the child, or by the department, board, or organization | 88 |
not otherwise having legal authority to place the orphaned or | 89 |
abandoned child for adoption, but having legal custody of the | 90 |
orphaned or abandoned child, in the probate court of the county in | 91 |
which the child is a resident, or in which the department, board, | 92 |
or organization is located, or where the person or persons with | 93 |
whom the child is to be placed reside. Unless the parent, parents, | 94 |
or guardian of the person of the child personally have appeared | 95 |
before the court and applied for approval of the placement, notice | 96 |
of the hearing on the application shall be served on the parent, | 97 |
parents, or guardian. | 98 |
The consent to placement, surrender, or adoption executed by | 99 |
a minor parent before a judge of the probate court or an | 100 |
authorized deputy or referee of the court, whether executed within | 101 |
or outside the confines of the court, is as valid as though | 102 |
executed by an adult. A consent given as above before an employee | 103 |
of a children services agency that is licensed as provided by law, | 104 |
is equally effective, if the consent also is accompanied by an | 105 |
affidavit executed by the witnessing employee or employees to the | 106 |
effect that the legal rights of the parents have been fully | 107 |
explained to the parents, prior to the execution of any consent, | 108 |
and that the action was done after the birth of the child. | 109 |
If the court approves a placement, the prospective adoptive | 110 |
parent with whom the child is placed has care, custody, and | 111 |
control of the child pending further order of the court. | 112 |
(E) This section does not apply to an adoption by a | 113 |
stepparent, a grandparent, a grandparent's husband or wife, or a | 114 |
guardian. | 115 |
Section 2. That existing section 5103.16 of the Revised Code | 116 |
is hereby repealed. | 117 |