Family law: adoption.

(1) Existing law authorizes, among others, a child's natural parent to bring an action to declare the existence or nonexistence of a presumed parent and child relationship. Existing law requires the court to join to that action specified parties, including prospective adoptive parents who have physical custody of the child, who have not been joined as parties, without the necessity of a motion for joinder. This bill would instead authorize a child's natural mother to bring that action. The bill would also require the court to join to that action additional specified parties who have not been joined as parties, including a licensed California adoption agency to which the mother proposes to relinquish the child for adoption. (2) Existing law provides for the adoption of unmarried minors. Existing law prohibits a married person, not lawfully separated from the person's spouse, from adopting a child without the consent of the spouse if the spouse is capable of giving that consent. This bill would additionally provide that the consent of the spouse shall not establish any parental rights or responsibilities on the part of the consenting spouse unless he or she has consented to adopt the child in a writing filed with the court and is named in the final decree as an adoptive parent of the child. The bill would authorize the court to dispense with a spouse's consent in certain circumstances and, if consent has been dispensed, prohibit the spouse from being named as an adoptive parent in the final decree. (3) Existing law generally provides that a child having a presumed father, as specified, shall not be adopted without the consent of the child's birth parents, if living. However, if one birth parent has been awarded custody by judicial order, or has custody by agreement of both parents, and the other birth parent for a period of one year willfully fails to communicate with, and to pay for, the care, support, and education of the child when able to do so, then the birth parent having sole custody may consent to the adoption, after the birth parent who does not have custody has been served with a specified citation. Under existing law, the failure of a birth parent to pay for the care, support, and education of the child for the one-year period or the failure of a birth parent to communicate with the child for the one-year period is prima facie evidence that the failure was willful and without lawful excuse. This bill would authorize the court to issue a temporary custody order, as specified, if the birth mother of a child for whom there is not a presumed father leaves the child in certain circumstances, including in the physical care of a licensed private adoption agency, and fails to sign a placement agreement, consent, or relinquishment for adoption. The bill would authorize the temporary custody order to be voided upon the birth mother's request to have the child returned to her care and custody. (4) Existing law requires, if a mother relinquishes for or consents to, or proposes to relinquish for or consent to, the adoption of a child, or if a child otherwise becomes the subject of an adoption proceeding, one of several specified persons to file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the alleged father, except as specified. Existing law permits an interested person to file a petition for an order or judgment declaring a child free from the custody and control of either or both parents. This bill would permit a single petition to be filed to terminate the parental rights of the alleged father or fathers of 2 or more biological siblings or to terminate the parental rights of 2 or more alleged fathers of the same child. The bill would also permit a single petition to be filed to free a child, or more than one child if the children are biological siblings, from the custody and control of both parents. The bill would authorize a court to grant one of these joint petitions, in whole or in part, and would specify that the court retains the discretion to bifurcate a case in which a joint petition was filed. The bill would require a court to bifurcate a case in which a joint petition was filed whenever it is necessary to protect the interests of a party or a child who is the subject of the proceeding. (5) Existing law authorizes the court to waive the personal appearance of a prospective adoptive parent and permit him or her to appear at an adoption proceeding through an attorney if there is clear and convincing evidence that it is impossible or impracticable for the prospective adoptive parent to appear at the adoption proceeding. This bill would authorize the court to permit a prospective adoptive parent to appear by telephone, videoconference, or other remote electronic means that the court deems reasonable, prudent, and reliable. (6) Existing law governs independent adoptions, which are defined to mean adoptions in which neither the State Department of Social Services nor an agency licensed by that department is a party to or joins in the adoption petition, and sets forth the procedures for completing an independent adoption. Existing law requires, as a part of the independent adoption procedures, the department or the delegated county adoption agency to investigate the proposed independent adoption and submit a report to the court of the facts disclosed by its inquiry with a recommendation regarding the granting of the adoption petition. This bill would provide that when the department or a delegated county adoption agency is investigating a proposed adoption, it is not required to reinvestigate matters addressed in a valid preplacement evaluation or a valid private agency adoption home study, if no new information has been discovered and no new event has occurred subsequent to the approval of the evaluation or home study that creates a reasonable belief that further investigation is necessary, except that the department must complete all background clearances required by law. Existing law also requires the department or a delegated county adoption agency to interview the petitioners within 45 working days after the filing of the adoption petition and to interview all persons from whom consent is required and whose addresses are known, as soon as 50% of the fee has been paid. Existing law requires the agency, at the interview, to give the placing parent an opportunity to sign either a statement revoking consent, or a waiver of the right to revoke consent. In order to facilitate the interview, existing law requires the petitioner, at the time the petition is filed, to file, among other things, a copy of the petition and 50% of the fee, with the department or with the delegated county adoption agency responsible for the investigation of the adoption. This bill would instead require the department or delegated county adoption agency to interview the petitioners within 45 working days after receiving 50% of the fee together with a stamped file copy of the adoption petition, and to interview all persons from whom consent is required and whose addresses are known. The bill would provide that the department is not required to provide the placing parent an opportunity to sign a statement revoking consent, or a waiver of the right to revoke consent, if the parent has already signed a waiver of the right to revoke consent, or if the time period allowed to revoke consent has expired. The bill would require the petitioner, within 5 days of filing the petition, to provide the department or delegated county adoption agency, among other things, a stamped file copy of the petition together with 50% of the fee and a copy of any valid preplacement evaluation or any valid private agency adoption home study. Existing law requires the court, in an independent adoption, if a birth parent who did not place a child for adoption has refused to give the required consent, or a birth parent revokes consent, or, before the time when a revocable consent becomes permanent, a birth parent requests the return of the child, to order the child restored to the care and custody of the birth parent. This bill would instead require, in these circumstances, the child to be restored to the care and custody of his or her birth parent, unless the court orders otherwise. By imposing additional duties on delegated county adoption agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (7) Existing law authorizes a parent who is a minor to relinquish his or her child to the department, county adoption agency, or licensed adoption agency and sign a consent for the adoption. Existing law provides that the relinquishment and consent are not subject to revocation by reason of minority. This bill would also provide that the relinquishment and consent are not subject to revocation because the parent or guardian of the minor parent was not served with notice of the relinquishment or consent, unless the minor parent previously provided written authorization to serve his or her parent or guardian with those notices. (8) Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge certain children to be dependents of the juvenile court under certain circumstances. In all cases in which a minor is adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court under those circumstances, existing law authorizes the court to limit the control to be exercised over the dependent child by any parent or guardian. Existing law provides that those provisions do not limit the ability of a parent to voluntarily relinquish his or her child to the State Department of Social Services or to a county adoption agency at any time while the child is a dependent child of the juvenile court, if the department or county adoption agency is willing to accept the relinquishment. This bill would make those provisions applicable to a child who is the subject of a petition to declare him or her a dependent child of the juvenile court, and would specify that those provisions do not limit the ability of the parent of a child who is the subject of a petition to declare him or her a dependent child of the juvenile court or a dependent child to voluntarily relinquish that child to a licensed private adoption agency. The bill would require the juvenile court, when a child who is the subject of a petition to declare him or her a dependent child of the juvenile court, or a child who has been adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court, has been relinquished to a licensed private adoption agency, after notice and a hearing, to determine whether the relinquishment should be approved or denied. The bill would authorize the court to dispense with notice and a hearing and issue an ex parte order approving the relinquishment if the relinquishment is accompanied by the written agreement of all parties. The bill would require notification of a parent relinquishing a child to a licensed private adoption agency that the relinquishment is subject to court approval. This bill would also require, when a child who is the subject of a petition to declare him or her a dependent child of the juvenile court, or a child who has been adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court, has been relinquished to the department or a county adoption agency, the department or the county adoption agency to file notice of the relinquishment with the court and all parties and their counsel. (9) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 361 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by Senate Bill 977 that would become operative if this bill and Senate Bill 977 are both enacted and this bill is enacted last. (10) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.