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See Bill Text
A05360 Summary:SAME AS No same as
SPONSOR Lopez
COSPNSR Greene
MLTSPNSR Clark, Rivera P
Amd SS114 & 115-b, add S114-a, Dom Rel L; add SS373-b & 373-c, amd SS383-c, 384
& 384-b, Soc Serv L; amd S4138-c, Pub Health L
Makes information contained in adoption and foster care records available to
adoptees aged 18 and over under certain circumstances; provides that such
information shall include the adoptee`s biological parents, siblings and
extended family and may be given only if the biological parents authorized such
release of information; provides procedures for consent or prohibition by
biological parents and permits withdrawal of consent at any time; permits
disclosure of the non-identifying history of parents to adult adoptees without
the consent of a parent.
A05360 Actions:02/18/2005 referred to children and families
04/19/2005 reported referred to codes
A05360 Votes:
A05360 Memo:TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the domestic relations law, the social
services law and the public health law, in relation to the disclosure of
adoption and foster care records
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To make information contained in adoption records available to adult
adoptees, under certain circumstances.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill would amend section 114 of the Domestic Relations
Law (DRL) to authorize the release of client identifiable adoption
records by providing an exception to the prohibition against disclosure
of orders of adoption and related records without court orders.
Section 2 of the bill would add a new section 114-a to the DRL to permit
an authorized agency which placed the child, or the court in which the
adoption was finalized, to make available to a qualified adoptee, upon
request, all or part of the adoptee`s foster care and adoption records.
Disclosure of identifying information by the agencies would depend on
the consent of the biological parent or parents. In addition, this bill
would provide separate standards for disclosure dependent upon when the
qualified adoptee was freed for adoption and adopted. Adult children,
age 18 or older, adopted before the effective date of the act would
have:
-access to extensive, non-identifying background information at any
point above age 18 regardless of consent of biological or adoptive
parents;
-access to information identifying the biological parents when the
biological parent consents, and the adoptive parents either consent or
are dead; and
-access to the name, date of birth and last known address of consenting
siblings without the consent of the adoptive parent. Adult children,
age 18 or older, adopted after the effective date of the act would have:
-access to extensive, non-identifying background information at any
point above age 18 regardless of consent of biological or adoptive
parents;
-access to information identifying their consenting biological parents;
and
-access to the name, date of birth and last known address of consenting
siblings without the consent of the adoptive parent. Under section 10
of the bill, sibling consents, and information helping to identify the
sibling, would be registered on the Department of Health`s Adoption
Information Registry, and made available to agencies and courts which
have been asked by an adult adoptee for sibling information. If there
were a match -- indicating a consent that the information be released --
agencies and courts would be authorized to release sibling-identifying
information in their possession.
A biological parent could consent to disclosure of identifying informa-
tion through expressly authorizing its release as part of a surrender,
consent, affidavit or court order. This bill would authorize a biolog-
ical parent to change his or her mind with respect to disclosure by
creating and filing an affidavit authorizing or prohibiting disclosure
subsequent to the granting of the order of adoption. Prospective adop-
tive parents must be advised by the authorized agency at the time of the
adoption whether or not the biological parent(s) has/have authorized or
prohibited release of the records. The biological parent would be
deemed to have prohibited disclosure where his or her parental rights
were involuntarily terminated pursuant to section 384-b of the Social
Services Law (SSL) and he or she failed to make his or her position
known regarding disclosure prior to the child`s adoption.
The section would authorize a court or an authorized agency to charge
reasonable fees to cover their costs of processing a request for infor-
mation, including charges for copying or redacting of information.
Section 3 of this bill would add a new subdivision 9 to section l15-b of
the DRL to permit the consent of a biological parent to the adoption of
a child in a private placement adoption to authorize or to prohibit the
disclosure of adoption and foster care records. A new subdivision 10
also would be added to permit the consent of a biological parent to the
adoption of a child to include an authorization for the disclosure of
information to the adoptive parent regarding the biological parent which
may include, but not be limited to, the biological parent`s name,
address and telephone number at any time after the adoption is finalized
if the adoptive parent requests such information. Nothing in this
section or any other section of the bill would require an adoptive
parent to receive or to provide this information to the adoptee or would
require an adoptive parent to inform an adoptee that he or she is
adopted.
Section 4 of this bill would add a new section 373-b to the SSL to
require an authorized agency to provide access to and copies of the
social histories of an adopted former foster child and the child`s
biological parent(s), upon the request of such child if the child has
reached 18 years of age. Identifying information regarding the biolog-
ical parents must be deleted from the social history. Section 4 of this
bill would also add a new section 373-c to the SSL, enacting provisions
parallel to those in section 2 of this bill, for adopted foster chil-
dren.
Section 5 of this bill would amend section 383-c(3) (b) of the SSL to
provide that when the surrender of a child is executed before a judge of
the family court or a surrogate, the biological parent must be advised
that a biological parent who registers with the Adoption Information
Register maintained by the Department of Health (DOH) may be contacted
by the child when the child reaches the age of l8 years rather than 21
years of age. The section would make section 383-c consistent with the
Public Health Law (PHL) as amended by Chapter 559 of the Laws of 1992.
Section 6 of this bill would amend section 383-c(5)(b)(ii) of the SSL to
provide that a surrender must state that if a biological parent regis-
ters with the Adoption Information Registry, the biological parent may
be contacted by the child anytime after the child reaches the age of 18
years rather than 21 years of age. This bill would make section 383-c
consistent with the PHL as amended by Chapter 559 of the Laws of 1992.
Section 7 of this bill would add a new section 383-c(5) (g) to the SSL
to permit surrender by a biological parent to authorize or to prohibit
the disclosure of adoption and foster care records under section 373-c
of the SSL. Section 7 of this bill also would add a new section
383-c(5)(h) to the SSL to permit a surrender to include the consent of a
biological parent to disclosure of information to the adoptive parent
regarding the biological parent which may include, but not be limited
to, his or her name, address and telephone number at any time after an
adoption is finalized if the adoptive parent requests such information.
Nothing in this section or in any other section of the bill would
require an adoptive parent to provide this information to the adoptee or
would require an adoptive parent to inform an adoptee that he or she is
adopted.
Section 8 of this bill would add paragraphs (b) and (c) to section 384
of the SSL to permit a surrender by a biological parent to authorize or
to prohibit the disclosure of adoption and foster care records under
section 373-c of the SSL. This section also would permit a surrender to
include the consent of a biological parent to disclosure of information
to the adoptive parent regarding the biological parent which may include
but not be limited to his or her name, address and telephone number at
any time after the adoption is finalized if the adoptive parent requests
such information. Nothing in this section or in any other section of
the bill would require an adoptive parent to receive or to provide this
information to the adoptee or would require an adoptive parent to inform
an adoptee that he or she is adopted.
Section 9 of this bill would add a new section 384-b(11) to the SSL to
permit an order terminating the parental rights of a biological parent
to authorize or to prohibit disclosure of adoption and foster care
records of a child under section 373-c of the SSL if disclosure of the
records is opposed by one of the biological parents of the child.
Section 10 of this bill would repeal subdivision 9 of section 4183-c of
the PHL, technical correction to implement the provisions of Chapter 559
of the Laws of 1992, which eliminated the distinction between pre-1984
and post-1984 access to the Health Department`s Adoption Information
Registry.
Section 10 of this bill would create a new subdivision 9 to section
4138-c, requiring the Adoption Information Registry to accept the name,
date of birth, address and other information of a person whose sibling
has been adopted in New York or was placed for adoption by an authorized
agency. The Adoption Information Registry would be obligated to advise
a court or an authorized agency whether the sibling of a qualified adop-
tee has registered with the Adoption Information Registry. If a sibling
was so registered, the Adoption Information Registry would provide the
court or authorized agency with the registrant`s name, date of birth and
address. The court or authorized agency would provide this information
to a qualified adoptee in accordance with section 114-a of the DRL or
section 373-c(3) of the SSL.
Section 11 of this bill would clarify that this bill would not have an
impact upon any custodial or parental rights of an adoptive or biolog-
ical parent to an adopted child. Also, the section would clarify that
the bill would not create or support any obligation on the part of an
adoptive parent to advise or inform an adoptee that he or she was
adopted. Further, this section makes clear that it is not the intent of
this bill to limit or overturn judicial decisions predating this bill
permitting disclosure of records over the objection of the biological
parent where authorized by law, including case law existing on the
effective date of this act.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill would profoundly change State policy regarding adoptions as it
has existed since the State`s adoption statutes were enacted in the
nineteenth century. This bill would provide prospectively that a child
who was adopted on or after the effective date of the bill, and who has
reached the age of 18 may have access to all or part of the adoptee`s
foster care and adoption records, including information about the
adoptee`s biological parents, siblings and extended family. In balanc-
ing the rights and interests of the biological parent or parents, such
disclosure is conditioned upon the consent by the biological parent or
parents whose consent to adoption was required.
This bill would provide for disclosure of certain information to persons
adopted prior to the effective date of this bill. Again, the proposal
provides for a balancing of the respective rights and interests of the
parties to the adoption process by requiring various consents to disclo-
sure. Recognizing the expectations of adoptive parents heretofore that
records would remain sealed, this bill requires, in addition, their
consents to disclosure of identifying information to adoptees. Disclo-
sure is also authorized after their death.
Although legislation has been enacted over the past 10 years which
permits adoptive parents and adult adoptees to have access to certain
information regarding the adoptees` biological parents and the circum-
stances surrounding their adoptions, such legislation does not respond
adequately to the needs of many of the individuals currently involved in
adoptions. Under existing law, adoptive parents must be provided, at
the time an adoption is finalized, with certain non-identifying informa-
tion regarding their adoptive children`s biological parents, including
information regarding the biological parents` medical histories and
their educational backgrounds, employment, physical characteristics and
personal interests at the time the adoptive children were born. Howev-
er, existing law does not address specifically direct access by adoptive
parents to their adoptive children`s biological parents. This bill
would permit adoptive parents to have access to information regarding
their adoptive children`s biological parents including their names,
addresses and telephone numbers at any time after the adoptions have
been finalized provided the biological parents consent to such access
before the adoptions are finalized. This would permit adoptive parents
to be able to have access to their adoptive children`s biological
parents when and to the extent that the adoptive parents feel such
access is necessary for the well being of their adoptive children.
Under existing law, adult adoptees may register with the Adoption Infor-
mation Registry to obtain the same non-identifying information regarding
their biological parents as was provided their adoptive parents at the
time of their adoptions, as well as information regarding the circum-
stances surrounding their adoptions. However, DOH or the authorized
agencies involved in their adoptions may restrict the nature of the
non-identifiable information provided to adult adoptees upon a reason-
able determination that the disclosure of such information would not be
in the best interests of the adoptees or their biological parents. In
addition, adult adoptees currently may have access to the names and
addresses of their biological parents under certain circumstances. For
adult adoptees who were adopted prior to April 1, 1984, the adult adop-
tees may have access to such identifying information if the adult adop-
tees, the adoptive parents and the biological parents all have regis-
tered with the Adoption Information Registry. The adult adoptees would
have to contact the biological parents in order to obtain additional
information about the adoptee`s biological siblings or extended families
and the adoptee`s lives prior to their adoptions. This bill would
change significantly the ability of adult adoptees to have access to
identifying information about their biological parents and their lives
prior to their adoptions. Under this bill, an adoptee who was adopted
on or after the effective date of the bill, and who is at least 18 years
of age, would have access to the adoptee`s entire adoption and foster
care records if the adoptee`s biological parents expressly authorize
such access prior to the adoption. This bill would provide access for
adult adoptees who were adopted prior to the effective date of the bill
under certain delineated conditions.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.4337 of the 2003-04 legislation session.
A.1795 of the 2001-02 legislation session.
A.2587 of the 1999-00 legislation session.
A.1860 of the 1997-98 legislative session.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect January 1, 2006.
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