HB 112

Abstract

Adoption; parental placement and agency adoption. Makesvarious changes to statutes governing parental placement and agency adoptions.The bill authorizes a hospital to release a child to his adoptive parents when thebirth parent has executed a health care power of attorney. The bill providesthat when a juvenile and domestic relations district court enters an orderwaiving the consent of one or both birth parents who have failed, without goodcause, to appear at a hearing to execute consent for which they were givenproper notice and transferring custody of a child who has been in the physicalcare and custody of prospective adoptive parents, such adoption shall beconsidered a parental placement adoption. The bill also allows the juvenile anddomestic relations court to find, even if a birth parent has been given propernotice and appears at a hearing to execute consent or withholds consent, thatthe consent of such birth parent is withheld contrary to the best interest ofthe child or is unobtainable. The bill also clarifies that the effect of anorder of the juvenile and domestic relations district court accepting a birthparent's consent and finding that any applicable revocation period has expiredis to terminate a consenting birth parent's residual parental rights. The billprovides that a juvenile and domestic relations court shall accept consent froman out-of-state birth parent. Under current law, a juvenile and domesticrelations district court is required to request consent from an out-of-statecourt having jurisdiction over custody matters in the jurisdiction where abirth parent resides when such birth parent does not reside in theCommonwealth.The bill adds licensed child-placing agencies and prospectiveadoptive parents to those with the authority to consent to surgical and medicaltreatment of certain minors, subject to certain requirements. The billdecreases from 45 to 10 days the time for which a hearing is required to beheld upon the filing of a petition for the approval of an entrustment agreementby a local board of social services or a child welfare agency. The bill alsomakes technical amendments.