SP0156, LD 376, item 1, An Act To Amend the Laws Concerning the Adoption of Siblings

An Act To Amend the Laws Concerning the Adoption of Siblings

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 18-A MRSA §9-304, sub-§(e-1) is enacted to read:

(e-1). If the child has siblings, the court shall include in the adoption decree in subsection (f) a requirement that the petitioner facilitate contact between the child and the child's siblings unless the contact is not in the child's best interests.

Sec. 2. 18-A MRSA §9-304, sub-§(f), as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. C, §7 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read:

(f). If the judge is satisfied with the identity and relations of the parties, of the ability of the petitioner to bring up and educate the child properly, considering the condition of the child's biological parents, of the ability of the petitioner to facilitate contact between the child and the child's siblings if required under subsection (e-1) and of the fitness and propriety of the adoption, the judge shall make a decree setting forth the facts and declaring that from that date the child is the child of the petitioner and that the child's name is changed, without requiring public notice of that change.

Sec. 3. 18-A MRSA §9-305, sub-§(d) is enacted to read:

(d). The court shall determine, based on the information available, whether an adoptee who is a minor has siblings and the status of the relationship between the adoptee and the siblings.

Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §4068, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 526, §2, is amended to read:

2. Siblings separated through adoption. The department shall make reasonable efforts to establish agreements with prospective adoptive parents that provide for reasonable contact between an adoptive child and the child's siblings when unless the department believes that the contact will not be in the children's best interests.

summary

This bill provides that minor siblings who are separated by adoption, whether through child welfare actions or otherwise, may have contact with each other unless it is not in their best interests.

Current law requires the Department of Health and Human Services in child welfare cases to make reasonable efforts to establish agreements with adoptive parents of children that provide for reasonable contact with the child's siblings when the department believes the contact is in the child's best interests. This bill requires the agreements unless the contact will not be in the best interests of the child.

The bill also provides for contact between siblings who are adopted into different families in cases that are not child welfare cases.

SP0156 LD 376	Session - 126th Maine Legislature		LR 754 Item 1
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