Source: http://www.childadoptionlaws.com/child_adoption_laws/adoption_laws_louisiana.htm
Timestamp: 2014-10-23 06:37:51
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Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 1168', '§12', '§1', '§4', '§1', '§12', '§9', '§5', '§1', '§13', '§12', '§9', '§5', '§1', '§1', '§1', '§13', '§12', '§1', '§1', '§12', '§1', '§12', '§4', '§1', '§1', '§12', '§1', '§1']

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Louisiana Adoption Law and Statute
Title XII: Intercountry Adoption of Children
Chapters 1-15 Articles 1167-1279.7
Art. 1168. General applicability of other Children's Code provisions
Except as otherwise specified in this Title, all provisions of the Children's Code remain applicable.
(1) "Agency" or "child placing agency" includes the Department of Social Services, the corresponding department of any other state, and those private agencies and institutions licensed for the placement of children for adoption by the Department of Social Services or by the corresponding department of any other state.
(2) "Birth certificate" means the child's official birth certificate or a true copy of a prefiled version of the birth certificate in the event the official birth certificate has not been issued.
(2.1) "Broker" means any person who, for compensation or the expectation of compensation, obtains or offers to obtain a child for adoption from a third party.
(4) "Department" means the Louisiana Department of Social Services.
(5) "Putative father registry" means the Louisiana putative father registry established in R.S. 9:400.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1992, No. 705, §1, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 1062, §4, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2006, No. 288, §1.
Any person qualified to adopt a child pursuant to Article 1221 may request a social worker acting in the employ of a licensed adoption agency, licensed clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, licensed psychologist, medical psychologist, licensed psychiatrist, or licensed marriage and family therapist, to conduct a preplacement home study for the purpose of obtaining
a certification for adoption.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 1309, §9, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 486, §5, eff. June 21, 2001; Acts 2008, No. 583, §1; Acts 2009, No. 251, §13.
A. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations for preplacement home studies in private adoptions in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this Article shall not be inconsistent with the following:
(1) The rules and regulations governing the licensing of adoption agencies relative to preplacement home studies, specifically adoptive home studies, notification regarding application, access to records, updating home studies, review procedures, and adoptive parents' records, to the extent that such provisions are compatible with procedural laws governing private surrenders
(2) Such study shall be conducted by a social worker in the employ of a licensed adoption agency, licensed social worker, licensed professional counselor, licensed psychologist, medical psychologist, licensed psychiatrist, or licensed marriage and family therapist, except that a prospective adoptive parent who is domiciled outside the state shall obtain a preplacement home
study in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 2 of Title XVI.
B. The sheriff and department shall conduct and accord priority to requests for a criminal records check for all federal and state arrests and convictions and validated complaints of child abuse or neglect, respectively, in this or any other state of each prospective adoptive parent, and shall provide a certificate indicating all information discovered or that no information
has been found, all in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the department.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 1309, §9, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 486, §5, eff. June 21, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 567, §1; Acts 2008, No. 583, §1; Acts 2009, No. 194, §1, eff. June 30, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 251, §13.
(2) The expected date of the child's placement.
(4) Their capacity and disposition to give the child love, affection, and guidance and to undertake the responsibilities of becoming the child's parents.
B. The order shall be in writing, dated, and signed by the court and shall authorize adoptive placement of a child at any time within a period of twelve months from its date. C. A certified copy of a court order approving the adoptive placement shall be given to the prospective adoptive parents.
E. The court shall render a decision that is in the best interest of the child and shall consider all relevant factors including those provided in Article 1177(B).
F.(1) The existence of a criminal record of a prospective adoptive parent shall not be automatic grounds to disapprove placement of the child with the prospective adoptive parents. The court shall consider all of the following:
(a) The nature of the offenses.
(b) The number of offenses committed.
(c) The length of time between offenses and between the last offense committed and the application for court approval.
(2) Subsequent to the entry of an order approving an adoptive placement, if the result of a criminal records check or the results of abuse or neglect validated complaint records check indicate that the prospective adoptive parents failed to disclose such unfavorable information at the hearing, the court may issue an instanter order taking protective custody of the child, pursuant
to Article 619, if this information, if known, together with other evidence presented at the hearing would have resulted in the court's disapproval of the adoptive placement.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 2003, No. 567, §1; Acts 2013, No. 187, §1.
CHAPTER 5. CONFIDENTIALITY
No one except the judge presiding in the case, his successor, or a curator ad hoc, as provided for in Article 1191, shall have access to the confidential records of the court pursuant to this Title. Following final disposition of an adoption case, the reports submitted by the department to the judge shall be retained in the court's confidential adoption record.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 2008, No. 583, §1.
A. All adoption records shall be retained in confidential files, and it shall be unlawful for anyone except the biological or adopting parent to disclose any identifying information concerning any individual adoption case, except upon order of the court, after giving proper notice as required in Article 1190 or as otherwise authorized by this Code, or for purposes directly
connected with an adoption agency's responsibilities in relation to adoption work as permitted by its rules and regulations.
B. If the agency, firm, or lawyer ceases to do business in this state, it shall transfer its adoption records to the Department of Children and Family Services or another transferee approved by the department. Thereafter, the transferee shall ensure the preservation and confidentiality of records required by Paragraph A of this Article and assumes responsibility for providing
nonidentifying information as required by Articles 1127 and 1127.1.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 1062, §4, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2003, No. 812, §1; Acts 2008, No. 583, §1.
A. An adopted person or, if still a minor, his legal representative on his behalf may file a motion for disclosure of information pertaining to his adoption pursuant to Article 1189. The action shall be styled: "In re the Adoption of _____________".
B. A biological sibling or descendant of an adopted person, or if still a minor, his legal representative on his behalf, may file a motion for disclosure pursuant to Article 1189.
C. This action and the limited medical exception provision of Article 1127 shall be the exclusive means for gaining access to records of adoptions whether maintained by this court, some other court, an adoption agency, any state agency, or private individual, notwithstanding provisions of law to the contrary.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1995, No. 1108, §1; Acts 2008, No. 583, §1.
A motion for disclosure shall show compelling necessity overriding the general policy of confidentiality for adoption records by alleging any of the following:
(1) There are inheritance rights which are or may be due from the biological parents of the adopted person in accordance with the Civil Code.
(2) There is a medical necessity requiring information about the biological family of the adopted person or his own preadoption health history in order to treat the adopted person, his siblings, or his descendants.
(3) Both the adopted person, or the adoptive parent of a minor or a deceased adoptive person, or a descendant of a deceased adopted person, or his parent if a minor, and a person reasonably believed to be his biological parent or biological sibling, or a parent, sibling, or descendant, or his parent if a minor, of a deceased biological parent have registered with the department
pursuant to Chapter 15 of this Title.
(4) The information is otherwise required to be disclosed by federal or state