An Act To Permit Background Checks on Prospective Adoptive Parents
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1754
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: CURLEY, EARLE, SIMPSON, WALCOTT, BRENNAN
Amends: 18-A MRSA §9

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1754 
H.P.1276 
House of Representatives, December 22,2003 
An Act To Permit Background Checks on Prospective Adoptive 
Parents 
Submitted by the Department of Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 17, 2003. Referred to the Committee on 
Judiciary pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative CURLEY of Scarborough. 
/1l~ 
'frl.1ll~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: EARLE of Damariscotta, SIMPSON of Auburn, WALCOTT 
of Lewiston, Senator: BRENNAN of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 18-A MRSA §9-304, sub-§(a-l), as amended by PL 2001, c. 
546, §1, is further amended to read: 
(a-I) 
Upon the filing of a petition for adoption 
child, 
the court shall request 
a 
background check 
direct the department or 
a 
licensed child-placing 
conduct a study and make a report to the court. 
of a minor 
and shall 
agency to 
(1) 
The 
study 
must 
include 
an 
investigation 
of 
the 
conditions and antecedents of the child to determine whether 
the child is a proper subject for adoption and whether the 
proposed home is suitable for the child. 
The department or 
licensed Child-placing agency shall submit the report to the 
court within 60 days. 
(i) 
If 
thl::l 
court 
has 
a 
report 
that 
sufficient, current information, 
the court 
the requirement of a study and report. 
provides 
may waive 
(ii) 
If the petitioner is a blood relative of the 
child, the court may waive the requirement of a study 
and report. 
(2) 
The court shall request a background check for each 
prospective adoptive parent who is not the biological parent 
of the child. 
The background check must include a screening 
for child abuse cases in the records of the department and 
criminal history record information obtained from the Maine 
Criminal Justice Information System and the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation. 
(i) 
The criminal history record information obtained 
from the Maine Criminal Justice Information System must 
include a record of Maine conviction data. 
(ii) 
The criminal history record information obtained 
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation must include 
other 
state 
and 
national 
criminal 
history 
record 
information. 
(iii) 
Each 
prospective 
parent 
who 
is 
not 
the 
biological pSlrent of the child shall submit to having 
fingerprints taken. 
The State Police, upon receipt of 
the fingerprint card, 
may 
charge the court for the 
expenses 
incurred 
in processing state 
and 
national 
criminal history record checks. 
The State Police shall 
take or cause to be taken the applicant's fingerprints 
and shall forward the fingerprints to the State Bureau 
Page I-LR2642(1) 
of Identification so that the bureau can conduct state 
and national criminal history record checks. 
Except 
for 
the 
portion 
of 
the 
payment, 
if 
any, 
that 
constitutes the processing fee charged by the Federal 
Bureau of 
Investigation, 
all money 
received by the 
State Police for purposes of this paragraph must be 
paid over to the Treasurer of State. 
The money must be 
applied to the expenses of administration incurred by 
the Department of Public $afety. 
(iv) 
The subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation 
criminal history record check may obtain a copy of the 
criminal 
history 
record 
check 
by 
following 
the 
procedures outlined in 28 Code of Federal Regulations, 
Sections 
16.32 
and 
16.33. 
The 
subject of 
a 
state 
criminal history record check may inspect and review 
the criminal history record information pursuant to 
Title 16, section 620. 
(v) 
State 
and 
federal 
criminal 
history 
record 
information may be used by the court for the purpose of 
screening prospective adoptive parents in determining 
whether the adoption is in the best interests of the 
child. 
(vi) 
Information obtained pursuant to this paragraph 
is 
confidential. 
The 
results 
of 
background 
checks 
received by the court are for official use only and may 
not 
be 
disseminated 
outside 
the 
court 
except 
as 
required under Title 22, section 4011-A. 
(vii) 
The 
expense 
of 
obtaining 
the 
information 
required 
by 
this 
paragraph 
is 
incorporated 
in 
the 
adoption filing fee established in section 9-301. 
The 
Probate Court shall collect the total fee and transfer 
the 
appropriate 
funds 
to 
the 
Department 
of 
Public 
Safety and the department. 
The department may, at any time before the filing of the petition 
for 
adoption, 
conduct 
background 
checks 
pursuant 
to 
this 
subsection for each prospective adoptive parent of a minor child 
in its 
custody. 
The 
department 
may 
adopt 
rules 
governing 
background 
checks 
for 
prospective 
adoptive 
parents 
of 
minor 
children 
in 
its 
custody. 
Rules 
adopted 
pursuant 
to 
this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
The 
court 
may 
waive 
the 
background 
check 
of 
a 
prospective 
adoptive parent if a previous background check was completed ~ 
court 
or 
by 
the 
department 
under 
this 
subsection within 
a 
reasonable period of time and the court is satisfied that nothing 
new that would be included in the background check has transpired 
since the last background check. 
This 
subsection 
does 
not 
background 
check 
for 
the 
current legal parent of the 
authorize 
biologjcal 
child. 
SUMMARY 
the 
court 
to 
parent 
who 
is 
request 
a 
also 
the 
This bill authorizes the Department of Human Services to 
conduct background checks for each prospective adoptive parent at 
any time before the filing of a petition for adoption.