An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Family Law Advisory Commission Concerning Adoption and Minor Guardianship
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 2079
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 18-C MRSA §9, 22 MRSA §4002, 22 MRSA §4068, 22 MRSA §4038-C, 22 MRSA §4038-E, 18-C MRSA §5

Legislative Document
No. 2079
H.P. 1480
House of Representatives, January 28, 2020
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Family Law 
Advisory Commission Concerning Adoption and Minor 
Guardianship
Reported by Representative BAILEY of Saco for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Judiciary pursuant to Joint Rule 353.
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 218.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
PART A
Sec. A-1.  18-C MRSA §9-302, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 and 
affected by PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14, is amended to read:
§9-302.  Consent for adoption
1.  Written consent.  Before an adoption is granted, written consent to the adoption 
must be given by:
A.  The adoptee, if the adoptee is 14 12 years of age or older;
B.  Each of the adoptee's living parents, except as provided in subsection 2;
C.  A person or agency having legal custody or guardianship of the adoptee if the 
adoptee is a child or to whom the child has been surrendered and released, except that 
the person's or agency's lack of consent, if adjudged unreasonable by a court, may be 
overruled by the court.  In order for the court to find that the person or agency acted 
unreasonably in withholding consent, the petitioner must prove, by a preponderance 
of the evidence, that the person or agency acted unreasonably.  The court shall 
determine whether the person or agency acted unreasonably in withholding consent 
prior to any hearing on whether to grant the adoption.  The court may hold a pretrial 
conference to determine who will proceed.  The court may determine that even 
though the burden of proof is remains on the petitioner, the person or agency should 
proceed if the person or agency has important facts necessary to the petitioner in 
presenting the petitioner's case present its reasons for withholding consent and the 
facts supporting the decision before the petitioner presents its evidence.  The court 
shall consider the following:
(1)  Whether the person or agency determined the needs and interests of the child;
(2)  Whether the person or agency determined the ability of the petitioner and 
other prospective families to meet the child's needs;
(3)  Whether the person or agency made the decision consistent with the facts;
(4)  Whether the harm of removing the child from the child's current placement 
outweighs any inadequacies of that placement; and
(4-A)  Whether an agency withholding consent to the petitioner consented to the 
adoption of the child by a person who is a preadoptive parent as defined in Title 
22, section 4002, subsection 9-A or who was identified as an appropriate 
permanency placement in a court-approved permanency plan pursuant to Title 
22, section 4038-B; and
(5)  All other factors that have a bearing on a determination of the reasonableness 
of the person's or agency's decision in withholding consent; and
D.  A guardian appointed by the court, if the adoptee is a child, when the child has no 
living parent, guardian or legal custodian who may consent.
A petition for adoption must be pending before a consent is executed.
2.  Consent not required.  Consent to adoption is not required of:
A.  A putative parent if the putative parent:
(1)  Received notice and failed to respond to the notice within the prescribed time 
period;
(2)  Waived the right to notice under section 9-201, subsection 3;
(3)  Does not establish parentage of the child under section 9-201, subsection 9; 
or
(4)  Holds no parental rights regarding the adoptee under the laws of the foreign 
country in which the adoptee was born;
B.  A parent whose parental rights have been terminated under Title 22, chapter 1071, 
subchapter 6;
C.  A parent who has executed a surrender and release pursuant to section 9-202;
D.  A parent whose parental rights have been voluntarily or judicially terminated and 
transferred to a public agency or a duly licensed private agency pursuant to the laws 
of another state or country; or
E.  A parent of an adoptee who is 18 years of age or older.
3.  Consent by department; notice.  When the department consents to the adoption 
of a child in its custody, the department shall immediately notify:
A.  The District Court in which the action under Title 22, chapter 1071 is pending; 
and
B.  The guardian ad litem for the child.
4.  Consent by department; notice.  This subsection applies when the department 
consents to the adoption of a child in its custody.
A.  When the department consents to the adoption of a child in its custody, the 
department shall immediately notify:
(1)  The District Court in which the action under Title 22, chapter 1071 is 
pending; and
(2)  The guardian ad litem for the child.
B.  The department may consent to more than one person petitioning to adopt a child 
in its custody.  In such cases, the court may request that the department provide 
information and a recommendation regarding petitioners.
PART B
Sec. B-1.  18-C MRSA §9-204, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. A, 
§105, is further amended to read:
3.  Grounds for termination.  The court may order termination of parental rights if:
A.  The parent consents to the termination.  Consent must be after a judge has fully 
explained the effects of a termination order and the consent is written and voluntarily 
and knowingly executed in court before a judge.  The judge shall explain the effects 
of a termination order; or
B.  The court finds, based on clear and convincing evidence, that:
(1)  Termination is in the best interest of the child; and
(2)  Either:
(a)  The parent is unwilling or unable to protect the child from jeopardy, as 
defined by Title 22, section 4002, subsection 6, and these circumstances are 
unlikely to change within a time that is reasonably calculated to meet the 
child's needs;
(b)  The parent has been unwilling or unable to take responsibility for the 
child within a time that is reasonably calculated to meet the child's needs; or
(c)  The parent has abandoned the child, as described in Title 22, section 
4002, subsection 1-A.
In making findings pursuant to this paragraph, the court may consider the extent to 
which the parent had opportunities to rehabilitate and to reunify with the child, 
including actions by the child’s other parent to foster or to interfere with a 
relationship between the parent and child or services provided by public or nonprofit 
agencies.
Sec. B-2.  18-C MRSA §9-204, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
3-A.  Required findings.  The court shall make specific written findings addressing 
the standards in subsection 3, paragraph B and the court shall consider the following:
A.  With respect to subsection 3, paragraph B, subparagraph (1), the background and 
qualities of the prospective adoptive parent; and
B.  With respect to subsection 3, paragraph B, subparagraph (2), the extent to which 
the parent who is the subject of the petition had opportunities to rehabilitate and to 
reunify with the child or to maintain a relationship with the child, including actions 
by the child's other parent to foster or to interfere with a relationship between the 
parent and the child or services provided by public or nonprofit entities.
PART C
Sec. C-1.  18-C MRSA §9-308, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 and 
affected by PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14, is amended to read:
§9-308.  Final decree; dispositional hearing; effect of adoption; post-adoption 
contact with siblings
1.  Final decree of adoption; requirements.  The court shall grant a final decree of 
adoption if the petitioner who filed the petition has been heard or has waived hearing and 
the court is satisfied from the hearing or record that:
A.  All necessary consents, relinquishments or terminations of parental rights have 
been duly executed and filed with the court;
B.  An adoption study, when required by section 9-304, has been filed with the court;
C.  A list of all disbursements as required by section 9-306 has been filed with the 
court;
D.  The petitioner is a suitable adopting parent and desires to establish a parent-child 
relationship with the adoptee;
E.  The best interest of the adoptee, described in subsection 2, are is served by the 
adoption;
F.  The petitioner has acknowledged that the petitioner understands that the transfer 
of the long-term care and custody of an adoptee who is a minor child without a court 
order is prohibited under Title 17-A, section 553, subsection 1, paragraphs C and D; 
and
G.  All requirements of this Article have been met.
2.  Best interest of adoptee.  In determining the best interest of an adoptee, the court 
shall consider and evaluate the following factors to give the adoptee a permanent home at 
the earliest possible date:
A.  The love, affection and other emotional ties existing between the adoptee and the 
adopting person or persons, a parent or a putative parent;
B.  The capacity and disposition of the adopting person or persons, the parent or 
parents or the putative parent to educate and give the adoptee love, affection and 
guidance and to meet the needs of the adoptee.  An adoption may not be delayed or 
denied because the adoptive parent and the adoptee do not share the same race, color 
or national origin; and
C.  The capacity and disposition of the adopting person or persons, the parent or 
parents or the putative parent to provide the adoptee with food, clothing and other 
material needs, education, permanence and medical care or other remedial care 
recognized and permitted in place of medical care under the laws of this State.
3.  Findings; decree; confidentiality.  The court shall enter its findings in a written 
final decree that includes the new name of the adoptee.  The final decree must further 
order that from the date of the decree the adoptee is the child of the petitioner and must be 
accorded the status set forth in section 9-105.  If the court determines that it is in the best 
interest of the adoptee, the court may require that the names of the adoptee and of the 
petitioner be kept confidential.
4.  Notice to parents.  Upon completion of an adoption proceeding, the parents who 
consented to an adoption or who executed a surrender and release must be notified by the 
court of the completion by regular mail at their last known address.  Notice under this 
subsection is not required to a parent who is also a petitioner.  When the parents' rights 
have been terminated pursuant to Title 22, section 4055, the notice must be given to the 
department and the department shall notify the parents of the completion by regular mail 
at their last known address.  Actual receipt of the notice is not a precondition of 
completion and does not affect the rights or responsibilities of adoptees or adoptive 
parents.
5.  Notice to grandparents and siblings.  The department shall notify the 
grandparents of a child when the child is placed for adoption if the department has 
received notice that the grandparents were granted reasonable rights of visitation or 
access under Title 19-A, chapter 59 or Title 22, section 4005-E and shall notify any 
siblings of the child who have visitation or other contact with the child pursuant to an 
agreement or order under Title 22, section 4068.
6.  Effect of adoption.  An order granting the adoption has the following effect: 
effects.
A.  An order granting the adoption of the child by the petitioner divests the parent and 
child of all legal rights, powers, privileges, immunities, duties and obligations to each 
other as parent and child, except an adoptee inherits from the adoptee's former 
parents if provided in the adoption decree.
B.  An adoption order may not disentitle a child to benefits due the child from any 
3rd person, agency or state or the United States and may not affect the rights and 
benefits that a Native American derives from descent from a member of a federally 
recognized Indian tribe.
7.  Post-adoption contact agreements regarding siblings; inquiry of minor 
adoptee.  If the adoptee is the subject of an existing agreement or order pursuant to Title 
22, section 4068, the agreement or order must be referenced in and attached to the 
adoption decree unless the court finds the agreement or order is no longer in the adoptee's 
best interest.  The court may modify the existing agreement or order before referencing it 
in and attaching it to the decree.  A person's failure to follow the agreement after the 
adoption decree has been entered may not be a basis to set aside the decree.
If a minor adoptee is or will be separated from a sibling as a result of the adoption and 
there is no existing agreement for post-adoption contact between siblings, a court entering 
an adoption decree may, at that time, order the adoptive parents to provide specific post-
adoption communication or contact, including, but not limited to, visits, written 
correspondence or calls, for an adopted child who lived with a sibling for at least 2 years 
if:
A.  The court determines that the post-adoption contact would serve the best interests 
of the adoptee and the adoptee's sibling; and
B.  Each sibling's parent, guardian or custodian has consented to the court's order for 
post-adoption sibling contact privileges.  If the adoptee is 12 years of age or older, the 
court may not approve or order an agreement for post-adoption contact if the adoptee 
does not consent to the agreement.  If the adoptee is under 12 years of age, the court 
shall determine the preference of the adoptee, if the adoptee is old enough to express 
a meaningful preference.  The determination may be made with assistance of a 
guardian ad litem.
Sec. C-2.  22 MRSA §4002, sub-§11-A is enacted to read:
11-A.  Sibling.  "Sibling" means a person with whom a child shares at least one 
parent.
Sec. C-3.  22 MRSA §4068, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 526, §2, is amended to 
read:
§4068.  Sibling visitation; post-adoption contact
1.  Visitation.  If the court determines that it is reasonable, practicable and in the best 
interests of the children involved, the court shall order the custodian of the child who is 
the subject of the child protection proceeding and any party who is the custodian of a 
sibling of the child to make the children available for visitation with each other.  The 
court may order a schedule and conditions pursuant to which the visits are to occur.
2.  Siblings separated through adoption.  The Before the adoption occurs, 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 the department believes that the contact will be in the children's best 
interests.  These agreements may allow for communication or contact, including, but not 
limited to, visits, written correspondence or calls, between an adoptive child and one or 
more of the child's siblings.
The court may approve an agreement for post-adoption communication or contact, 
including, but not limited to, visits, written correspondence or calls, between an adoptive 
child and one or more of the child's siblings based on a finding that it is in the best 
interests of the adoptive child and the child's sibling and a determination that the parent, 
guardian or custodian of each sibling has consented to the agreement.  If the adoptive 
child is 12 years of age or older, the court may not approve the agreement unless the child 
consents to the agreement.  If the adoptive child is under 12 years of age, the court shall 
determine the preference of the child, if the child is old enough to express a meaningful 
preference.  The determination may be made with assistance of a guardian ad litem.
An adoptive parent is not required to make such an agreement but, if such an agreement 
is made and approved by the court at the time it is made, it is judicially enforceable, as 
long as the court finds it in the best interest of the siblings to enforce the agreement.  
Revocation of the adoption is not a remedy for failure to honor the agreement for post-
adoption contacts.
3.  Request of child; inquiry of child; appointment of attorney for child.  In a 
child protection proceeding or a related adoption proceeding, a child may request 
visitation, communication or contact rights pursuant to subsection 1 or 2 with a sibling 
from whom the child has been separated as a result of the child protection proceeding.  If 
a child is or will be separated from a sibling as a result of a placement or permanency 
outcome and no order is in place pursuant to subsection 1 and no agreement is in place 
pursuant to subsection 2, the court shall inquire of the child whether the child would like 
visitation, communication or contact with the sibling.  The inquiry may be made with 
assistance of a guardian ad litem.  The court may appoint counsel for a child requesting 
visitation, communication or contact with a sibling.
PART D
Sec. D-1.  22 MRSA §4038-C, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. C, 
§66 and affected by PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14, is further amended to read:
2.  Powers and duties of permanency guardian.  A permanency guardian has all of 
the powers and duties of a guardian of a minor pursuant to Title 18-C, sections 5-207 and 
5-208.  A permanency guardianship terminates upon the minor's death, adoption or 
attainment of majority or as ordered by the court pursuant to this section.
Sec. D-2.  22 MRSA §4038-E, as amended by PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. C, §67 and Pt. 
D, §1 and c. 411, §12 and affected by PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14, is repealed and the 
following enacted in its place:
§4038-E.  Adoption from permanency guardianship
A permanency guardian may petition the District Court to adopt the child in the 
permanency guardian's care and to change the child's name upon the issuance of the 
adoption decree.  The petition must be filed and adjudicated in accordance with Title 
18-C, Article 9, except that the adoption may not be granted unless each living parent 
identified in the child protection action whose rights have not been terminated has 
executed a consent to the adoption pursuant to Title 18-C, section 9-202 or the court finds 
that such consent is not required pursuant to Title 18-C, section 9-302, subsection 2.  A 
permanency guardian may not seek an order terminating the parental rights of a parent as 
part of a petition to adopt the child.
PART E
Sec. E-1.  18-C MRSA §5-211, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 and 
affected by PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§5-211.  Transitional arrangement for minors; continued contact with former 
guardian after termination
1.  Transitional arrangements.  In issuing, modifying or terminating an order of 
guardianship for a minor, the court may enter an order providing for transitional 
arrangements for the minor if the court determines that such arrangements will assist the 
minor with a transition of custody and are in the best interest of the minor.  Orders 
providing for transitional arrangements may include, but are not limited to, rights of 
contact, housing, counseling or rehabilitation.  Such orders must be time-limited and 
expire not later than 6 months after the entry of the order or at the conclusion of the 
minor's current school year, whichever is later.  In determining the best interest of the 
minor, a court may consider the minor's relationship with the guardian and need for 
stability.
2.  Continued contact with former guardian after termination.  On timely motion 
of a parent or a guardian, the court terminating a guardianship may enter an order at the 
time of the termination or the expiration of a transitional arrangement pursuant to 
subsection 1 providing for communication or contact, including overnight visitation, 
between a minor and the former guardian after the termination of the guardianship if:
A.  The parent and guardian consent to the order; or
B.  The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that ordering such continued 
communication or contact over the objection of the minor's parent:
(1)  Is necessary to avoid a likelihood of harm to the minor resulting from 
severing the legal relationship with the former guardian;
(2)  Would not significantly interfere with any parent-child relationship or with 
the parent's rightful authority over the minor; and
(3)  Is in the best interest of the minor due to the existing relationship between the 
minor and the former guardian because the former guardian was a primary 
caregiver and custodian of the minor for a significant period of time.
Before ordering communication or contact pursuant to paragraph B the court shall grant 
due consideration to the specific objections of the parent to the entry of an order and 
determine whether ordering a period of transitional arrangements pursuant to subsection 1 
is sufficient to mitigate harm to the minor.  Except as Title 4, section 152, subsection 5-A 
may otherwise require, the court issuing the order for post-guardianship contact has 
continuing jurisdiction to modify, enforce or terminate the order and shall follow the 
procedure set forth in section 5-210.
SUMMARY
This bill implements the recommendations of the Family Law Advisory Commission 
as submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary on December 1, 2019, 
pursuant to Public Law 2019, chapter 417, Part A, section 111.
Part A addresses the consent to an adoption by a minor adoptee and the person or 
agency having legal custody or guardianship of a minor adoptee.  It amends the statute to 
make clear that courts are to take a bifurcated approach to the adoption proceeding if a 
petitioner is challenging the lack of consent from the person or agency, such as the 
Department of Health and Human Services.  This change ensures that the court resolves 
the question of whether the person or agency unreasonably withheld its consent before 
the court makes findings regarding the requirements for the adoption itself, such as those 
set out in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-C, section 9-308.  The changes clarify that 
the court may alter the order of presentation of evidence if the person or agency has facts 
that the petitioner would need to include to prove the petitioner's contention that the 
person or agency unreasonably withheld its consent.  Part A enables a court to require the 
person or agency to present its reasons for withholding consent and the facts supporting 
the decision before the petitioner presents evidence while the petitioner retains the burden 
of proof on the question of the person's or agency's alleged unreasonableness.
Part A amends the factors a court must consider when reviewing the reasonableness 
of an agency's withholding of consent to include a new factor: whether the agency 
granted consent to another petitioner who was previously approved by the agency or the 
court as the child's permanency placement.
Part A eliminates the ambiguity in the statute regarding whether the Department of 
Health and Human Services may consent to more than one petitioner by explicitly 
allowing the department to consent to more than one petitioner if the department 
concludes that multiple petitioners could each provide a suitable adoptive home for the 
child.  The language gives the court authority to request the department to provide 
information and to make recommendations regarding the petitioners.
Part A amends the Adoption Act to lower the age of a minor's consent to the minor's 
adoption from 14 years of age to 12 years of age.  Currently, a child 12 years of age or 
older must consent to the child's adoption by a permanency guardian.
Part B addresses the termination of parental rights in the context of adoption.  The 
Adoption Act permits an adoption petitioner to file a petition to terminate the parental 
rights of the child's parent if that parent does not consent to the adoption or join the 
petition.  The termination of parental rights standard in Title 18-C, section 9-204, 
subsection 3 is consistent with the Title 22 standard used in child protection cases, except 
that it does not include the language regarding the parent's failure to make a good faith 
effort to follow a reunification plan.  Such plans are features of child protection matters 
but not adoption proceedings.  The Adoption Act instead permits the court to consider the 
extent to which the parent had opportunities to rehabilitate and to reunify with the child, 
including actions by the child's other parent to foster or to interfere with a relationship 
between the parent and child or services provided by public or nonprofit agencies.   This 
recent change to the termination of parental rights standard, however, does not entirely 
address the concerns about private termination of parental rights noted by the Law Court 
in Adoption of Isabelle T., 2017 ME 220, a stepparent adoption case in which a child's 
mother and stepfather successfully petitioned to terminate the parental rights of the child's 
father.  The Law Court vacated the termination and emphasized the importance of 
considering the merits of the adoption petitioner who would be added as a parent as part 
of the best interests determination when ruling on a petition to terminate parental rights.  
Part B includes language expressly requiring courts terminating parental rights to make 
specific written findings.  Title 18-C, section 9-204 is amended to require that the 
findings address the background and qualities of the prospective adoptive parent.  In 
addition, Part B requires a court to consider the parent's attempts to reunify or maintain a 
relationship with a child as part of its analysis of the parent's alleged unfitness.  Finally, 
Part B revises the consent to termination provision to make clear that a judge's 
explanation of the effects of a termination order must be provided to the parent prior to 
the parent's execution of the consent.
Part C addresses post-adoption contact rights for siblings separated by adoption.  Part 
C amends Title 22, section 4068, which gives certain contact rights to siblings separated 
as a part of a child protection proceeding, to permit courts to approve post-adoption 
contact agreements between families who provide care for such siblings.  Part C 
authorizes the court to approve an agreement for post-adoption contact based on a finding 
of the siblings' best interest if all siblings' parents, guardians or custodians consent and 
the siblings also consent, if they are 12 years of age or older.  In the case of younger 
children, the court is required to determine the preference of the child regarding contact, 
if the child is old enough to express a meaningful preference.  These court-approved 
agreements are enforceable as long as the court finds that such enforcement is in the best 
interest of the siblings.  A person's failure to follow an agreement does not permit a party 
to seek revocation of the adoption itself.  Part C also requires the court to ask a child 
whether the child would like visitation, communication or contact with a sibling.  The 
inquiry may be made with the assistance of a guardian ad litem, and the court may 
appoint counsel for a child seeking sibling contact.  Part C also adds a definition of 
"sibling" to the Child and Family Services and Child Protection Act.
Part C requires the court to provide notice of an adoption to any sibling of the child 
who has visitation or contact with the child under Title 22, section 4068.  The court is 
required to reference in and attach to the adoption decree any post-adoption sibling 
contact agreement unless the court finds the agreement is no longer in the best interest of 
the child.  The court may modify the agreement before referencing it in and attaching it to 
the decree.
Part C amends the Adoption Act to authorize an adoption court to order post-adoption 
sibling contact for adoptees who lived with a sibling for 2 or more years if such contact 
would be in the adoptee's and sibling's best interests and each sibling's parent, guardian or 
custodian has consented to the order.  This language permits certain rights in Title 22, 
section 4068 to be extended potentially to any child separated from siblings by adoption, 
not only those in the child protection system.
Part D addresses adoptions from permanency guardianship.  The parental consent 
requirement that is now in Title 22, section 4038-E, subsection 8, paragraph B is retained 
but amended to provide that the adoption petition must be filed and adjudicated in 
accordance with the Adoption Act.  It clarifies that a permanency guardian may not seek 
an order terminating the parental rights of a parent as part of a petition to adopt the child.  
With this change, if a parent whose rights have not been terminated does not consent to 
the adoption, the adoption cannot proceed so long as the permanency guardianship is in 
place.
Part D amends the permanency guardianship provisions to clearly state that the 
appointment terminates when the child is no longer a minor or upon the minor's death or 
adoption.
Part E addresses post-guardianship contact for former guardians and minors.  It gives 
courts an additional tool to mitigate or avoid harm or unnecessary trauma to a minor who 
has a strong relationship with the minor's guardian by providing some rights of contact 
between the former guardian and the minor after the guardianship is terminated.  
Specifically, the new provision permits a court, on timely motion of a parent or guardian, 
to order, at the time of the termination of the guardianship or the expiration of any 
transitional arrangement, rights of communication or contact, including overnight 
visitation, between a minor and the former guardian after the termination of the 
guardianship.  The court may award such rights only if the parent and guardian consent or 
the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the order is necessary to avoid a 
likelihood of harm to the minor resulting from severing the legal relationship with the 
former guardian; would not significantly interfere with any parent-child relationship or 
with the parent's rightful authority over the minor; and is in the best interest of the minor 
due to the existing relationship between the minor and the former guardian because the 
former guardian was a primary caregiver and custodian of the minor for a significant 
period of time.  The court is required to give due consideration to the specific objections 
of the parent to the entry of an order and to determine whether ordering a period of 
transitional arrangements is sufficient to mitigate harm to the minor.  The language also 
makes clear that a court terminating a guardianship has jurisdiction to enter an order and 
that the court has continuing jurisdiction unless a different court has exclusive jurisdiction 
under the so-called Home Court Act.