Opinion ID: 76424
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Florida's Adoption Scheme

Text: 9 Appellants' challenge cannot be viewed apart from the context in which it arises. Under Florida law, adoption is not a right; it is a statutory privilege. Cox, 627 So.2d at 1216. Unlike biological parentage, which precedes and transcends formal recognition by the state, adoption is wholly a creature of the state. Cf. Smith v. Org. of Foster Families for Equal. & Reform, 431 U.S. 816, 845, 97 S.Ct. 2094, 2110, 53 L.Ed.2d 14 (1977) (noting that, unlike the natural family, which has its origins entirely apart from the power of the State, the foster parent-child relationship has its source in state law and contractual arrangements); Lindley v. Sullivan, 889 F.2d 124, 131 (7th Cir.1989) (Because of its statutory basis, adoption differs from natural procreation in a most important and striking way.). 10 In formulating its adoption policies and procedures, the State of Florida acts in the protective and provisional role of in loco parentis for those children who, because of various circumstances, have become wards of the state. Thus, adoption law is unlike criminal law, for example, where the paramount substantive concern is not intruding on individuals' liberty interests, see, e.g., Lawrence, 539 U.S. 558, 123 S.Ct. 2472, 156 L.Ed.2d 508; Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S.Ct. 705, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973), and the paramount procedural imperative is ensuring due process and fairness, see, e.g., Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966); Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963). Adoption is also distinct from such contexts as government-benefit eligibility schemes or access to a public forum, where equality of treatment is the primary concern. See, e.g., Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of Univ. of Va., 515 U.S. 819, 115 S.Ct. 2510, 132 L.Ed.2d 700 (1995); Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 115 S.Ct. 2097, 132 L.Ed.2d 158 (1995). By contrast, in the adoption context, the state's overriding interest is the best interests of the children whom it is seeking to place with adoptive families. In re Adoption of H.Y.T., 458 So.2d 1127, 1128 (Fla.1984) (noting that, in Florida adoption proceedings, the court's primary duty is to serve the best interests of the child — the object of the proceeding). 6 Florida, acting parens patriae for children who have lost their natural parents, bears the high duty of determining what adoptive home environments will best serve all aspects of the child's growth and development. 11 Because of the primacy of the welfare of the child, the state can make classifications for adoption purposes that would be constitutionally suspect in many other arenas. For example, Florida law requires that, in order to adopt any child other than a special needs child, an individual's primary residence and place of employment must be located in Florida. Fla. Stat. § 63.185. In screening adoption applicants, Florida considers such factors as physical and mental health, income and financial status, duration of marriage, housing, and neighborhood, among others. Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 65C-16.005(3) (2003). Similarly, Florida gives preference to candidates who demonstrate a commitment to value, respect, appreciate, and educate the child regarding his or her racial and ethnic heritage. Id. Moreover, prospective adoptive parents are required to sign an affidavit of good moral character. Id. Many of these preferences and requirements, if employed outside the adoption arena, would be unlikely to withstand constitutional scrutiny. See, e.g., Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 68, 120 S.Ct. 2054, 2061, 147 L.Ed.2d 49 (2000) (recognizing that, absent neglect or abuse, the state may not inject itself into the private realm of the family to further question the ability of that parent to make the best decisions concerning the rearing of that parent's children); Supreme Court of Va. v. Friedman, 487 U.S. 59, 70, 108 S.Ct. 2260, 2267, 101 L.Ed.2d 56 (1988) (invalidating as unconstitutional Virginia's residency requirement for waive-in admission to the state bar). 12 The decision to adopt a child is not a private one, but a public act. Cox, 627 So.2d at 1216. At a minimum, would-be adoptive parents are asking the state to confer official recognition — and, consequently, the highest level of constitutional insulation from subsequent state interference, see Troxel, 530 U.S. at 65, 120 S.Ct. at 2060 — on a relationship where there exists no natural filial bond. In many cases, they also are asking the state to entrust into their permanent care a child for whom the state is currently serving as in loco parentis. In doing so, these prospective adoptive parents are electing to open their homes and their private lives to close scrutiny by the state. 7 Florida's adoption application requires information on a variety of private matters, including an applicant's physical and psychiatric medical history, previous marriages, arrest record, financial status, and educational history. In this regard, Florida's adoption scheme is like any complex social welfare system that necessarily deals with the intimacies of family life. Bowen v. Gilliard, 483 U.S. 587, 602, 107 S.Ct. 3008, 3017-18, 97 L.Ed.2d 485 (1987) (quoting Califano v. Jobst, 434 U.S. 47, 55 n. 11, 98 S.Ct. 95, 100 n. 11, 54 L.Ed.2d 228 (1977)). Accordingly, such intrusions into private family matters are on a different constitutional plane than those that seek[] to foist orthodoxy on the unwilling by banning or criminally prosecuting nonconformity. Califano, 434 U.S. at 55 n. 11, 98 S.Ct. at 100 n. 11; cf. Lindley, 889 F.2d at 131 (declining to find a privacy interest in adopting a child because state law requires adopters to submit their personal lives to intensive scrutiny before the adoption may be approved). 13 In short, a person who seeks to adopt is asking the state to conduct an examination into his or her background and to make a determination as to the best interests of a child in need of adoption. In doing so, the state's overriding interest is not providing individuals the opportunity to become parents, but rather identifying those individuals whom it deems most capable of parenting adoptive children and providing them with a secure family environment. Indicative of the strength of the state's interest — indeed duty — in this context is the fact that appellants have not cited to us, nor have we found, a single precedent in which the Supreme Court or one of our sister circuits has sustained a constitutional challenge to an adoption scheme or practice by any individual other than a natural parent, and even many challenges by natural parents have failed. See, e.g., Lehr v. Robertson, 463 U.S. 248, 103 S.Ct. 2985, 77 L.Ed.2d 614 (1983); Quilloin v. Walcott, 434 U.S. 246, 98 S.Ct. 549, 54 L.Ed.2d 511 (1978). Of course, despite their highly sensitive nature, adoption schemes are by no means immune from constitutional scrutiny, and we now consider the constitutionality of the Florida statute. See, e.g., Caban v. Mohammed, 441 U.S. 380, 99 S.Ct. 1760, 60 L.Ed.2d 297 (1979) (invalidating on equal protection grounds a state law permitting unwed mothers, but not unwed fathers, to block adoption of their child simply by withholding consent).