Adoption.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not specify an effective date for the new rules.

Expanding Adoption Rules

This law changes how courts can handle adoption cases for unmarried minors born in California and ensures that all necessary information is provided when someone from another state wants to adopt a child.

What This Bill Does

• Allows courts to consider adoption proceedings for unmarried minors born in California if the minor does not need to be freed from parental custody first, and such proceedings are being brought in this state.
• Clarifies that these new rules do not limit jurisdiction otherwise permitted under the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
• Requires court orders for adoptions of unmarried minors to list all adoptive parents and any existing parents who will maintain their rights after adoption is finalized.
• Makes sure people trying to adopt a child from another state provide additional documentation or information if their home study report does not meet California's standards.

Who It Names or Affects

• Courts that handle adoption cases
• People adopting unmarried minors in California
• Parents who want to keep some rights after an adoption of an unmarried minor

Terms To Know

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children

A set of rules for states about placing children from one state with adoptive parents in another state.

Home study report

A document that shows if someone is ready to be a parent through adoption, including their background and living situation.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify when the new rules will start.
• It only applies to unmarried minors and does not change how adoptions work for married parents or other family members adopting children.

Official Summary Text

SB 450, Menjivar.
Adoption.
Existing law governs the adoption of unmarried minors. Existing law grants a court of this state with jurisdiction of adoption proceedings for minors in specified circumstances, including, among others, when the minor and the prospective adoptive parent are physically present in this state and the minor has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the minor because the minor has been subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse or is otherwise neglected.
This bill would expand the court’s jurisdiction to include adoption proceedings for California-born minors when (1) proceedings to free the minor from the custody and control of one or both
parents are not required to make the minor available for adoption and (2) the proceedings to free the minor from the custody and control of one or both parents to make the minor available for adoption are being brought in this state. The bill would clarify that the above provisions do not limit jurisdiction that is otherwise permitted under the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. The bill would also require an adoption order issued for unmarried minors to include the names of the adoptive parent or parents and any existing parent or parents who will maintain their parental rights after the finalization of the adoption.
Existing law sets forth the procedures for completing an independent adoption, including an investigation and a report by the State Department of Social Services or the delegated county adoption agency on the proposed independent adoption, as specified. For investigations involving petitioners who are residents of a state other than California, existing law requires a review of an updated and current home study report that was conducted and approved by a licensed adoption agency or other authorized resource in the state in which the petitioner resides if the standards and criteria for the home study report in the other state are substantially commensurate with the standards and criteria established in California adoption regulations.
This bill would require a petitioner to be responsible for providing any additional
documentation or information necessary to complete the investigation described above if the out-of-state home study report is not substantially commensurate with California standards or is otherwise missing required information.

Current Bill Text

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