AN ACT relating to birth certificates.

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AN ACT relating to birth certificates. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 199.570 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) (a) The files and records of the court during adoption proceedings shall not be 4
open to inspection by persons other than parties to the proceedings, their 5
attorneys, and representatives of the cabinet except under order of the court 6
expressly permitting inspection. 7
(b) Upon the entry of the final order in the case, the clerk shall place all papers 8
and records in the case in a suitable envelope which shall be sealed, or a 9
digital file with r estricted access, and shall not be open for inspection by any 10
person, except as provided in KRS 199.572. Health information received 11
pursuant to KRS 199.525 shall be added to the adoption case file. The clerk of 12
the Circuit Court shall set up a separate do cket and order book for adoption 13
cases and these files and records shall be kept locked. 14
(c) No person having charge of any adoption records shall disclose the names of 15
any parties appearing in such records or furnish any copy of any such records 16
to any pe rson or other entity that does not meet the requirements of KRS 17
199.572, except upon order of the court which entered the judgment of 18
adoption. 19
(2) (a) After entry of the adoption judgment, the clerk of the Circuit Court shall 20
promptly provide[report] to the cabinet all[ for Health and Family Services of 21
Kentucky full] information[ as called for on forms furnished by the Cabinet 22
for Health and Family Serv ices,] necessary to make a new birth certificate 23
that conforms[conforming] to the standard birth certificate form. 24
(b) Upon receipt of this information, the cabinet [ for Health and Family Services] 25
shall make[cause to be made] a new record of the birth to[and it shall] be filed 26
with the original certificate .[, and] The original certificate shall be stamped 27
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with the words, "CONFIDENTIAL -- subject to copy and/or inspection only 1
on written order of the court." 2
(c) The cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with 3
KRS Chapter 13A to create a birth certificate form that complies with the 4
requirements of subsection (3) of this section. 5
(3) (a) The new birth certificate shall set forth the new name, if any, of the adopted 6
child, the names of the adoptive parents, and any[such] other information 7
deemed necessary in accordance with administrative [rules and ] regulations 8
promulgated by the cabinet regarding the form and issuance [for Health and 9
Family Services in issuing] of birth certificates. If the adopted child is under 10
eighteen (18) years of age, the birth certificate shall not contain any 11
information revealing the child is adopted and shall show the adoptive parent 12
or parents as the biological parent or parents of the child , except as prov ided 13
in paragraph (b) of this subsection. 14
(b) In the case of a deceased biological parent or parents, the new birth 15
certificate shall contain the names of the deceased biological parent or 16
parents and the adopted parent or parents if requested by the court , the 17
adoptive parent or parents, or the adopted child. 18
(c) If requested by the adoptive parents, the new birth certificate when issued 19
shall contain the location of birth, hospital, and name of doctor or midwife. 20
This information shall[should] be given only by an order of the court in which 21
the child was adopted. The new birth certificate shall recite the residence of 22
the adoptive parents as the birthplace of the child , which[ and this] shall be 23
deemed for all legal purposes to be the birthplace of the child. 24
(d) If no birth certificate is on file for a child born in Kentucky, the cabinet [ for 25
Health and Family Services] shall prepare a certificate of birth in accordance 26
with the information furnished to the cabinet by the clerk of the Circuit Court 27
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that[which] issued the adoption order. 1
(e) The cabinet[ for Health and Family Services] shall furnish to the clerks of the 2
Circuit Courts the necessary forms to carry out the provisions of this section. 3
(f) If the child was born in another state, the order of adoption shall be forwarded 4
to the division of vital statistics of the state concerned to be changed in 5
accordance with the laws of that[such] state. 6
(g) If the child was born in a foreign country, the r eport of adoption shall be 7
returned to the attorney or agency handling the adoption for submission to the 8
appropriate federal agency. 9
(4) [Thereafter ]When any copy of the certificate of birth of any child is issued , it shall 10
be a copy of the new certifica te of birth, except when an order of the court granting 11
the judgment of adoption authorizes[shall request] the issuance of the copy of the 12
original certificate of the child's birth. 13
(5) If any judgment of adoption is reversed, modified, or vacated[ in any particular], the 14
clerk of the Circuit Court shall notify the cabinet [ for Health and Family Services] 15
of the reversal or modification and the effect of same, and the cabinet shall make 16
any necessary changes in its records. 17