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F O R   Y O U R   I N F O R M A T I O N

DATE:   12/00

POSTADOPTION CONTACT AGREEMENTS

Pursuant to SB 2157, effective January 1, 2001, Kinship Adoption Agreements will be referred to as “Postadoption Contact Agreements” and will be applicable whether the adopting parent is a relative of the child or an unrelated caregiver.   

SB 2157 states that some adoptive children may benefit from either direct or indirect contact with birth relatives, including the birth parents, after being adopted.  Postadoption Contact Agreements ensure an achievable level of continuing contact between the child and birth relatives when the contact is beneficial to the child(ren) and the agreement is voluntarily entered into by birth relatives, birth parents, and adoptive parents. 

 1.         The terms of the Postadoption Contact Agreement shall be
         limited to, but need not include, all of the following:

         a.       Provision for visitation between the child and a birth parent
               or parents and other birth relatives, including siblings.

         b.         Provisions for future contact between a birth parent or
                 parents or other birth relatives, including siblings, or both,
                 and the child or an adoptive parent, or both.

         c.         Provisions for the sharing of information about the child in
                 the future.

 2.         Unless the child has an existing relationship with the birth
         relatives, the terms of any Postadoption Contact Agreement
         shall be limited to the sharing of information about the child.

 3.         A child who is 12 years of age or older must give written
         consent to the terms and conditions of the Postadoption
         Contact Agreement and any subsequent modifications of the
         agreement, including the granting of privileges regarding
         visitation, contact, or sharing of information, unless the court
         finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the agreement,
         as written, is in the best interests of the child.

The Postadoption Contact Agreement shall be attached to and filed with the petition for adoption.  See Procedural Guide, 0200-514.01, Finalizing an Adoption.

APPROVED:________________________________
                         Beverly Muench, Policy Development