House Introduced Bill 6236

HOUSE BILL No. 6236

November 5, 1998, Introduced by Reps. Horton, Walberg, Jansen, Lowe, Goschka, Voorhees, Gernaat, Cropsey, Whyman, Green, Llewellyn, McManus, Gustafson, Kaza, Sanborn and Perricone and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

A bill to amend 1939 PA 288, entitled

"An act to revise and consolidate the statutes relating to cer-
tain aspects of the family division of circuit court, to the
jurisdiction, powers, and duties of the family division of cir-
cuit court and its judges and other officers, to the change of
name of adults and children, and to the adoption of adults and
children; to prescribe certain jurisdiction, powers, and duties
of the family division of circuit court and its judges and other
officers; to prescribe the manner and time within which certain
actions and proceedings may be brought in the family division of
the circuit court; to prescribe pleading, evidence, practice, and
procedure in certain actions and proceedings in the family divi-
sion of circuit court; to provide for appeals from certain
actions in the family division of circuit court; to prescribe the
powers and duties of certain state departments, agencies, and
officers; and to provide remedies and penalties,"

by amending sections 22a, 23f, 24, and 46 of chapter X (MCL

710.22a, 710.23f, 710.24, and 710.46), section 22a as added by

1994 PA 430, section 23f as amended by 1994 PA 373, section 24 as

amended by 1996 PA 409, and section 46 as amended by 1994 PA

222.

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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

1 CHAPTER X

2 Sec. 22a. (1) A child shall not be placed with a prospec-

3 tive adoptive parent and an adoption order shall not be issued if

4 a person authorized to place the child or the court authorized to

5 issue the order has reliable information that the prospective

6 adoptive parent has been convicted under any 1 OR MORE of the

7 following:

8 (a) Section 145a or 145c of the Michigan penal code, Act

9 No. 328 of the Public Acts of 1931, being sections 750.145a and

10 750.145c of the Michigan Compiled Laws 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.145A

11 AND 750.145C.

12 (b) Sections 520b to 520g of the Michigan penal code, Act

13 No. 328 of the Public Acts of 1931, being sections 750.520b to

14 750.520g of the Michigan Compiled Laws 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520B

15 TO 750.520G, if the victim was under the age of 18 at the time

16 the crime was committed.

17 (c) A law of another state substantially similar to 1 of the

18 sections included in subdivision (a) or (b).

19 (2) A CHILD SHALL NOT BE PLACED WITH A PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE

20 PARENT AND THE COURT SHALL NOT ISSUE AN ADOPTION ORDER IF A

21 PERSON AUTHORIZED TO PLACE THE CHILD OR THE COURT AUTHORIZED TO

22 ISSUE THE ORDER HAS RELIABLE INFORMATION THAT THE PROSPECTIVE

23 ADOPTIVE PARENT IS HOMOSEXUAL.

24 Sec. 23f. (1) In a direct placement, an individual seeking

25 to adopt may request at any time that a preplacement assessment

26 be prepared by a child placing agency. (2) An individual

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requesting a preplacement assessment need not have located a

prospective adoptee when the request is made or when the assess-

ment is completed. (3) An individual may have more than 1 pre-

placement assessment or may request that an assessment, once ini-

tiated, not be completed.

(2) (4) If an individual is seeking to adopt a child from

a particular child placing agency, the agency may require the

individual to be assessed by its own employee, even if the indi-

vidual has already had a favorable preplacement assessment com-

pleted by another child placing agency.

(3) (5) A preplacement assessment shall be based upon per-

sonal interviews and visits at the residence of the individual

being assessed, interviews of others who know the individual, and

reports received under this subsection. The assessment shall

contain all of the following information about the individual

being assessed:

(a) Age, nationality, race or ethnicity, and any religious

preference.

(b) Marital and family status and history, including the

presence of other children or adults in the household and the

relationship of those individuals to the adoptive parent.

substance abuse.

(d) Educational and employment history and any special

skills and interests.

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(e) Property and income, including outstanding financial

obligations as indicated in a current financial report provided

by the individual.

(f) Reason for wanting to adopt.

(g) Any previous request for an assessment or involvement in

an adoptive placement and the outcome of the assessment or

placement.

(h) Whether the individual has ever been the respondent in a

domestic violence proceeding or a proceeding concerning a child

who was allegedly abused, dependent, deprived, neglected, aban-

doned, or delinquent, and the outcome of the proceeding.

(i) Whether the individual has ever been convicted of a

crime.

(j) Whether the individual has located a parent interested

in placing a child with the individual for adoption and a brief

description of the parent and the child.

(k) Any fact or circumstance that raises a specific concern

about the suitability of the individual as an adoptive parent,

including the quality of the environment in the home, the func-

tioning of other children in the household, and any aspect of the

individual's familial, social, psychological, or financial cir-

cumstances that may be relevant to a determination that the indi-

vidual is not suitable. A specific concern is one that suggests

that placement of any child, or a particular child, in the home

of the individual would pose a risk of harm to the CHILD'S physi-

cal or psychological well-being. of the child.

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(4) (6) A child placing agency shall request an individual

seeking a preplacement assessment to provide a document from the

Michigan state police and the federal bureau of investigation

describing all of the individual's criminal convictions as shown

by that agency's BOTH AGENCIES' records, or stating that the

agency's BOTH AGENCIES' records indicate that the individual has

not been convicted of a crime. Upon request of the individual

and receipt of a signed authorization, the child placing agency

shall obtain the criminal record from the law enforcement

agency AGENCIES on the individual's behalf.

(5) IF AN INDIVIDUAL IS A HOMOSEXUAL, A CHILD PLACING AGENCY

DOING A PREPLACEMENT ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL SHALL FIND THE

INDIVIDUAL NOT SUITABLE TO BE A PARENT OF AN ADOPTEE.

(6) (7) A preplacement assessment shall contain a list of

the sources of information on which it is based. If the child

placing agency determines that the information assessed does not

raise a specific concern, the child placing agency shall find

that the individual is suited to be an adoptive parent. If the

child placing agency determines that the information assessed

does raise a specific concern, the child placing agency shall

find that the individual is not suitable to be an adoptive

parent. The conclusion shall be supported by a written account

of how 1 or more specific concerns pose a risk to the physical or

psychological well-being of any child or a particular child. If

the conclusion of a preplacement assessment regarding the suita-

bility of the individual differs from the conclusion in a prior

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assessment, the child placing agency shall explain and justify

the difference.

(7) (8) An individual who receives a preplacement assess-

ment with a conclusion of unsuitability may seek a review of the

assessment by the court after filing an adoption petition. The

court may order an A COURT agent or employee of the court to

make an investigation and report to the court before the

hearing. If, at the hearing, the court finds by clear and con-

vincing evidence that the conclusion of unsuitability is not jus-

tified, the person with legal custody of the child may place the

child with that individual. If the court determines that the

conclusion of unsuitability is justified, it shall order that the

child shall not be placed with the individual.

Sec. 24. (1) If a person desires to adopt a child or an

adult and to bestow upon the adoptee his or her family name, or

to adopt a child or an adult without a change of name, with the

intent to make the adoptee his or her heir, that person, together

with his wife or her husband, if married, shall file a petition

with the court of the county in which the petitioner resides or

where the adoptee is found. If there has been a temporary place-

ment of the child, the petition for adoption shall be filed with

the court that received the report described in section 23d(2) of

this chapter.

(2) The petition for adoption shall be verified by each

petitioner and shall contain the following information:

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(a) The name, date and place of birth, and place of

residence of each petitioner, including the maiden name of the

adopting mother.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5), the

name, date and place of birth, and place of residence if known of

the adoptee.

petitioner.

(d) The full name by which the adoptee shall be known after

adoption.

(e) The full description of the ADOPTEE'S property, if any.

, of the adoptee.

(f) Unless the rights of the parents have been terminated by

a court of competent jurisdiction or except as otherwise provided

in subsection (5), the ADOPTEE'S names of the parents of the

adoptee and the place of residence of each living parent if

known.

(g) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5), the name

and place of residence of the guardian of the ADOPTEE'S person or

estate, of the adoptee, if any has been appointed.

(3) In a direct placement, the petitioner shall attach to

the petition a verified statement certifying that the petitioner

has been informed of the availability of counseling services and

whether the petitioner has received counseling.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in a

direct placement, the petitioner shall attach a copy of a

preplacement assessment of the petitioner completed or updated

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within 1 year before the petition is filed with a finding that

the petitioner is suitable to be a parent of an adoptee, copies

of all other preplacement assessments of the petitioner, if any

others have been completed, and a verified statement stating that

no preplacement assessments of the petitioner have been completed

other than those attached to the petition and explaining any pre-

placement assessments of the petitioner that have been initiated

but not completed. If the petitioner is seeking review of a pre-

placement assessment under section 23f(8) 23F of this chapter,

the petitioner may comply with this subsection by attaching a

copy of that preplacement assessment and a copy of the applica-

tion for review, together with copies of all other preplacement

assessments and the verified statement required by this section.

(5) In a direct placement in which the parties have elected

not to exchange identifying information, the information required

by subsection (2)(f) and (g) and the surname and place of resi-

dence of the adoptee required under subsection (2)(b) may be

omitted. The attorney or child placing agency assisting in the

adoption shall file a verified statement containing the omitted

information.

Sec. 46. (1) Upon the filing of an adoption petition, the

court shall direct a full investigation by an A COURT employee

or agent, of the court, a child placing agency, or the

department. The court may use the preplacement assessment

described in section 23f of this chapter and may order an addi-

tional investigation by an A COURT employee or agent of the

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court or a child placing agency. The following shall be

considered in the investigation:

(a) The best interests of the adoptee.

(b) The adoptee's family background, including names and

identifying data regarding the parent or parents, if obtainable.

her parent or parents.

(2) A written report of the investigation shall be filed

within 3 months after the order for investigation.

(3) IF AN INDIVIDUAL IS A HOMOSEXUAL, A PERSON INVESTIGATING

THE INDIVIDUAL AS PRESCRIBED BY THIS SECTION SHALL FIND THE INDI-

VIDUAL NOT SUITABLE TO BE A PARENT OF AN ADOPTEE.

(4) (3) If the adoptee has been placed for foster care

with the petitioner for 12 months or longer and the foster family

study was completed or updated not more than 12 months before the

petition was filed, the court, upon motion by the petitioner, may

waive the full investigation required by this section. The

foster family study, with information added as necessary to

update or supplement the original study, may be substituted for

the written report required under subsection (2).

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