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SUBCHAPTER 70H - CHILD-PLACING AGENCIES: ADOPTION

SECTION .0100 - APPLICABILITY

10A NCAC 70H .0101 APPLICABILITY
Rules in 10A NCAC 70H shall apply to all persons intending to organize, develop, or provide adoption services as defined in 10A NCAC 70P.

History Note: Authority G.S. 131D-10.3; 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0001 Eff. December 6, 1996.


10A NCAC 70H .0102 ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION
(a) Persons licensed or seeking license to provide adoption services shall comply with administrative and organizational requirements of 10A NCAC 70F, Chapter 48 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, and G.S. 110-57.1 et seq.
(b) The caseload of social workers providing adoption services shall be limited to allow for the required contacts with biological parents and families, children, adoptive families and collateral parties. A case is defined as any of the following:
(1) an expectant parent or parents receiving problem pregnancy services from the agency prior to the child's birth and relinquishment for adoption;
(2) biological parents receiving services from the agency following relinquishment of the child to the agency for adoption;
(3) a child or sibling group to be placed together referred to the agency for adoptive placement from another licensed or authorized child-placing agency and for whom an adoption home is being sought and considered;
(4) a child, or siblings, together with biological parents for as long as the legal parent and child relationship exists;
(5) a child, or siblings for whom the goals for adoption are the same, following relinquishment for adoption;
(6) a single person or married couple applying for or licensed to provide foster care for children released for adoption to the agency;
(7) a single person or married couple applying for or approved for adoptive placement of a child or children;
(8) a child or sibling group and adoptive parents after placement occurs; and
(9) biological parents, or adoptive parents and adopted child, or adult adoptee following entry of the decree of adoption.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-3-204; 131D-10.3; 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Amended Eff. June 1, 1990;
Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0002 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997; January 1, 1997.

10A NCAC 70H .0103 INTAKE PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES
Persons licensed or seeking license to provide adoption services shall comply with intake procedures and practices as defined and set forth in 10A NCAC 70G in working with biological parents, children, and adoptive applicants.

History Note: Authority G.S. 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0003 Eff. December 6, 1996.

10A NCAC 70H .0104 CASE PLAN
Persons licensed or seeking license to provide adoption services shall comply with case plan regulations set forth in 10A NCAC 70G.

History Note: Authority G.S. 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0004 Eff. December 6, 1996.

10A NCAC 70H .0105 PLACEMENT SERVICES TO FAMILIES AND CHILDREN
(a) Persons licensed or seeking license to provide adoption services shall comply with regulations set forth in 10A NCAC 70G .0202 - .0205.
(b) Additionally, those persons providing as part of their adoption services program problem pregnancy services shall:
(1) respect the client's prerogative for choice of alternatives to the problem pregnancy;
(2) assure the clients of confidential handling of and restricted access to the case record;
(3) offer alternate plans of care for the child and give supportive services or make appropriate referrals to other resources, should the client elect to keep the child in the family instead of releasing the child for adoption; and
(4) assist the client in obtaining maternity home care during her pregnancy, if desired and appropriate.
(c) The agency shall help those parents reaching the decision to relinquish their children to the agency for adoptive placement to have a thorough understanding of the meaning of adoption and its potential impact on the child's and their lives. The agency may notify the parent when a placement has occurred and when an adoption decree is issued.
(d) At the point a parent executes the relinquishment for adoption, the agency shall ascertain that the parent has a thorough understanding of the effects of this action and of the time period allowed for revocation of the relinquishment for adoption. When the agency has received the parent's relinquishment for adoption, the executive director or administrator shall indicate acceptance of the relinquishment document by signing the appropriate form for this purpose. A copy of the relinquishment for adoption and of the agency's acceptance shall be given to the parent. The Director or Administrator shall designate the agency's supervisor of adoptions or the adoptions social worker handling the case to accept the relinquishment for adoption in the event the Director or Administrator will not be available to perform this task in person. An agency shall acquire legal and physical custody of a minor for purposes of adoptive placement only by means of a relinquishment pursuant to G.S. 48, Part 7 of Article 1, or by terminating the rights and duties of a parent or guardian of the minor.
(e) In addition to providing services to the child in compliance with 10A NCAC 70G, agencies providing adoption services shall involve a child in the selection of an adoptive home and in preparation for adoptive placement, as is appropriate to the age of the child.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-3-204; 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Amended Eff. June 1, 1990;
Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0005 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997; January 1, 1997.

10A NCAC 70H .0106 ADOPTIVE HOME RECRUITMENT
The agency shall have a written plan for on-going recruitment of adoptive homes for the children it places or plans to place for adoption. The plan shall adhere to the provisions of the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 as amended by the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 and shall be submitted to the Division to ensure compliance with the Act. If the plan is found to be out of compliance, it will be returned to the agency for corrections. A copy of the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 as amended may be obtained from the U. S. Department of Heath and Human Services, Children's Bureau, 300 C Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20447.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-3-204; 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Amended Eff. March 1, 1992;
Filed as a Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0006 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Amended Eff. July 17, 2000; April 1, 1997.

10A NCAC 70H .0107 ADOPTIVE HOME APPLICATION
The agency shall provide an application form for prospective adoptive parents and shall determine in response to the completed application whether, within the scope of the agency's program, it is appropriate to conduct an adoptive study with the applicants. While the age of applicants is among the factors that should be considered in determining whether the agency should conduct an adoptive study with the applicants, there shall be no fixed chronological age at which applicants should be automatically rejected for study.

History Note: Authority G.S. 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Amended Eff. March 1, 1992; June 1, 1990;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0007 Eff. December 6, 1996.

10A NCAC 70H .0108 PREPLACEMENT ASSESSMENT
(a) The agency shall conduct a preplacement assessment within 90 days after the request has been accepted. The assessment process must include at least one personal interview, and separate face-to-face interviews with each member of the household above six years of age. The assessment process must be a joint effort of the adoption agency and the applicants to determine the kind of child the applicants can best parent. Any assessment that was completed one year or more before placement of a child occurs must be updated to include current information about the family. Physical examinations of family members must be current to within 12 months of the assessment.
(b) The agency shall assess the following areas and shall record the information in the adoptive applicants' record:
(1) the applicants' reasons for wanting to adopt;
(2) the strengths and needs of each member of the household;
(3) the attitudes and feelings of the family, extended family, and significant others involved with the family toward accepting adoptive children, and parenting children not born to them;
(4) the attitudes of the applicants toward the biological parents and in regard to the reasons the child is in need of adoption;
(5) the applicants' attitudes toward child behavior and discipline;
(6) the applicants' plan for discussing adoption with the child;
(7) the emotional stability and maturity of applicants;
(8) the applicants' ability to cope with problems, stress, frustrations, crises, and loss;
(9) the applicants' ability to give and receive affection;
(10) the applicants' child-caring skills and willingness to acquire additional skills needed for the child's development;
(11) the applicants' ability to provide for the child's physical and emotional needs;
(12) whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation;
(13) the strengths and needs of birth children or previously adopted children,
(14) the applicant's physical and mental health, including any addiction to alcohol or drugs;
(15) current financial information provided by the applicant, including property and income;
(16) the applicants' personal character references;
(17) the applicant's religious orientation, if any;
(18) the location and physical environment of the home;
(19) the plan for child care if parents work;
(20) recommendations for adoption in regard to the number, age, sex, characteristics, and special needs of children who could be best served by the family;
(21) any previous request for an assessment or involvement in an adoptive placement and the outcome of the assessment or placement;
(22) whether the individual has ever been a respondent in a domestic violence proceeding or a proceeding concerning a minor who was allegedly abused, neglected, abandoned, or delinquent, and the outcome of the proceeding;
(23) whether the applicant has located a parent interested in placing a child for adoption with the applicant, and a brief, non identifying description of the parent and the child;
(24) the applicants' age, date of birth, nationality, race or ethnicity, and any religious preference;
(25) the applicant's marital and family status and history, including the presence of any children born to or adopted by the applicant, and any other children in the household;
(26) the applicant's educational and employment history and any special skills; and
(27) any additional fact or circumstance that may be relevant to a determination of the applicant's suitability to be an adoptive parent, including the quality of the home environment and the level of functioning of any children in the household.
When any of the information listed in this Paragraph is not reasonably available, the preplacement assessment shall state why the information is unavailable.
(c) The assessment must be prepared and typed for review by the agency's adoption review committee, and it must become part of the applicants' permanent record.
(d) Once the agency has made a decision regarding the suitability of the applicant as an adoptive placement, the preplacement assessment shall include specific documentation of the factors which support that determination. If the agency determines that the applicant is not suitable to be an adoptive parent, the assessment shall include specific documentation of the factors which support that determination.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-2-502; 48-3-303; 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Amended Eff. August 1, 1993; March 1, 1992; June 1, 1990;
Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1996;
Amended Eff. November 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0008 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997.

10A NCAC 70H .0109 NOTIFICATION REGARDING PREPLACEMENT ASSESSMENT
(a) The agency shall notify applicants in writing within 30 days of completion of the preplacement assessment of the acceptance or denial or their application.
(b) When applicants are not accepted, the agency shall share with them the reasons a child cannot be placed in their home.
(c) If the applicant disagrees with the unfavorable preplacement assessment, the applicant may request an internal review by the agency director.
(d) The applicant, after exhausting the agency's procedures for internal review, may prepare and file a written response with the Division of Social Services and the agency. The Division shall acknowledge receipt of the response within 30 days, but shall have no authority to take any action with respect to the response. A copy of the response shall be attached to the unfavorable assessment.
(e) Following an unfavorable preplacement assessment being filed with the Division, the county Department of Social Services shall be notified by the Division and shall take appropriate action regarding any child placed in the home of the prospective adoptive parent who is the subject of the unfavorable assessment.
(f) An unfavorable preplacement assessment and any response filed with the Division under this Section shall not be public records as set forth in G.S. 132.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-3-303; 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Filed as a Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0009 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997.

10A NCAC 70H .0110 SERVICES TO ADOPTIVE APPLICANTS AND FAMILIES
(a) The agency shall provide upon request a written statement of the services it provides and of its procedure for selecting a prospective adoptive parent for a child, including the role of the child's parent or guardian in the selection process. This statement shall include a schedule of any fees or expenses charged by the agency and a summary of the provisions of G.S. 48 that pertain to the requirements and consequences of a relinquishment and to the selection of a prospective adoptive parent.
(b) The agency shall discuss the children potentially available for adoption with the adoptive applicants. The selection of a prospective adoptive parent for a minor shall be made by the agency, and based on the preplacement assessment. The selection may be based on criteria requested by a parent who relinquishes the child to the agency.
(c) Following completion of a preplacement assessment, the agency shall prepare the adoptive applicants for the placement of a particular child. Preparation must include:
(1) information about the needs and expectations of the child and of the adoptive family;
(2) information to the extent allowed by law as specified in G.S. 48-3-205 about the child's background and the health history of the child's biological parents and other relatives; and
(3) visits with the child prior to placement.
(d) The agency worker shall visit in the home of the adoptive family after the placement of a child and prior to the decree of adoption. The first visit must occur within two weeks after placement. Frequency of visits thereafter shall be determined by the child's and family's needs. Observations made during the visits shall be used in making recommendations to the court of adoptions in regard to the decree of adoption, or in regard to dismissal of the adoption petition.
(e) When applicable, the agency shall take steps necessary to assure that the adoptive placement comes into compliance with the interstate compact on the placement of children.
(f) The agency shall make post-adoption services available to the adoptive parents, the biological parents, and the adoptee after the decree of adoption has been entered.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-2-502; 48-3-203; 48-3-204; 48-3-205; 110-57.1; 131D-10-5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Filed as a Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0110 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997.

10A NCAC 70H .0111 LEGAL PROCESS
(a) The agency shall instruct the adoptive parents in procedures regarding the legal process for adoption and shall instruct them to file their adoption petition within 30 days.
(b) The agency shall prepare and file the required consents and other legal documents and reports with the court at the appropriate times once the adoption petition has been filed.
(c) During the process of preparing court reports, the petitioner, and each member of the petitioner's home shall be interviewed in the petitioner's home. In addition, at least one interview shall be conducted in the presence of the petitioner and the adoptee to observe interactions between the them. The report to the court must be in writing and contain the information required by G.S. 48-2-502(b).
(d) The agency shall give the petitioner a copy of each report filed with the court, and retain a copy, except, pursuant to G.S. 48-10-105, the agency shall not release to the petitioner a copy of any court order, judgment, decree, or pending legal proceeding containing identifying information.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-2-302; 48-2-502; 48-10-105; 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Filed as a Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0011 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997.

10A NCAC 70H .0112 RECORDS
(a) The agency shall maintain children's and biological parent's records in accordance with rules set forth in 10A NCAC 70G.
(b) The agency shall keep separate records for each adoptive applicant and family. These records must contain the following:
(1) application form;
(2) copies of marriage certificates, if applicable;
(3) documentation of marriage termination, if applicable;
(4) current medical records on all family members and psychological or psychiatric reports, if applicable;
(5) references from at least three sources;
(6) preplacement assessment conducted by the agency;
(7) copies of correspondence to, from, and in regard to the applicants;
(8) summary and dates and content of contacts prior to and following approval for adoption until the decree of adoption is entered;
(9) copies of information given to the applicant and family concerning the child or children to be placed for adoption with them;
(10) copies of all legal documents pertaining to the adoption; and
(11) summary containing the placement decision, pre-placement and post-placement contacts with the family and child.
(c) In the event the applicants were not accepted or did not have a child placed with them, the record shall contain a narrative indicating the reasons and the manner in which the decision was presented to the applicants.
(d) All individual child and adoptive family records shall be permanently retained by the agency. If necessary, the files shall be microfilmed in accordance with provisions of G.S. 8-45.1, following which the original files shall be destroyed by a shredding process.
(e) All child and adoptive applicant and family records shall be kept in securely locked quarters and information from the files shall be divulged only in compliance with provisions of G.S. 48-9-105.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-3-303; 131D-10.5; 143B-153;
Eff. February 1, 1986;
Filed as a Temporary Amendment Eff. July 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0012 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997.

10A NCAC 70H .0113 FEES
(a) County departments of social services may charge reasonable fees for the preparation of a preplacement assessment or report to the court in accordance with G.S. 48-3-304(a) and G.S. 48-2-504(a). No fee shall be charged except pursuant to a written fee agreement which must be signed by the parties to be charged prior to the beginning of the preparation. The fee agreement shall not be based on the outcome of the report or the adoption proceeding.
(b) Maximum fees for the preparation of the reports shall not exceed:
(1) One thousand five hundred dollars ($1500) for the preplacement assessment and report to the court; and
(2) Two hundred dollars ($200.00) for report to the court only.
(c) No fee shall be charged when one or more of the following circumstances exists:
(1) The head of household for the prospective adoptive family is an AFDC or SSI recipient;
(2) The family unit's income is below the State's Established Income (or 150% of the 1992 Federal Poverty Level); or
(3) The family has identified an adoptee who is in the custody and placement responsibility of the Department of Social Services, and provided that the adoptive family continues to pursue the adoption of the identified child.
(d) Fees for the above reports may be reduced or waived if it can be documented in the case record that the prospective adoptive family cannot pay the required fee. Unless reduced or waived, the entire fee shall be paid in accordance with local policy.

History Note: Authority G.S. 48-2-404; 48-3-304;
Temporary Adoption Eff. July 1, 1996;
Recodified from 10 NCAC 41P .0013 Eff. December 6, 1996;
Eff. April 1, 1997.



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