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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1009
January Session, 2023
AN ACT CONCERNING IDENTIFIED ADOPTIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 45a-728 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 2
The Commissioner of Children and Families shall adopt regulations 3
in accordance with chapter 54 concerning [adoption] adoptive 4
placement of children [who have been identified or located] by child-5
placing agencies, whether such children have been identified or located 6
by prospective adoptive parents or placed for adoption by such 7
agencies. Such regulations shall provide that for adoptions involving an 8
identified [expectant mother] pregnant person, counseling of [the birth 9
mother] such person shall be required [within] not later than seventy-10
two hours [of] after the birth of the child, or as soon as medically 11
possible after [the] such birth. [, and that permissible payment of 12
expenses for birth parent counseling shall include the cost of 13
transportation.] Such counseling may be provided by a person with a 14
master's or doctoral degree in counseling, psychology, social work or 15
related mental health disciplines from an accredited college or 16
university. 17
Sec. 2. Section 45a-728a of the general statutes is repealed and the 18 Substitute Bill No. 1009
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following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 19
Prospective adoptive parents may participate in the labor and birth 20
of the child identified for adoption and may visit with such newborn 21
child, provided the [birth mother] pregnant person, the child-placing 22
agency and [her] the pregnant person's physician agree and such 23
participation and visitation are consistent with the medically necessary 24
procedures of the hospital. 25
Sec. 3. Section 45a-728b of the general statutes is repealed and the 26
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 27
Any licensed hospital discharging a newborn infant identified for 28
adoption to a child-placing agency shall arrange for the physical transfer 29
of custody of such infant to take place in a safe, secure and private room 30
on the hospital premises. The prospective adoptive parent or parents 31
may be present at the discharge with the approval of the child-placing 32
agency. At the time of discharge, the hospital shall provide such 33
prospective adoptive parent or parents or child-placing agency with any 34
nonidentifying information customarily provided to [birth] any alleged 35
genetic parents upon discharge concerning the care, feeding and health 36
of the infant. The hospital shall provide the child-placing agency with 37
the medical information concerning the [birth mother] person who gave 38
birth and the infant within a reasonable time. Such prospective adoptive 39
parent or parents shall be permitted to participate in any program of 40
instruction regarding infant care and child development that is made 41
available by such licensed hospital to [birth] any alleged genetic parents, 42
provided such prospective adoptive parent or parents pay the cost of 43
such participation in such program. 44
Sec. 4. Section 45a-728c of the general statutes is repealed and the 45
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 46
(a) With respect to [adoption] adoptive placement of [children who 47
have been] a child identified or located by a prospective adoptive parent 48
or parents, payment [for the living expenses of the birth mother by the 49 Substitute Bill No. 1009
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prospective adoptive parents shall be permitted in an amount not to 50
exceed one thousand five hundred dollars or such amount as may be 51
approved in unusual circumstances by the probate court for the district 52
where the child-placing agency is located or where the prospective 53
adoptive parents reside. In addition to the payment of living expenses, 54
payment by the prospective adoptive parents of reasonable telephone 55
and maternity clothing expenses of the birth mother shall be permitted.] 56
or reimbursement by such adoptive parent or parents to the person 57
giving birth for reasonable expenses, fees and services relating to the 58
pregnancy or adoption, including, but not limited to, living, medical or 59
legal expenses, as determined by the child-placing agency, shall be 60
permitted. Any such payments or reimbursements shall be made not 61
earlier than one hundred eighty days prior to the expected date of birth 62
of such child and not later than sixty days after the birth of such child. 63
Any such payments or reimbursements are subject to approval by the 64
Probate Court in which an application and agreement for adoption 65
pursuant to section 45a-727 has been or will be filed. 66
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, payments or 67
reimbursements provided by a prospective adoptive parent or parents 68
in accordance with subsection (a) of this section shall not obligate any 69
alleged genetic parent or parents to place such child for adoption. If such 70
alleged genetic parent or parents do not place such child for adoption 71
after such child's birth, the prospective adoptive parent or parents who 72
provided such payments or reimbursements shall have no right to 73
reimbursement for such payments or reimbursements. 74
(c) A prospective adoptive parent or parents may seek 75
reimbursement for payments or reimbursements provided in 76
accordance with subsection (a) of this section if (1) the person who 77
received such payments or reimbursements was knowingly n ot 78
pregnant at the time of the receipt of such payments or reimbursements, 79
or (2) such person received payments or reimbursements 80
simultaneously from a separate prospective adoptive parent or parents 81
without the knowledge of such other prospective adoptive parent or 82 Substitute Bill No. 1009
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parents. 83
(d) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, prior to the 84
provision of payment or reimbursement in accordance with subsection 85
(a) of this section, the prospective adoptive parent or parents providing 86
such payment or reimbursement shall file with the Probate Court in 87
which an application and agreement for adoption pursuant to section 88
45a-727 has been or will be filed, a sworn affidavit containing a list of all 89
expenses, fees and services that such parent or parents intend to pay or 90
for which such parent or parents intend to reimburse. The Probate Court 91
shall, ex parte and without prior notice, approve reasonable payments 92
and reimbursements for such expenses, fees and services. If the Probate 93
Court determines that a payment or reimbursement is unreasonable, the 94
Probate Court shall schedule a hearing on such affidavit to occur not 95
later than thirty days after such affidavit is filed. Not later than thirty 96
days after such hearing, the court shall issue an order approving or 97
disapproving each payment or reimbursement based on specific 98
findings of fact. 99
(e) A prospective adoptive parent or parents may make payments or 100
reimbursements, in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, of not 101
more than two thousand dollars total, without filing a sworn affidavit 102
in accordance with subsection (d) of this section, provided the child-103
placing agency determines (1) there is a demonstrated need for such 104
payments or reimbursements to protect the health or well-being of the 105
pregnant person or child, and (2) such payments or reimbursements are 106
reasonable. 107
Sec. 5. Section 45a-728d of the general statutes is repealed and the 108
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 109
Any [birth] alleged genetic parent, or such parent's legal 110
representative, may advertise through any public media [in this state] 111
for the placement of [his or her] such parent's child for the purposes of 112
identified adoption or adoption through a child-placing agency. Any 113
prospective adoptive parent, or such prospective adoptive parent's legal 114 Substitute Bill No. 1009
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representative, may advertise through any public media [in this state] 115
for placement of a child into his or her care for the purposes of identified 116
adoption or adoption through a child-placing agency. 117
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 45a-763 of the general statutes is 118
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 119
2023): 120
(a) An Adoption Review Board is established, to consist of the 121
Commissioner of Children and Families or [his] the commissioner's 122
designee, the Probate Court Administrator or [his] the administrator's 123
designee, and [an officer] a representative of a child-placing agency 124
which is located in the state and licensed by the Commissioner of 125
Children and Families, who shall be appointed by the Governor to serve 126
for a term of four years from the date of [his] such appointment. 127
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 45a-728
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 45a-728a
Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 45a-728b
Sec. 4 July 1, 2023 45a-728c
Sec. 5 July 1, 2023 45a-728d
Sec. 6 July 1, 2023 45a-763(a)
KID Joint Favorable Subst.
JUD Joint Favorable