Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1390 By Senator Rodriguez 39-00962A-22 20221390__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to release of adoption information; 3 amending s. 63.162, F.S.; revising requirements 4 related to the disclosure of certain adoption-related 5 records without a court order; deleting the ability 6 for certain adoption-related records to be disclosed 7 without a court order; deleting a required fee for 8 certain services and expenses; amending s. 382.015, 9 F.S.; authorizing a court to break the seal of 10 specified birth records upon the request of the person 11 whose birth is the subject of such records under 12 certain circumstances; amending s. 63.085, F.S.; 13 conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective 14 date. 15 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17 18 Section 1.Subsections (4) through (7) of section 63.162, 19 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 20 63.162Hearings and records in adoption proceedings; 21 confidential nature. 22 (4)(a)A person may disclose the following from the records 23 without a court order: 24 1.The name and identity of the birth parent, if the birth 25 parent authorizes in writing the release of his or her name and 26 the adoptee is 18 years of age or older. If the adoptee is 27 younger than 18 years of age, the adoptive parent must also 28 provide written consent to disclose the birth parents name; 29 2.The name and identity of the adoptee, if the adoptee is 30 18 years of age or older and authorizes in writing the release 31 of his or her name; or, if the adoptee is younger than 18 years 32 of age, written consent to disclose the adoptees name is 33 obtained from an adoptive parent; or 34 3.The name and identity of the adoptive parent, if the 35 adoptive parent authorizes in writing the release of his or her 36 name. 37 (b)A person may disclose from the records without a court 38 order the name and identity of a birth parent, an adoptive 39 parent, or an adoptee under s. 382.015(4) upon order of the 40 court for good cause shown. In determining whether good cause 41 exists, the court shall give primary consideration to the best 42 interests of the adoptee, but must also give due consideration 43 to the interests of the adoptive and birth parents. Factors to 44 be considered in determining whether good cause exists include, 45 but are not limited to: 46 1.The reason the information is sought; 47 2.The existence of means available to obtain the desired 48 information without disclosing the identity of the birth 49 parents, such as by having the court, a person appointed by the 50 court, the department, or the licensed child-placing agency 51 contact the birth parents and request specific information; 52 3.The desires, to the extent known, of the adoptee, the 53 adoptive parents, and the birth parents; 54 4.The age, maturity, judgment, and expressed needs of the 55 adoptee; and 56 5.The recommendation of the department, licensed child 57 placing agency, or professional that prepared the preliminary 58 study and home investigation, or the department if no such study 59 was prepared, concerning the advisability of disclosure. 60 (5)The adoptee or other person seeking information under 61 this subsection shall pay the department or agency making 62 reports or recommendations as required hereunder a reasonable 63 fee for its services and expenses. 64 (6)Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), 65 identifying information regarding the birth parents, adoptive 66 parents, and adoptee may not be disclosed unless a birth parent, 67 adoptive parent, or adoptee has authorized in writing the 68 release of such information concerning himself or herself. 69 Specific names or identifying information must not be given in a 70 family medical history. All nonidentifying information, 71 including the family medical history and social history of the 72 adoptee and the birth parents, when available, must be furnished 73 to the adoptive parents before the adoption becomes final and to 74 the adoptee, upon the adoptees request, after he or she reaches 75 majority. Upon the request of the adoptive parents, all 76 nonidentifying information obtained before or after the adoption 77 has become final must be furnished to the adoptive parents. 78 (7)The court may, upon petition of an adult adoptee or 79 birth parent, for good cause shown, appoint an intermediary or a 80 licensed child-placing agency to contact a birth parent or adult 81 adoptee, as applicable, who has not registered with the adoption 82 registry pursuant to s. 63.165 and advise both of the 83 availability of the intermediary or agency and that the birth 84 parent or adult adoptee, as applicable, wishes to establish 85 contact. 86 Section 2.Subsection (4) of section 382.015, Florida 87 Statutes, is amended to read: 88 382.015New certificates of live birth; duty of clerks of 89 court and department.The clerk of the court in which any 90 proceeding for adoption, annulment of an adoption, affirmation 91 of parental status, or determination of paternity is to be 92 registered, shall within 30 days after the final disposition, 93 forward to the department a certified copy of the court order, 94 or a report of the proceedings upon a form to be furnished by 95 the department, together with sufficient information to identify 96 the original birth certificate and to enable the preparation of 97 a new birth certificate. The clerk of the court shall implement 98 a monitoring and quality control plan to ensure that all 99 judicial determinations of paternity are reported to the 100 department in compliance with this section. The department shall 101 track paternity determinations reported monthly by county, 102 monitor compliance with the 30-day timeframe, and report the 103 data to the clerks of the court quarterly. 104 (4)SUBSTITUTION OF NEW CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH FOR ORIGINAL. 105 (a)When a new certificate of birth is prepared, the 106 department shall substitute the new certificate of birth for the 107 original certificate on file. All copies of the original 108 certificate of live birth in the custody of a local registrar or 109 other state custodian of vital records must shall be forwarded 110 to the State Registrar. Thereafter, when a certified copy of the 111 certificate of birth or portion thereof is issued, it must shall 112 be a copy of the new certificate of birth or portion thereof, 113 except when a court order requires issuance of a certified copy 114 of the original certificate of birth. 115 (b)In an adoption, change in paternity, affirmation of 116 parental status, undetermined parentage, or court-ordered 117 substitution, the department shall place the original 118 certificate of birth and all papers pertaining thereto under 119 seal, not to be broken except by order of a court of competent 120 jurisdiction or at the request of the person whose birth is the 121 subject of the certificate of birth, provided that such person 122 is 18 years of age or older, or as otherwise provided by law. 123 However, before the seal may be broken and the record opened 124 without a court order, the requesting person must first identify 125 himself or herself to the satisfaction of the State Registrar. 126 Section 3.Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 127 63.085, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 128 63.085Disclosure by adoption entity. 129 (2)DISCLOSURE TO ADOPTIVE PARENTS. 130 (a)At the time that an adoption entity is responsible for 131 selecting prospective adoptive parents for a born or unborn 132 child whose parents are seeking to place the child for adoption 133 or whose rights were terminated pursuant to chapter 39, the 134 adoption entity must provide the prospective adoptive parents 135 with information concerning the background of the child to the 136 extent such information is disclosed to the adoption entity by 137 the parents, legal custodian, or the department. This subsection 138 applies only if the adoption entity identifies the prospective 139 adoptive parents and supervises the placement of the child in 140 the prospective adoptive parents home. If any information 141 cannot be disclosed because the records custodian failed or 142 refused to produce the background information, the adoption 143 entity has a duty to provide the information if it becomes 144 available. An individual or entity contacted by an adoption 145 entity to obtain the background information must release the 146 requested information to the adoption entity without the 147 necessity of a subpoena or a court order. In all cases, the 148 prospective adoptive parents must receive all available 149 information by the date of the final hearing on the petition for 150 adoption. The information to be disclosed includes: 151 1.A family social and medical history form completed under 152 s. 63.162(4) pursuant to s. 63.162(6). 153 2.The biological mothers medical records documenting her 154 prenatal care and the birth and delivery of the child. 155 3.A complete set of the childs medical records 156 documenting all medical treatment and care since the childs 157 birth and before placement. 158 4.All mental health, psychological, and psychiatric 159 records, reports, and evaluations concerning the child before 160 placement. 161 5.The childs educational records, including all records 162 concerning any special education needs of the child before 163 placement. 164 6.Records documenting all incidents that required the 165 department to provide services to the child, including all 166 orders of adjudication of dependency or termination of parental 167 rights issued pursuant to chapter 39, any case plans drafted to 168 address the childs needs, all protective services 169 investigations identifying the child as a victim, and all 170 guardian ad litem reports filed with the court concerning the 171 child. 172 7.Written information concerning the availability of 173 adoption subsidies for the child, if applicable. 174 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.