Florida Senate - 2023 SB 854 By Senator Stewart 17-00719-23 2023854__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to release of adoption information; 3 amending s. 63.162, F.S.; revising the information 4 that may be disclosed from hearings and records in 5 adoption proceedings without a court order; removing a 6 required fee for certain services and expenses; 7 revising a requirement regarding the release of 8 identifying information of birth parents, adoptive 9 parents, and adoptees; removing a requirement to 10 appoint certain entities upon petition of an adult 11 adoptee or birth parent in certain circumstances; 12 amending s. 382.015, F.S.; authorizing the Department 13 of Health to break the seal of specified birth records 14 upon the request of certain persons under certain 15 conditions; amending s. 63.085, F.S.; conforming 16 provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 17 effective date. 18 19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20 21 Section 1.Subsections (4) through (7) of section 63.162, 22 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 23 63.162Hearings and records in adoption proceedings; 24 confidential nature. 25 (4)(a)A person may disclose the following from the records 26 without a court order: 27 1.The name and identity of the birth parent, if the birth 28 parent authorizes in writing the release of his or her name and 29 the adoptee is 18 years of age or older. If the adoptee is 30 younger than 18 years of age, the adoptive parent must also 31 provide written consent to disclose the birth parents name; 32 2.The name and identity of the adoptee, if the adoptee is 33 18 years of age or older and authorizes in writing the release 34 of his or her name; or, if the adoptee is younger than 18 years 35 of age, written consent to disclose the adoptees name is 36 obtained from an adoptive parent; or 37 3.The name and identity of the adoptive parent, if the 38 adoptive parent authorizes in writing the release of his or her 39 name. 40 (b)A person may disclose from the records without a court 41 order the name and identity of a birth parent, an adoptive 42 parent, or an adoptee under s. 382.015(4) upon order of the 43 court for good cause shown. In determining whether good cause 44 exists, the court shall give primary consideration to the best 45 interests of the adoptee, but must also give due consideration 46 to the interests of the adoptive and birth parents. Factors to 47 be considered in determining whether good cause exists include, 48 but are not limited to: 49 1.The reason the information is sought; 50 2.The existence of means available to obtain the desired 51 information without disclosing the identity of the birth 52 parents, such as by having the court, a person appointed by the 53 court, the department, or the licensed child-placing agency 54 contact the birth parents and request specific information; 55 3.The desires, to the extent known, of the adoptee, the 56 adoptive parents, and the birth parents; 57 4.The age, maturity, judgment, and expressed needs of the 58 adoptee; and 59 5.The recommendation of the department, licensed child 60 placing agency, or professional that prepared the preliminary 61 study and home investigation, or the department if no such study 62 was prepared, concerning the advisability of disclosure. 63 (5)The adoptee or other person seeking information under 64 this subsection shall pay the department or agency making 65 reports or recommendations as required hereunder a reasonable 66 fee for its services and expenses. 67 (6)Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), 68 identifying information regarding the birth parents, adoptive 69 parents, and adoptee may not be disclosed unless a birth parent, 70 adoptive parent, or adoptee has authorized in writing the 71 release of such information concerning himself or herself. 72 Specific names or identifying information must not be given in a 73 family medical history. All nonidentifying information, 74 including the family medical history and social history of the 75 adoptee and the birth parents, when available, must be furnished 76 to the adoptive parents before the adoption becomes final and to 77 the adoptee, upon the adoptees request, after he or she reaches 78 majority. Upon the request of the adoptive parents, all 79 nonidentifying information obtained before or after the adoption 80 has become final must be furnished to the adoptive parents. 81 (7)The court may, upon petition of an adult adoptee or 82 birth parent, for good cause shown, appoint an intermediary or a 83 licensed child-placing agency to contact a birth parent or adult 84 adoptee, as applicable, who has not registered with the adoption 85 registry pursuant to s. 63.165 and advise both of the 86 availability of the intermediary or agency and that the birth 87 parent or adult adoptee, as applicable, wishes to establish 88 contact. 89 Section 2.Subsection (4) of section 382.015, Florida 90 Statutes, is amended to read: 91 382.015New certificates of live birth; duty of clerks of 92 court and department.The clerk of the court in which any 93 proceeding for adoption, annulment of an adoption, affirmation 94 of parental status, or determination of paternity is to be 95 registered, shall within 30 days after the final disposition, 96 forward to the department a certified copy of the court order, 97 or a report of the proceedings upon a form to be furnished by 98 the department, together with sufficient information to identify 99 the original birth certificate and to enable the preparation of 100 a new birth certificate. The clerk of the court shall implement 101 a monitoring and quality control plan to ensure that all 102 judicial determinations of paternity are reported to the 103 department in compliance with this section. The department shall 104 track paternity determinations reported monthly by county, 105 monitor compliance with the 30-day timeframe, and report the 106 data to the clerks of the court quarterly. 107 (4)SUBSTITUTION OF NEW CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH FOR ORIGINAL. 108 (a)When a new certificate of birth is prepared, the 109 department shall substitute the new certificate of birth for the 110 original certificate on file. All copies of the original 111 certificate of live birth in the custody of a local registrar or 112 other state custodian of vital records must shall be forwarded 113 to the State Registrar. Thereafter, when a certified copy of the 114 certificate of birth or portion thereof is issued, it shall be a 115 copy of the new certificate of birth or portion thereof, except 116 when a court order requires issuance of a certified copy of the 117 original certificate of birth. 118 (b)In an adoption, change in paternity, affirmation of 119 parental status, undetermined parentage, or court-ordered 120 substitution, the department shall place the original 121 certificate of birth and all papers pertaining thereto under 122 seal, which may not to be broken except by order of a court of 123 competent jurisdiction or at the request of the person whose 124 birth is the subject of the certificate of birth, provided that 125 such person is 18 years of age or older, or as otherwise 126 provided by law. However, before the seal may be broken and the 127 record opened without a court order, the requesting person must 128 first identify himself or herself to the satisfaction of the 129 State Registrar. 130 Section 3.Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 131 63.085, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 132 63.085Disclosure by adoption entity. 133 (2)DISCLOSURE TO ADOPTIVE PARENTS. 134 (a)At the time that an adoption entity is responsible for 135 selecting prospective adoptive parents for a born or unborn 136 child whose parents are seeking to place the child for adoption 137 or whose rights were terminated pursuant to chapter 39, the 138 adoption entity must provide the prospective adoptive parents 139 with information concerning the background of the child to the 140 extent such information is disclosed to the adoption entity by 141 the parents, legal custodian, or the department. This subsection 142 applies only if the adoption entity identifies the prospective 143 adoptive parents and supervises the placement of the child in 144 the prospective adoptive parents home. If any information 145 cannot be disclosed because the records custodian failed or 146 refused to produce the background information, the adoption 147 entity has a duty to provide the information if it becomes 148 available. An individual or entity contacted by an adoption 149 entity to obtain the background information must release the 150 requested information to the adoption entity without the 151 necessity of a subpoena or a court order. In all cases, the 152 prospective adoptive parents must receive all available 153 information by the date of the final hearing on the petition for 154 adoption. The information to be disclosed includes: 155 1.A family social and medical history form completed 156 pursuant to s. 63.162(6). 157 2.The biological mothers medical records documenting her 158 prenatal care and the birth and delivery of the child. 159 3.A complete set of the childs medical records 160 documenting all medical treatment and care since the childs 161 birth and before placement. 162 4.All mental health, psychological, and psychiatric 163 records, reports, and evaluations concerning the child before 164 placement. 165 5.The childs educational records, including all records 166 concerning any special education needs of the child before 167 placement. 168 6.Records documenting all incidents that required the 169 department to provide services to the child, including all 170 orders of adjudication of dependency or termination of parental 171 rights issued pursuant to chapter 39, any case plans drafted to 172 address the childs needs, all protective services 173 investigations identifying the child as a victim, and all 174 guardian ad litem reports filed with the court concerning the 175 child. 176 7.Written information concerning the availability of 177 adoption subsidies for the child, if applicable. 178 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.