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 63.162 Hearings 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 parent’s 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 adoptee’s 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 adoptee’s 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:
91 382.015 New 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 63.085 Disclosure 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 mother’s medical records documenting her
158 prenatal care and the birth and delivery of the child.
159 3. A complete set of the child’s medical records
160 documenting all medical treatment and care since the child’s
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 child’s 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 child’s 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.