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Following is a compilation of recommended changes to the Delaware Code from an adoptee, a birth mother and an adoptive father
who looked at the laws of other states and a few Canadian provinces for ideas as to how
they dealt with the concerns of the adoption community:
 | An adult who was adopted must be permitted to obtain a copy of his or her original birth
certificate at 18 years of age if s/he was born in Delaware or if s/he was foreign-born,
but adopted by individuals who were residents of Delaware at the time of the adoption.
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| Included with the birth certificate filed in Vital Statistics must be a standard form
giving:
 | the ages of birthparents on the day the child was born, |
| their ethnic heritage, |
| their medical history and that of their blood relatives, |
| their education, |
| their physical description, |
| their religion, |
| and any other information provided by the birthparents, which may include a letter or a
small gift, as well as a statement as to the existence of any other children either of
them may have at the time of the adoption and whether or not both parents were alive at
the time of the adoption. This information, or an explanation of its unavailability, must
be presented to the adult who was adopted along with his/her birth certificate.
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| A child ten years of age or older must give a written consent to his or her adoption and
must be permitted to withdraw consent to be adopted within 60 days of giving his/her
consent.
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| The court must be able to take testimony from or confer with the child to be adopted and
must be able to exclude the prospective adoptive parents or guardians from the conference.
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| The department or agency must contact birthparents at the request of an adult who was
adopted for any reason.
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| All relinquishments and related documents must be in the language of the birthparent.
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| Birthparents must receive a copy of the child’s original birth certificate, the
birthparent relinquishment forms, and all other related documents.
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| Birthparents must receive a written statement of the procedures and deadlines for:
| withdrawing consent to the relinquishment |
| updating genetic, medical and social information and records |
| entering into an agreement for continuing contact with the child and/or the adoptive
family |
| mediation and/or court action if agreements for continuing
contact are not being honored
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| Preference must be given to prospective adoptive parents whose profile matches the
wishes of birthparents regarding the racial and ethnic environment in which they wish the
child to be placed.
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| If the petition to adopt is dismissed for any reason, or if the adoption fails at any
time while the child is still a minor, the birthparents must be informed and the child may
be returned to them; after a one year agency or department supervision period with a
favorable recommendation the birthparent relinquishment is to be declared null and void.
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| The files and records of an adoption must be open to a birthparent when the adopted
person becomes an adult.
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| The term “birth parent” must be used uniformly throughout the bill rather than
“natural parent,” “biologic parent,” or any other term.
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| The files and records of an adoption must be open to an adoptive parent at any time.
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| A petition to adopt must be heard by the Court within 60 days from the date on which it
is filed.
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| Any couple must be permitted to be considered as prospective adoptive parents.
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| A blood relative of a child must be permitted to bring the child into the state for
adoption by him/herself without departmental or agency approval.
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| The department or agency must state in writing its reasons for refusing to place a child
or for terminating any placement and must provide prospective adoptive parents the
opportunity to respond in writing to this statement.
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| The period of supervision must be uniform for all prospective adoptive parents, without
exception, and must be set at one year.
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| Petitioners must sign all information and exhibits contained in the petition to adopt.
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| A birth certificate need not be amended; adopting parents must request an amended
certificate in writing.
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| Agencies must not be required to provide search and reunion services.
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| If an agency receives a genetic or medical information update concerning an adoptee or a
birthparent, including information about the death of an adoptee or a birthparent, the
agency must search for the adoptee, the birthparent, or the adoptive parents of a minor to
inform them of the contents of that report, and must file a copy of the report with the
adoptee’s birth records in vital statistics.
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| Agencies must not be immune from civil or criminal liability in their actions pertaining
to an adoption either past or present.
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| Confidentiality stipulations shall not pertain to adoptive parents, birthparents of an
adult, or an adult who was adopted; these individuals must be defined as parties of
interest to the adoption.
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| The definition of identifying information must be simplified to read “any data that
can distinguish a party to the adoption from the general public”; a first names, a
birthday, and city of birth must not be considered identifying information.
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| The petition to adopt must include:
| the ages of prospective adoptive parents |
| the place and duration of residence of prospective adoptive parents |
| the place of birth of the person being adopted |
| a certified copy of the adoptee’s original birth certificate |
| a description and estimate of value of any property of the person to be adopted |
| a certified copy of the consent or court order terminating parental rights
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| The decree of adoption may include the names of either or both birth parents.
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| The stated general effect of adoption must be to confer legal rights and privileges
only.
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| The right of any person to provide for the disposition of his or her property by will
must not be limited by the fact of an adoption.
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| Relinquishments must be considered final only on the date that the decree of adoption is
entered.
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| Prior to the finalization of the adoption, birthparents and adoptive parents must
receive a written statement of the procedures for entering into an agreement for
continuing contact with the child and of the procedures to follow if this agreement is not
honored.
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| Any information provided by birthparents or adoptive parents may be provided to the
other party in the preplacement planning of adoption; this background information must not
limited to photographs only.
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| Nothing shall be considered as preventing adoptive and birthparents from entering into a
written agreement for continuing contact between the birth relatives and adoptive
relatives.
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| Any written contact agreement made prior to the adoption must be enforceable, and must
be modified only through court mediation and/or civil action.
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| Penalties for intentionally destroying or amending information or providing false
information must be increased to be the same as the penalties for destroying, amending, or
providing false information on any other vital or legal record; these penalties must be
applied for each instance in which such destruction, amendment, or falsification has
occurred. |
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