2007 Minnesota Statutes

259.29 MS 1992 [Renumbered 259.59]
259.29 PROTECTION OF BEST INTERESTS IN ADOPTIVE PLACEMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Best interests of the child. (a) The policy of the state of Minnesota is to
ensure that the best interests of the child are met by requiring individualized determination of the
needs of the child and of how the adoptive placement will serve the needs of the child.
    (b) Among the factors the agency shall consider in determining the needs of the child are
those specified under section 260C.193, subdivision 3, paragraph (b).
    (c) Except for emergency placements provided for in section 245A.035, a completed
background study is required under section 245C.33 before the approval of an adoptive placement
in a home.
    Subd. 2. Placement with relative or friend. The authorized child-placing agency shall
consider placement, consistent with the child's best interests and in the following order, with (1) a
relative or relatives of the child, or (2) an important friend with whom the child has resided or
had significant contact. In implementing this section, an authorized child-placing agency may
disclose private or confidential data, as defined in section 13.02, to relatives of the child for
the purpose of locating a suitable adoptive home. The agency shall disclose only data that is
necessary to facilitate implementing the preference.
If the child's birth parent or parents explicitly request that placement with relatives or
important friends not be considered, the authorized child-placing agency shall honor that request
consistent with the best interests of the child.
If the child's birth parent or parents express a preference for placing the child in an adoptive
home of the same or a similar religious background to that of the birth parent or parents, the
agency shall place the child with a family that meets the birth parent's religious preference.
This subdivision does not affect the Indian Child Welfare Act, United States Code, title 25,
sections 1901 to 1923, and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, sections 260.751
to 260.835.
History: 1983 c 278 s 7; 1992 c 557 s 4; 1993 c 291 s 10; 1994 c 598 s 5; 1994 c 631 s 31;
1996 c 416 s 10; 1997 c 86 s 9; 1999 c 139 art 4 s 2; 2007 c 147 art 3 s 25