2005 Minnesota Statutes

     259.41 Adoption study. 

    Subdivision 1.    Study required before placement; certain 
 relatives excepted.  (a) An adoption study and written report 
 must be completed before the child is placed in a prospective 
 adoptive home under this chapter, except as allowed by section 
 259.47, subdivision 6.  In an agency placement, the report must 
 be filed with the court at the time the adoption petition is 
 filed.  In a direct adoptive placement, the report must be filed 
 with the court in support of a motion for temporary preadoptive 
 custody under section 259.47, subdivision 3, or, if the study 
 and report are complete, in support of an emergency order under 
 section 259.47, subdivision 6.  The study and report shall be 
 completed by a licensed child-placing agency and must be 
 thorough and comprehensive.  The study and report shall be paid 
 for by the prospective adoptive parent, except as otherwise 
 required under section 259.67 or 259.73.  

    (b) A placement for adoption with an individual who is 
 related to the child, as defined by section 245A.02, subdivision 
 13, is not subject to this section except as required by section 
 259.53, subdivision 2, paragraph (c). 

    (c) In the case of a licensed foster parent seeking to 
 adopt a child who is in the foster parent's care, any portions 
 of the foster care licensing process that duplicate requirements 
 of the home study may be submitted in satisfaction of the 
 relevant requirements of this section. 

    Subd. 2.    Form of study.  (a) The adoption study must 
 include at least one in-home visit with the prospective adoptive 
 parent.  At a minimum, the study must include the following 
 about the prospective adoptive parent: 

    (1) a background check as required by subdivision 3, and an 
 evaluation of the effect of a conviction or finding of 
 substantiated maltreatment on the ability to care for a child; 

    (2) a medical and social history and assessment of current 
 health; 

    (3) an assessment of potential parenting skills; 

    (4) an assessment of ability to provide adequate financial 
 support for a child; and 

    (5) an assessment of the level of knowledge and awareness 
 of adoption issues including, where appropriate, matters 
 relating to interracial, cross-cultural, and special needs 
 adoptions. 

    (b) The adoption study is the basis for completion of a 
 written report.  The report must be in a format specified by the 
 commissioner and must contain recommendations regarding the 
 suitability of the subject of the study to be an adoptive parent.

    Subd. 3.    Background check; affidavit of history.  (a) 
 At the time an adoption study is commenced, each prospective 
 adoptive parent must: 

    (1) authorize access by the agency to any private data 
 needed to complete the study; 

    (2) provide all addresses at which the prospective adoptive 
 parent and anyone in the household over the age of 13 has 
 resided in the previous five years; and 

    (3) disclose any names used previously other than the name 
 used at the time of the study. 

    (b) When the requirements of paragraph (a) have been met, 
 the agency shall immediately begin a background check, on each 
 person over the age of 13 living in the home, consisting, at a 
 minimum, of the following: 

    (1) a check of criminal conviction data with the Bureau of 
 Criminal Apprehension and local law enforcement authorities; 

    (2) a check for data on substantiated maltreatment of a 
 child or vulnerable adult and domestic violence data with local 
 law enforcement and social services agencies and district 
 courts; and 

    (3) for those persons under the age of 25, a check of 
 juvenile court records. 

    Notwithstanding the provisions of section 260B.171 or 
 260C.171, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, local law 
 enforcement and social services agencies, district courts, and 
 juvenile courts shall release the requested information to the 
 agency completing the adoption study. 

    (c) When paragraph (b) requires checking the data or 
 records of local law enforcement and social services agencies 
 and district and juvenile courts, the agency shall check with 
 the law enforcement and social services agencies and courts 
 whose jurisdictions cover the addresses under paragraph (a), 
 clause (2).  In the event that the agency is unable to complete 
 any of the record checks required by paragraph (b), the agency 
 shall document the fact and the agency's efforts to obtain the 
 information. 

    (d) For a study completed under this section, when the 
 agency has reasonable cause to believe that further information 
 may exist on the prospective adoptive parent or household member 
 over the age of 13 that may relate to the health, safety, or 
 welfare of the child, the prospective adoptive parent or 
 household member over the age of 13 shall provide the agency 
 with a set of classifiable fingerprints obtained from an 
 authorized law enforcement agency and the agency may obtain 
 criminal history data from the National Criminal Records 
 Repository by submitting fingerprints to the Bureau of Criminal 
 Apprehension.  The agency has reasonable cause when, but not 
 limited to, the: 

    (1) information from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension 
 indicates that the prospective adoptive parent or household 
 member over the age of 13 is a multistate offender; 

    (2) information from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension 
 indicates that multistate offender status is undetermined; 

    (3) the agency has received a report from the prospective 
 adoptive parent or household member over the age of 13 or a 
 third party indicating that the prospective adoptive parent or 
 household member over the age of 13 has a criminal history in a 
 jurisdiction other than Minnesota; or 

    (4) the prospective adoptive parent or household member 
 over the age of 13 is or has been a resident of a state other 
 than Minnesota in the prior five years. 

    (e) At any time prior to completion of the background check 
 required under paragraph (b), a prospective adoptive parent may 
 submit to the agency conducting the study a sworn affidavit 
 stating whether they or any person residing in the household 
 have been convicted of a crime.  The affidavit shall also state 
 whether the adoptive parent or any other person residing in the 
 household is the subject of an open investigation of, or have 
 been the subject of a substantiated allegation of, child or 
 vulnerable-adult maltreatment within the past ten years.  A 
 complete description of the crime, open investigation, or 
 substantiated abuse, and a complete description of any sentence, 
 treatment, or disposition must be included.  The affidavit must 
 contain an acknowledgment that if, at any time before the 
 adoption is final, a court receives evidence leading to a 
 conclusion that a prospective adoptive parent knowingly gave 
 false information in the affidavit, it shall be determined that 
 the adoption of the child by the prospective adoptive parent is 
 not in the best interests of the child. 

    (f) For the purposes of subdivision 1 and section 259.47, 
 subdivisions 3 and 6, an adoption study is complete for 
 placement, even though the background checks required by 
 paragraph (b) have not been completed, if each prospective 
 adoptive parent has completed the affidavit allowed by paragraph 
 (e) and the other requirements of this section have been met. 
 The background checks required by paragraph (b) must be 
 completed before an adoption petition is filed.  If an adoption 
 study has been submitted to the court under section 259.47, 
 subdivision 3 or 6, before the background checks required by 
 paragraph (b) were complete, an updated adoption study report 
 which includes the results of the background check must be filed 
 with the adoption petition.  In the event that an agency is 
 unable to complete any of the records checks required by 
 paragraph (b), the agency shall submit with the petition to 
 adopt an affidavit documenting the agency's efforts to complete 
 the checks. 

    Subd. 4.    Updates to adoption study; period of validity. 
  An agency may update an adoption study and report as needed, 
 regardless of when the original study and report or most recent 
 update was completed.  An update must be in a format specified 
 by the commissioner and must verify the continuing accuracy of 
 the elements of the original report and document any changes to 
 elements of the original report.  An update to a study and 
 report not originally completed under this section must ensure 
 that the study and report, as updated, meet the requirements of 
 this section.  An adoption study is valid if the report has been 
 completed or updated within the previous 12 months. 

    HIST: 1994 c 631 s 19,31; 1997 c 177 s 8; 1997 c 239 art 6 s 
 9; 1999 c 139 art 4 s 2; 2005 c 159 art 2 s 5