Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) During the
adoption family application process, the child-placing agency shall obtain:
(1) A signed application as provided by the
child-placing agency;
(2) A signed
medical statement from a licensed physician, physician's assistant, or nurse
practitioner on each applicant based on an examination given within one year of
the application;
(3) A financial
statement which includes:
a. The monthly
income available to the household from all sources including adoption subsidies
for children with special needs;
b.
Monthly expenses such as rent or mortgage, food, clothing, utilities,
insurance, loan and credit card payments; and
c. Assets such as savings, investments, and
real estate;
(4)
Information on the adoptive parent applicants' religious preferences, if any;
and
(5) A minimum of 5 personal
references provided by persons who have known the applicants for at least 2
years, one of whom is a relative and the remaining 4 unrelated to the applicant
by blood or marriage.
(b) The child-placing agency shall provide
the adoptive family applicant with an agency-specific adoptive family handbook
informing them of policies, procedures, and forms, which are relevant to its
specific agency.
(c) A family
assessment and application shall be completed as described in
He-C
6446.04 -.13 for an adoptive applicant family which:
(1) Includes at least 3 meetings with at
least one meeting in the home;
(2)
Consists of individual and joint meetings, when applicable, with the
couple;
(3) Involves all adults and
children of sufficient understanding in the household;
(4) Shall be completed within 120 days of the
date that the application and all required documents were received, unless the
applicants agree in writing that the child-placing agency may extend the time
allowed to complete the family assessment;
(5) Provides written results to the applicant
of the adoptive family assessment within 30 days after completing the family
assessment; and
(6) Includes
consideration of the following factors to assess the adoptive parent
applicant's compatibility with a child and any problems the adoptive parent
applicants might encounter following the adoption:
a. The adoptive parent applicants' motivation
to adopt;
b. If applicable, how the
adoptive parent applicants have dealt with issues of their
infertility;
c. The adoptive parent
applicants' expectations of the child and preferred child characteristics;
and
d. The adoptive parent
applicants' feelings about adoption and how adoption will be explained to the
child, including:
1. Searches for birthparents
or other relatives;
2.
Reunification with birthparents or other relatives;
3. Open adoption which is the private and
non-legally binding agreement between birth parents that the adoptive child can
remain in contact with the birth parents or other biological
relatives;
4. Attitude toward
parents who place their child for adoption; and
5. The background of the child.
(d) The
minimum requirements for acceptance of the adoptive parent applicants shall be
as follows:
(1) Each adoptive parent applicant
shall be at least 18 years of age;
(2) Each prospective adoptive parent shall
confirm their commitment to adopt;
(3) The adoptive parent applicant shall not
have been convicted of child abuse or neglect or any other serious crime that
would affect the ability to care for children;
(4) The adoptive parent applicants and all
household members shall be screened by the department, pursuant to
RSA
170-B:18, VII, for any
founded reports of child abuse or neglect on file with DCYF, and:
a. If a founded report is on file for any
member of the adoptive parent applicant's household, DCYF staff in cooperation
with staff from the child-placing agency shall conduct a complete review of the
circumstances surrounding the report; and
b. After review, if DCYF determines that the
household member poses no further threat to any child, the child-placing agency
shall proceed with the application process;
(5) Adoptive parent applicants, whether
married or single, shall have established a stable and consistent home life in
that the applicant shall be self-sufficient and shall have adequate support
systems such as extended family and friends in the community who are able to
assist the family;
(6) The
applicants shall demonstrate good physical and emotional health, with a
reasonable expectation that the good health will continue throughout the
minority of the child;
(7)
Sufficient physical space and accommodations in the home shall exist for the
adoptive child; and
(8) The
applicants shall have sufficient income to support the family and the child
they wish to adopt.
(e)
Approved adoptive families who have waited a year for a placement shall have an
annual home visit and family assessment update which includes:
(1) Any changes to the original family
assessment;
(2) An update of the
household members medical health;
(3) Updated criminal checks for all household
members; and
(4) Updated child
protective services checks for child abuse or neglect.
(f) Adoptive parents must wait at least 6
months after the placement of a child for adoption, and until the adoption is
final before submitting an application for an additional unrelated child or
children. The requirements in (a) -(d) above shall apply to applications and
family assessment for additional children.
(g) A child-placing agency shall approve a
home as an adoptive home if the completed application and assessment
demonstrate that the adoptive applicant can provide care in compliance with the
requirements of RSA
170-B:18.
#7866, eff 4-2-03; ss by #9895, eff
4-2-11
