Contact preference forms for birth parents whose parental rights have been terminated in this state; access by such a birth parent to identifying information about his or her child or an offspring of that child; access to medical and genetic information about such a birth parent; and access by an adult adoptee or an adult born to a surrogate mother to his or her original birth certificate. (FE)

This bill replaces the affidavit authorizing DCF to disclose the identity and location of a birth parent with a contact preference form prescribed by DCF that allows a birth parent to designate one of the following preferences with regard to whether the birth parent wishes to be contacted: 1) "I would like to be contacted by my child or by an offspring of my child."; 2) "I would prefer to be contacted only through an intermediary."; or 3) "I would prefer not to be contacted by my child or by an offspring of my child at this time." DCF may then provide the identity and location of a birth parent to a person 18 years of age or over who was a child of the birth parent or is an offspring of that person if DCF has on file a contact preference form from the birth parent indicating that the parent wishes to be contacted or that one birth parent wishes to be contacted.

The bill also 1) permits a birth parent, when filing a contact preference form, to simultaneously file any relevant medical and genetic information about the birth parent and his or her child, which information DCF may disclose without disclosing any identifying information about the birth parent; 2) requires DCF to disclose the identity of a birth parent who is known to be deceased; 3) in a case in which one birth parent is deceased and the other birth parent has filed a contact preference form indicating that he or she wishes to be contacted, eliminates the requirement that one year must have elapsed since the death of the deceased birth parent before DCF may provide the identity and location of the other birth parent; and 4) in a case in which a birth parent has filed a contact preference form indicating that he or she does not wish to be contacted, requires DCF to contact the birth parent again after at least 12 months have elapsed to determine whether the birth parent's preference has changed.

Access to identifying information Current law does not include a comparable procedure under which a birth parent may obtain identifying information about a person who was his or her child or who is an offspring of that person. This bill establishes such a procedure.

Specifically, the bill 1) permits any person 18 years of age or over whose birth parent's parental rights have been terminated in this state or an offspring of that person, if 18 years of age or over, to file with DCF a contact authorization form authorizing DCF to provide the person's birth parent with any available information about the identity and location of the person or offspring; 2) permits any birth parent whose parental rights have been terminated in this state to request DCF to provide the birth parent with any available information about the identity and location of any person 18 years of age or over who was his or her child or is an offspring of that person; 3) requires DCF to disclose the requested information if DCF has on file an unrevoked contact authorization form authorizing that disclosure; and 4) in a case in which DCF does not have on file an unrevoked contact authorization form from each person 18 years of age or over who was a child of the requester or is an offspring of that person, requires DCF to search for each such child or offspring who has not filed that form and, upon locating such a child or offspring, give the child or offspring an opportunity to file that form.

Access to medical and genetic information Under current law, any birth parent whose parental rights have been terminated in this state may file with DCF any relevant medical or genetic information about the birth parent or his or her child and DCF must disclose that information on the request of the child, if 18 years of age or over; the adoptive parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child; any offspring of the child, if 18 years of age or over; or any agency or social worker who is providing services to the child. If DCF does not have that information on file, the requester may request DCF to conduct a search for the birth parents to obtain that information. Such a request must be accompanied by a statement from a physician certifying either that the child has or may have acquired a genetically transferable disease or that the child's medical condition requires access to the information (physician's statement).

This bill eliminates the requirement that a birth parent search request be accompanied by a physician's statement. The bill also permits the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of an offspring of a person whose birth parent's parental rights have been terminated in this state to request medical and genetic information about that person or his or her birth parents if that person is deceased and the offspring is under 18 years of age.

Access to original birth certificate Generally, under current law, if the state registrar receives a court or administrative order providing for an adoption, the state registrar must prepare a new birth certificate for the subject of the adoption unless the adoptive parents or the adoptee requests that no new certificate be prepared. The new certificate must show certain information including the names and personal information of the adoptive parents and must show the hospital and time of birth as unknown. The state registrar must impound the original birth certificate and all related materials and may generally not provide access to them, except when authorized by the birth parent in an affidavit prepared using the procedure under current law that is described above.

Also under current law, a person who assumes custody of an infant of unknown parentage must file a birth certificate (foundling birth certificate) for the infant containing certain information about the infant. If the infant is later adopted and the adoptive parents sign a birth record giving their names as the adoptive parents, the state registrar must impound the foundling birth certificate and may generally not provide access to it.

The bill deletes the provision providing for access to an adoptee's original, impounded birth certificate when access has been granted by the birth parent in an affidavit. The bill instead requires the state registrar to issue an uncertified copy of an original, impounded birth certificate to an adoptee upon request if the adoptee is the subject of that birth certificate and is at least 18 years old. The bill also requires the state registrar to issue an uncertified copy of a foundling birth certificate to an adoptee who was an infant of unknown parentage upon request if the adoptee is the subject of the foundling birth certificate and is at least 18 years old. Finally, the bill requires the state registrar to issue an uncertified copy of an original, impounded birth certificate that was prepared for an individual who was born to a surrogate mother, if such a birth certificate was prepared with the surrogate mother's information, to that individual upon request if that individual is the subject of that birth certificate and is at least 18 years old.

The bill also requires the state registrar, when issuing an uncertified copy of an original, impounded birth certificate or a foundling birth certificate to an adoptee, to inform the adoptee about provisions relating to access to adoptees' medical information and about the adoption search program and the filing of contact preference forms.

Finally, the bill requires the Department of Health Services (DHS) to collect statistics on the number of requests made for uncertified copies of original, impounded birth certificates and foundling birth certificates by adoptees and requires DHS to publish reports summarizing the statistics collected. The bill prohibits DHS, in publishing these reports, from disclosing any information that reveals the identity of a birth parent.