Mar. 24, 2016
HARRISBURG - Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks) testified at House Children and Youth Committee hearing today on his legislation to ease the Commonwealth’s adoption process and ensure that Pennsylvania children stand a better chance of being adopted.
“Currently, adoptive parents find it difficult to navigate Pennsylvania’s adoption laws,” said Petri. “The process is unnecessarily cumbersome, risky and expensive, which is causing people to look elsewhere and that is not good for children in need of stable homes and loving families.”
Petri is sponsoring two bills in a nine-bill package to modernize the Commonwealth’s adoption code.
House Bill 1525, which went before the committee today, expedites the procedures for relinquishment or termination of parental rights. It clarifies the legal process and leaves little room for alternate interpretations and outcomes. Petri said this certainty is needed to allay fears by adoptive parents that the rules could change during the process.
“This eliminates ambiguities and clarifies the law for all parties, enabling them to move forward with a reasonable expectation of what will occur,” said Petri. “Today, we heard from a number of child and family advocates and those who practice family law, who educated committee members about the nuances of the adoption process and how the law is interpreted and applied in the courtroom.”
Currently there is no deadline by which to hold a hearing after the birth parents file a petition to voluntarily relinquish their parental rights. Petri’s bill requires courts to set a hearing date within 20 days after such action. Petri’s bill further defines paternal rights and addresses procedures for notification and the relinquishment or termination of paternal rights.
In cases where the identity or whereabouts of a parent or putative father cannot be determined, a notice of the proceeding may be published in a newspaper of general circulation and in the county legal journal at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing. The court may waive the requirement to search for and publish notice if it is determined the putative father knows or should have known of the child’s birth and failed to make reasonable efforts to contact or provide substantial financial support for the child.
Petri is also sponsoring
House Bill 1526, which reduces the amount of time birth parents have to revoke consent for an adoption from 30 days to five days after a birth mother formally gives her consent, and eliminates the timetable for a birth parent or putative father who has consented to an adoption to challenge the validity of that consent.
“Many adoptive parents are unwilling to risk losing a child to a birth parent who changes their mind. By narrowing the timeframe allowed to rescind consent, many more children stand a chance of being adopted and avoiding foster care.”
Representative Scott Petri
178th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717.260.6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
RepPetri.com