2007 Session Laws Chapter 156

ENTITLED, An Act to eliminate certain filings with the Department of Social Services in adoption cases in which the children are not in the custody of the department.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:

Section 1. That § 25-6-9.1 be amended to read as follows:

25-6-9.1. No person may place a child in a home for adoption until a home study has been completed by a licensed child placement agency as defined in § 26-6-14, the Department of Social Services, or a certified social worker eligible to engage in private independent practice as defined in § 36-26-17 ~~and the report has been filed with the Department of Social Services~~ . Any person who submitted home studies under this section or under § 26-4-15 prior to July 1, 1990, may continue to submit home study reports without meeting the above requirements. A home study shall include a criminal record check completed by the Division of Criminal Investigation and a central registry screening completed by the Department of Social Services. Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Section 2. That § 25-6-11 be amended to read as follows:

25-6-11. Upon the filing of a petition for the adoption of a minor child the petitioner therein shall notify the Department of Social Services, by mailing to the department a copy of the petition. The petitioner also shall notify the department of the date fixed for hearing the petition, or mail to the department a copy of the order fixing the date of the hearing. The department, except in the case of a stepparent adopting a stepchild, shall then approve or disapprove the report of the child welfare agency, if any, showing whether the proposed adoption is in a suitable home for the child, why the parent or parents wish to give up the child, and whether the child is suitable for adoption. The department shall make a recommendation as to the desirability of the adoption. The department may appear in any procedure the same as the party in interest, and may request a postponement of hearing on the petition in the event more time is needed for its investigation. This section only applies to a child in the custody of the department.