Providing Adoptive Parents With Information About Adoptees and Their Birth Families - Alabama
Agency or Person Preparing the Report
Citation: Ala. Code § 26-10A-19
A postplacement investigation must be performed by one of the following:
- The Department of Human Resources
- A licensed child-placing agency
- An individual or agency licensed by the department to perform investigations
- An individual appointed by the court who is a social worker licensed by the State Board of Social Work Examiners or a social worker II or above who is under the State merit system who is also certified by the State Board of Social Work Examiners for private independent practice in the social casework specialty
Contents of Report About the Adopted Person
Citation: Ala. Code § 26-10A-19
A postplacement investigation shall include information concerning the following:
- Any property owned by the adopted person
- The medical history, both physical and mental, of the adopted person
Contents of Report About the Birth Family
Citation: Ala. Code § 26-10A-19
A postplacement investigation shall include information concerning the following:
- Why the birth parents, if living, desire to be relieved of the care, support, and guardianship of the child
- Whether the birth parents have abandoned the child or are otherwise unsuited to have custody of the child
- The medical histories, both physical and mental, of the birth parents
When the Report Is Made
Citation: Ala. Code § 26-10A-19
The medical histories of the adopted person and birth parents shall be provided to the petitioner in writing before the decree is entered.
Exceptions for Stepparent or Relative Adoptions
Citation: Ala. Code §§ 26-10A-27; 26-10A-28
Unless otherwise directed by the court for good cause shown, no investigation is required when a child is adopted by a stepparent or relative, except that before the filing of the petition for adoption, the adopted person must have resided for 1 year with the petitioner, unless this filing provision is waived by the court.
Relatives include a grandfather, grandmother, great-grandfather, great-grandmother, great-uncle, great-aunt, brother, half-brother, sister, half-sister, and aunt or uncle of the first degree and their respective spouses.