Providing Adoptive Parents With Information About Adoptees and Their Birth Families - Rhode Island

Agency or Person Preparing the Report

Citation: Gen. Laws § 15-7-2.1

In those cases where a child is placed for adoption by the Department of Children, Youth and Families or a licensed child-placing agency, the agency shall provide a preadoption report in writing to the prospective adoptive parents.

Contents of Report About the Adopted Person

Citation: Gen. Laws § 15-7-2.1

The preadoptive report shall include the following information that is reasonably available within the records of the department or the licensed child-placing agency that is placing the child for adoption:

• Current medical, dental, developmental, and psychological history of the child
• An account of the child's prenatal care, medical condition at birth, and developmental milestones
• Any medical, psychological, or psychiatric examinations and diagnoses
• Any physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect suffered by the child
• Any developmental assessment and a record of any immunizations and health care received while the child was in foster or other care
• The child's enrollment and performance in school and any special educational needs
• Any adjudications of waywardness and/or delinquency
• The results of any genetic testing the child has undergone
• The results of any testing for HIV
• The length of time the child has been in the care of the agency and the child's placement history
• Any information necessary to determine the child's eligibility for State or Federal benefits

Contents of Report About the Birth Family

Citation: Gen. Laws § 15-7-2.1

The preadoptive report also shall include the following:

• The age, race, religion, ethnicity, and general physical appearance of each birth parent
• The educational levels of the birth parents, including any known diagnosed learning disabilities
• The relationship of the birth parents
• The ages and sexes of any other children born to the birth parents
• If a parent is deceased, the cause of and the age at death
• Nonidentifying medical, substance abuse, and mental health histories of the birth parents and siblings
• Drugs and medications taken by the child's birth mother during pregnancy
• Any known allergies and hereditary, genetic, or metabolic diseases
• The circumstances of any judicial order terminating the parental rights of a parent for abuse, neglect, abandonment, or other mistreatment of the child

When the Report Is Made

Citation: Gen. Laws § 15-7-2.1

The report shall be provided to the prospective adoptive parents as early as practical after the filing of a termination of parental rights or direct-consent adoption petition and before a prospective adoptive parent agrees to accept the child for purposes of adoption.

Exceptions for Stepparent or Relative Adoptions

Citation: Gen. Laws § 15-7-2.1

This section does not apply to a stepparent adoption or the adoption of a child related to the petitioner by marriage, blood, or adoption.