(1)A hearing on the petition for adoption
shall be held on the date set or the date to which the matter has been regularly
continued.
(1.5) Except in stepparent, second parent, custodial, or kinship adoptions, the
court shall issue a certificate of approval of placement, placing the child's custodial
care with prospective adoptive parents pending final hearing on the petition for
adoption, if it appears to the court that the placement for adoption is in the best
interest of the child.
(2)In stepparent, custodial, or kinship adoptions, the court shall hold a
hearing on the petition as soon as possible. In all other adoptions, the court shall
hold a hearing on the petition no sooner than one hundred eighty-two days after the
date the child begins to live in the prospective adopt
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(1) A hearing on the petition for adoption
shall be held on the date set or the date to which the matter has been regularly
continued.
(1.5) Except in stepparent, second parent, custodial, or kinship adoptions, the
court shall issue a certificate of approval of placement, placing the child's custodial
care with prospective adoptive parents pending final hearing on the petition for
adoption, if it appears to the court that the placement for adoption is in the best
interest of the child.
(2) In stepparent, custodial, or kinship adoptions, the court shall hold a
hearing on the petition as soon as possible. In all other adoptions, the court shall
hold a hearing on the petition no sooner than one hundred eighty-two days after the
date the child begins to live in the prospective adoptive parent's home, unless for
good cause shown that time is extended or shortened by the court. At the hearing
held on the petition, the court shall enter a decree setting forth its findings and
grant to the petitioner a final decree of adoption if it is satisfied as to:
(a) The availability of the child for adoption;
(b) The good moral character, the ability to support and educate the child,
and the suitableness of the home of the person adopting such child;
(b.5) The fingerprint-based criminal history record checks of the prospective
adoptive parent as reported to the court by the county department of human or
social services or the child placement agency pursuant to section 19-5-207 (2.5) or
the information provided to the court pursuant to section 19-5-208 (5) does not
reveal a criminal history described in section 19-5-207 (2.5)(a);
(c) The mental and physical condition of the child as a proper subject for
adoption in said home;
(d) The fact that the best interests of the child will be served by the
adoption; and
(e) If the child is part of a sibling group, whether it is in the best interests of
the child to remain in an intact sibling group. If the county department or child
placement agency locates an appropriate, capable, willing, and available joint
placement for all of the children in the sibling group, it shall be presumed that
placement of the entire sibling group in the joint placement is in the best interests
of the children. Such presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the
evidence that placement of the entire sibling group in the joint placement is not in
the best interests of a child or of the children. The judge shall review the family
services plan document regarding placement of siblings.
(3) The former name of the child shall not be stated in the final decree of
adoption.
(4) If, after the hearing, the court is not satisfied as to the matters listed in
subsection (2) of this section, the petition for adoption may be either continued or
dismissed in the discretion of the court. The court shall not grant the decree of final
adoption if it determines that the prospective adoptive parent was convicted at any
time by a court of competent jurisdiction of a felony in one of the following areas:
Child abuse or neglect; spousal abuse; any crime against a child; or any crime
involving violence, rape, sexual assault, or homicide, excluding other physical
assault or battery. For stepparent, kinship, or custodial adoptions, in addition to not
granting a decree of final adoption in circumstances involving the felony
convictions listed in this subsection (4), the court shall not grant the decree of final
adoption if it determines that the prospective adoptive parent was convicted of a
felony for physical assault or battery that was committed within the past five years.
(5) (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (5),
all hearings with reference to adoption shall be closed to the public and, in the
discretion of the court, to any child who is the subject of adoption and who is under
twelve years of age, but the court may interview the child whenever it deems it
proper.
(b) Upon motion by any party to an adoption or upon the court's own motion,
the court may order that an adoption hearing be opened to the public or to the child
who is, or the children who are, the subject of the adoption if the court finds that
opening the hearing is in the best interests of the child who is, or the children who
are, the subject of the adoption hearing and the court finds that the potential
adoptive parents have consented to an open hearing.
(6) In a stepparent adoption, in addition to issuing a final decree of adoption,
the court shall enter an order terminating the other parent's parental rights. In a
custodial or kinship adoption, in addition to issuing a final decree of adoption, the
court shall enter an order terminating the parental rights of the child's parents.
(7) In cases involving the adoption of a child or youth who is part of a sibling
group but who is not being adopted with the child's siblings, in addition to issuing a
final decree of adoption, if the adoptive parents are willing, the court may
encourage reasonable family time among the siblings when family time is in the
best interests of the child, youth, or children. The court shall review the record and
inquire as to whether the adoptive parents have received counseling regarding
children or youth in sibling groups maintaining or developing ties with each other.