§ 12C-70 — Adoption compensation prohibited

(a) Receipt of compensation for placing out prohibited; exception. No person and no agency, association, corporation, institution, society, or other organization, except a child welfare agency as defined by the Child Care Act of 1969, shall knowingly request, receive or accept any compensation or thing of value, directly or indirectly, for providing adoption services, as defined in Section 2.24 of the Child Care Act of 1969. (b) Payment of compensation for placing out prohibited. No person shall knowingly pay or give any compensation or thing of value, directly or indirectly, for providing adoption services, as defined in Section 2.24 of the Child Care Act of 1969, including placing out of a child to any person or to any agency, association, corporation, institution, society, or other organization except a child welfare agency as defined by the Child Care Act of 1969. (c) Certain payments of salaries and medical expenses not prevented. (1) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed to prevent the payment of salaries or other compensation by a licensed child welfare agency providing adoption services, as that term is defined by the Child Care Act of 1969, to the officers, employees, agents, contractors, or any other persons acting on behalf of the child welfare agency, provided that such salaries and compensation are consistent with subsection (a) of Section 14.5 of the Child Care Act of 1969. (2) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed to prevent the payment by a prospective adoptive parent of reasonable and actual medical fees or hospital charges for services rendered in connection with the birth of such child, if such payment is made to the physician or hospital who or which rendered the services or to the biological mother of the child or to prevent the receipt of such payment by such physician, hospital, or mother. (3) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed to prevent a prospective adoptive parent from giving a gift or gifts or other thing or things of value to a biological parent provided that the total value of such gift or gifts or thing or things of value does not exceed $200. (d) Payment of certain expenses. (1) A prospective adoptive parent shall be permitted to pay the reasonable living expenses of the biological parents of the child sought to be adopted, in addition to those expenses set forth in subsection (c), only in accordance with the provisions of this subsection (d). "Reasonable living expenses" means those expenses related to activities of daily living and meeting basic needs, including, but not limited to, lodging, food, and clothing for the biological parents during the biological mother's pregnancy and for no more than 120 days prior to the biological mother's expected date of delivery and for no more than 60 days after the birth of the child. The term does not include expenses for lost wages, gifts, educational expenses, or other similar expenses of the biological parents. (2)(A) The prospective adoptive parents may seek leave of the court to pay the reasonable living expenses of the biological parents. They shall be permitted to pay the reasonable living expenses of the biological parents only upon prior order of the circuit court where the petition for adoption will be filed, or if the petition for adoption has been filed in the circuit court where the petition is pending. (B) Notwithstanding clause (2)(A) of this subsection (d), a prospective adoptive parent may advance a maximum of $1,000 for reasonable birth parent living expenses without prior order of court. The prospective adoptive parents shall present a final accounting of all expenses to the court prior to the entry of a final judgment order for adoption. (C) If the court finds an accounting by the prospective adoptive parents to be incomplete or deceptive or to contain amounts which are unauthorized or unreasonable, the court may order a new accounting or the repayment of amounts found to be excessive or unauthorized or make any other orders it deems appropriate. (3) Payments under this subsection (d) shall be permitted only in those circumstances where there is a demonstrated need for the payment of such expenses to protect the health of the biological parents or the health of the child sought to be adopted. (4) Payment of their reasonable living expenses, as provided in this subsection (d), shall not obligate the biological parents to place the child for adoption. In the event the biological parents choose not to place the child for adoption, the prospective adoptive parents shall have no right to seek reimbursement from the biological parents, or from any relative or associate of the biological parents, of moneys paid to, or on behalf of, the biological parents pursuant to a court order under this subsection (d). (5) Notwithstanding paragraph (4) of this subsection (d), a prospective adoptive parent may seek reimbursement of reasonable living expenses from a person who receives such payments only if the person who accepts payment of reasonable living expenses before the child's birth, as described in paragraph (4) of this subsection (d), knows that the person on whose behalf he or she is accepting payment is not pregnant at the time of the receipt of such payments or the person receives reimbursement for reasonable living expenses simultaneously from more than one prospective adoptive parent without the knowledge of the prospective adoptive parent. (6) No person or entity shall offer, provide, or co-sign a loan or any other credit accommodation, directly or indirectly, with a biological parent or a relative or associate of a biological parent based on the contingency of a surrender or placement of a child for adoption. (7) Within 14 days after the completion of all payments for reasonable living expenses of the biological parents under this subsection (d), the prospective adoptive parents shall present a final accounting of all those expenses to the court. The accounting shall also include the verified statements of the prospective adoptive parents, each attorney of record, and the biological parents or parents to whom or on whose behalf the payments were made attesting to the accuracy of the accounting. (8) If the placement of a child for adoption is made in accordance with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, and if the sending state permits the payment of any expenses of biological parents that are not permitted under this Section, then the payment of those expenses shall not be a violation of this Section. In that event, the prospective adoptive parents shall file an accounting of all payments of the expenses of the biological parent or parents with the court in which the petition for adoption is filed or is to be filed. The accounting shall include a copy of the statutory provisions of the sending state that permit payments in addition to those permitted by this Section and a copy of all orders entered in the sending state that relate to expenses of the biological parents paid by the prospective adoptive parents in the sending state. (9) The prospective adoptive parents shall be permitted to pay the reasonable attorney's fees of a biological parent's attorney in connection with proceedings under this Section or in connection with proceedings for the adoption of the child if the amount of fees of the attorney is $1,000 or less. If the amount of attorney's fees of each biological parent exceeds $1,000, the attorney's fees shall be paid only after a petition seeking leave to pay those fees is filed with the court in which the adoption proceeding is filed or to be filed. The court shall review the petition for leave to pay attorney's fees, and if the court determines that the fees requested are reasonable, the court shall permit the petitioners to pay them. If the court determines that the fees requested are not reasonable, the court shall determine and set the reasonable attorney's fees of the biological parents' attorney which may be paid by the petitioners. The prospective adoptive parents shall present a final accounting of all those fees to the court prior to the entry of a final judgment order for adoption. (10) The court may appoint a guardian ad litem for an unborn child to represent the interests of the child in proceedings under this subsection (d). (11) The provisions of this subsection (d) apply to a person who is a prospective adoptive parent. This subsection (d) does not apply to a licensed child welfare agency, as that term is defined in the Child Care Act of 1969, whose payments are governed by the Child Care Act of 1969 and the Department of Children and Family Services rules adopted thereunder. (e) Injunctive relief. (A) Whenever it appears that any person, agency, association, corporation, institution, society, or other organization is engaged or about to engage in any acts or practices that constitute or will constitute a violation of this Section, the Department of Children and Family Services shall inform the Attorney General and the State's Attorney of the appropriate county. Under such circumstances, the Attorney General or the State's Attorney may initiate injunction proceedings. Upon a proper showing, any circuit court may enter a permanent or preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order without bond to enforce this Section or any rule adopted under this Section in addition to any other penalties and other remedies provided in this Section. (B) Whenever it appears that any person, agency, association, corporation, institution, society, or other organization is engaged or is about to engage in any act or practice that constitutes or will constitute a violation of any rule adopted under the authority of this Section, the Department of Children and Family Services may inform the Attorney General and the State's Attorney of the appropriate county. Under such circumstances, the Attorney General or the State's Attorney may initiate injunction proceedings. Upon a proper showing, any circuit court may enter a permanent or preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order without bond to enforce this Section or any rule adopted under this Section, in addition to any other penalties and remedies provided in this Section. (f) A violation of this Section on a first conviction is a Class 4 felony, and on a second or subsequent conviction is a Class 3 felony. (g) "Adoption services" has the meaning given that term in the Child Care Act of 1969. (h) "Placing out" means to arrange for the free care or placement of a child in a family other than that of the child's parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt or legal guardian, for the purpose of adoption or for the purpose of providing care. (i) "Prospective adoptive parent" means a person or persons who have filed or intend to file a petition to adopt a child under the Adoption Act.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 97-1109, eff. 1-1-13.)