South Dakota § 25-6-9.1 Home study required--Background check--Department contribution--Penalty.

South Dakota Statutes

§ 25-6-9.1 — Home study required--Background check--Department contribution--Penalty.

South Dakota § 25-6-9.1

Title 25DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Ch. 25-4BADOPTION OF CHILDREN

This text of South Dakota § 25-6-9.1 (Home study required--Background check--Department contribution--Penalty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

S.D. Codified Laws § 25-6-9.1 (2026).

Text

A person may not 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 . 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 must include a fingerprint-based criminal record check completed by the Division of Criminal Investigation and a central registry screening completed by the department. A child who is in the custody of the department may not be placed in a home for adoption until a fingerprint-based criminal record check h

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A person may not 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 . 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 must include a fingerprint-based criminal record check completed by the Division of Criminal Investigation and a central registry screening completed by the department. A child who is in the custody of the department may not be placed in a home for adoption until a fingerprint-based criminal record check has been completed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for each adopting parent. The department shall contribute one thousand five hundred dollars towards the cost of each home study required under this section. The necessary funding must be budgeted and expended through the general appropriation bill, pursuant to chapter 4-7 . Any person who violates this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Legislative History

SL 1986, ch 214, §§ 2, 3; SL 1990, ch 185, § 1; SL 1992, ch 180, § 1; SL 2002, ch 116, § 2; SL 2003, ch 145, § 1; SL 2007, ch 156, § 1; SL 2008, ch 130, § 1; SL 2022, ch 79, § 1; SL 2025, ch 109, § 1.