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Adoption in Washington State
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Home | What's it Take?
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What are the requirements for adoption?
These can be found in the Revised Code of Washington Title 26, Chapter
33 (RCW 26.33)
PETITIONS
-For adoption:
A petition for adoption must be filed with the court by the prospective adoptive parent,
and it must include the petitioner's name and address, name, gender, place and date of birth of the child to be adopted (adoptee),
a statement on whether the child is an Indian covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the name and address of the agency/legal
guardian currently in custody of the child. Both the written consent to adoption and preplacement report must be filed with
it. The petition is to be signed under penalty of perjury. If the petitioner is married, the spouse must join in the petition.
-For relinquishment:
To relinquish a child to a department or agency, a petition must be filed by that department/agency,
a parent, or an alleged father. A written consent to adoption from these parties must be filed with the petition. A petition
to relinquish a child to the prospective adoptive parent may be filed by the original parent, alleged father, or prospective
parent, accompanied by the written consent ot adoption of the involved parties. The prospective parent's identity does
not need to be disclosed to the petitioner. The relinquishing party will be called for a hearing on the petition.
-For termination:
Grounds for termination of a parent-child relationship depend on "clear, cogent, and convincing
evidence" that doing so would be in the best interests of the child. A petition for termination may be filed by the department
or agency involved or the prospective parent if this parent has already consented to a petition for relinquishment or
if the parent is adopting his or her spouse's child. The petition may be filed before the child's birth and must include a
statement of facts about the parties involved and the basis for the petition.
DECREE OF ADOPTION
A decree of adoption must include the full original name of the adoptee, the full name of
the petitioners and their marital status, the full new name of the adoptee, any new information needed to make a new birth
certificate, and the adoptee's date and place of birth. In cases of international adoption where this information is unknown, what
is known must be entered in the decree, country of origin must be designated, and date of birth may be estimated based
on medical testimony.
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PLACEMENT
In order to place a child in an adoptive home, a preplacement report must first be filed regarding
the condition of the prospective parent and his or her home. The report should be filed by a department, agency, qualified
salaried court employee, or individual approved by the court, and is based on a study which includes an investigation of the
home environment, family life, health, facilities, and resources of the adoptive parent. The report must indicate that the
1) relevance of the child's heritage, 2) the child's questions about birth parents and relatives, 3) the disclosure of the
fact of adoption, 4) the child's potential for identity confusion and a feeling of loss, and 5) the concept of adoption as
a lifelong process of development have all been discussed with the prospective adoptive parents. Criminal records are
also to be reviewed, with the entire home study costing a "reasonable fee." Once the preplacement report is filed, it will
be reviewed by the court.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
-The petition and consent for relinquishment of an Indian child must not be signed until at
least 10 days after birth.
-To establish himself as paternal father to an adopted child, a man must sign an acknowledgement
of paternity, which has to 1) be in a record, 2) be signed by the mother and him, 3) state that the child whose paternity
is being acknowledged does not have another recognized father, 4) state whether genetic testing has agreed with his clain
to paternity.
-Any child of 14 years or older must consent to the adoption.
-Any person who is legally competent and 18 years or older may adopt.
-Any department, agency, parent, or guardian may put a child up for adoption
-Any one may be adopted, regardless of
age!
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