H. B. 4135
(By Delegate Yost)
[Introduced January 23, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §48-22-702 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding
thereto a new article, designated §48-23A-1 and §48-23A-2, all
relating to permitting adult adoptees to obtain noncertified
copies of their original birth certificates and providing
birth parents with consent preference and medical history
forms.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §48-22-702 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated §48-23A-1 and §48-23A-2,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 22. ADOPTION.
§48-22-702. Recordation of order; fees; disposition of records;
names of adopting parents and persons previously entitled to parental rights not to be disclosed;
disclosure of identifying and nonidentifying
information; certificate for State Registrar of
Vital Statistics; birth certificate.
(a) The order of adoption shall be recorded in a book kept for
that purpose, and the clerk shall receive the same fees as in other
cases. All records of proceedings in adoption cases and all papers
and records relating to
such the proceedings shall be kept in the
office of the clerk of the circuit court in a sealed file, which
file shall be kept in a locked or sealed cabinet, vault or other
container and shall not be open to inspection or copy by anyone,
except as otherwise provided in this article, or upon court order
for good cause shown. No person in charge of adoption records
shall disclose the names of the adopting parent or parents, the
names of persons previously entitled to parental rights, or the
name of the adopted child, except as otherwise provided in this
article, or upon court order for good cause shown. The clerk of
the court keeping and maintaining the records in adoption cases
shall keep and maintain an index of such cases separate and
distinct from all other indices kept or maintained by him or her,
and the index of adoption cases shall be kept in a locked or sealed
cabinet, vault or other container and shall not be open to
inspection or copy by anyone, except as otherwise provided in this
article, or upon court order for good cause shown. Nonidentifying information, the collection of which is provided
for in article
23-101, et seq., twenty-three of this chapter, shall be provided to
the adoptive parents as guardians of the adopted child, or to the
adult adoptee,
or to the child or children of a deceased adult
adoptee or an adoptee judged incompetent in a court of law, or the
legal representative of an adoptee by their submitting a duly
acknowledged request to the clerk of the court. The clerk may
charge the requesting party for copies of any documents, as
provided in section eleven, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this
code. Either birth parent may from time to time submit additional
social, medical or genetic history for the adoptee, which
information shall be placed in the court file by the clerk, who
shall bring the existence of this medical information to the
attention of the court. The court shall immediately transmit all
such nonidentifying medical, social or genetic information to the
adoptive parents or the adult adoptee,
or to the child or children
of a deceased adult adoptee or an adoptee judged incompetent by a
court of law, or the legal representative of an adoptee.
(b)
Except as otherwise provided in article twenty-three-a of
this chapter, if an adoptee, or parent of a minor adoptee, is
unsuccessful in obtaining identifying information by use of the
mutual consent voluntary adoption registry provided for in
23-101,
eq seq. article twenty-three of this chapter, identifying
information may be sought through the following process:
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in article twenty-three-a of
this chapter, upon verified petition of an adoptee at least
eighteen years of age, or, if less than eighteen, his or her
adoptive parent or legal guardian,
or child or children of a
deceased adult adoptee or an adoptee judged incompetent by a court
of law, or the legal representative of an adoptee, the court may
also attempt, either itself, or through its designated agent, to
contact the birth parents, if known, to obtain their consent to
release identifying information to the adoptee. The petition shall
state the reasons why the adoptee desires to contact his or her
birth parents, which reasons shall be disclosed to the birth
parents if contacted. The court and its agent shall take any and
all care possible to assure that none but the birth parents
themselves are informed of the adoptee's existence in relationship
to them. The court may appoint the
bureau of children and families
Bureau of Children and Families, or a private agency which provides
adoption services in accordance with standards established by law,
to contact birth parents as its designated agent, the said agent
shall report to the court the results of said contact.
(2) Upon the filing of a verified petition as provided in
subdivision (1) of this subsection, should the court be unable to
obtain consent from either of the birth parents to release
identifying information, the court may release such identifying
information to the adoptee, or if a minor, the adoptee's parents or guardian,
or the child or children of a deceased adult adoptee or
an adoptee judged incompetent by a court of law, or the legal
representative of an adoptee, after notice to the birth parents and
a hearing thereon, at which hearing the court must specifically
find that there exists evidence of compelling medical or other good
cause for release of such identifying information.
(c) Identifying information may only be obtained with the duly
acknowledged consent of the mother or the legal or determined
father who consented to the adoption or whose rights were otherwise
relinquished or terminated, together with the duly acknowledged
consent of the adopted child upon reaching majority, or upon court
order for good cause shown. Any person previously entitled to
parental rights may from time to time submit additional social or
medical information which, notwithstanding other provisions of this
article, shall be inserted into the record by the clerk of the
court.
(d) Immediately upon the entry of such order or adoption, the
court shall direct the clerk thereof forthwith to make and deliver
to the
state registrar of vital statistics State Registrar of Vital
Statistics a certificate under the seal of said court, showing:
(1) The date and place of birth of the child, if known;
(2) The name of the mother of the child, if known, and the
name of the legal or determined father of the child, if known;
(3) The name by which said child has previously been known;
(4) The names and addresses of the adopting parents;
(5) The name by which the child is to be thereafter known; and
(6) Such other information from the record of the adoption
proceedings as may be required by the law governing vital
statistics and as may enable the
state registrar of vital
statistics State Registrar of Vital Statistics to carry out the
duties imposed upon him or her by this section.
(e) Upon receipt of such certificate, the registrar of vital
statistics shall
forthwith immediately issue and deliver by mail to
the adopting parents at their last-known address and to the clerk
of the county commission of the county wherein such order of
adoption was entered a birth certificate in the form prescribed by
law, except that the name of the child shown in said certificate
shall be the name given him or her by the order of adoption. The
clerk shall record such birth certificate in the manner set forth
in section twelve, article five, chapter sixteen of this code.
ARTICLE 23A. ACCESS TO ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
§48-23A-1. Access to original birth certificate by adult persons
or legal representative(s) of adult persons.
An adopted person, child or children of a deceased adopted
person or an adopted person judged incompetent by a court of law,
or the legal representative of an adopted person may obtain a copy
of that person's original certificate of birth from the State
Registrar of Vital Statistics, referred to in this section as "the state registrar," in accordance with this section. The adopted
person, a member of his or her immediate family, his or her
guardian or respective legal representatives shall be considered to
have a direct and tangible interest for purposes of this section.
(1) Requirements. -- The adopted person must be at least
eighteen years of age and have been born in this state.
(2) Legal Representative. -- The term "legal representative"
shall include an attorney, physician, funeral director or other
authorized agent acting in behalf of the applicant or his or her
family.
(3) Application. -- The adopted person, or child or children
of a deceased adopted person or an adopted person judged
incompetent by a court of law, or the legal representative must
file a written application with and provide appropriate proof of
identification to the state registrar.
(4) Issuance of birth certificate and forms. -- Upon receipt
of the written application and proof of identification pursuant to
subdivision (3) and fulfillment of the requirements of subdivision
(5), the state registrar shall issue a noncertified copy of the
unaltered, original and unamended certificate of birth to the
applicant along with a contact preference and medical history form,
if the same has been completed and submitted to the state registrar
pursuant to section two of this article.
(5) Fees; waiting period. -- The state registrar may require a waiting period and impose a fee for the noncertified copy
provided pursuant to subdivision (4) of this section. The fees and
waiting period imposed under this subsection must be identical to
the fees and waiting period imposed on nonadopted persons seeking
their own birth certificate.
(6) Forms; rules. -- The state registrar shall develop rules
for the application form as required by this section and may adopt
other rules for the administration of this section. All rules
shall be promulgated in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§48-23A-2. Contact preference and medical history and background
information forms.
The state registrar shall prescribe and, upon request, shall
make available to each birth parent named on the original birth
certificate, a contact preference form on which the birth parent
may state a preference regarding contact by an adoptee who is the
birth child of the birth parent, or the child or children of a
deceased adoptee or an adoptee judged incompetent by a court of law
or the legal representative of an adoptee. Upon such request, the
state registrar shall also provide the birth parent with an updated
medical history and background information form, which shall be
completed and returned, together with the completed contact
preference form, by the birth parent to the state registrar as
described in this section.
(1) Definitions. -- As used in this section, unless the
context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following
meanings:
(A) "Adoptee" means the person who is the subject of a birth
certificate.
(B) "Birth parent" means the person who is the biological
parent of an adoptee and who is named as the parent on the original
birth certificate of the adoptee.
(C) "Contact preference form" means the form developed by the
state registrar pursuant to this section.
(D) "Medical History and background information form" means
the form developed by the state registrar pursuant to this section.
(E) "State registrar" means the State Registrar of Vital
Statistics.
(2) Medical history form. -- The state registrar shall develop
and distribute upon request to birth parents an updated medical
history form. This form shall be used to relate information
regarding the health history of the birth parent and blood
relatives of the birth parent as well as nonidentifying background
information of the birth parent and the birth parent's blood
relatives. This nonidentifying information will include
information on nationality, family history, education level and
other nonidentifying information the birth parent deems important.
A birth parent shall fill out a medical history form and a contact preference form and return these to the state registrar.
(3) Contact preference form. -- The state registrar shall
develop a contact preference form on which a birth parent shall
state a preference regarding contact by an adult adoptee, or the
child or children of a deceased adoptee or an adoptee judged
incompetent by a court of law, or the legal representative of an
adoptee. The form must contain the following statements from which
the birth parent may choose only one:
(A) "I would like to be contacted. I have completed this
contact preference form and an updated medical history form and am
filing them with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics."
(B) "I would prefer to be contacted only through an
intermediary. I have completed this contact preference form and an
updated medical history and background information form and am
filing them with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics."
(C) "I would prefer not to be contacted at this time. I may
change this preference by filling out another contact preference
form. I have completed this contact preference form and an updated
medical history and background information form and am filing them
with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics."
(4) Attachment of forms to birth certificate; treatment. --
Upon receipt of a completed contact preference form and an updated
medical history and background information form, the state
registrar shall attach the completed forms to the appropriate original birth certificate of the adoptee. A completed contact
preference form and updated medical history and background
information form have the same level of confidentiality as the
original birth certificate.
(5) Forms; rules. -- The state registrar shall develop the
contact preference and the updated medical history and background
information forms by rule and may adopt other rules for the
administration of this section. All rules shall be promulgated in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-
nine-a of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a process by
which an adult adopted person, the child or children of a deceased
adopted person or an adopted person judged incompetent by a court
of law, or a legal representative of an adopted person may obtain
a copy of that person's original unamended and unaltered birth
certificate. This bill also allows a birth parent to include with
the child's original birth certificate a form that indicates
whether the parent wishes to be contacted by the child and an
updated medical history form.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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