(a) (1) If a parent is seeking to relinquish a child pursuant to Section 8700 or execute an adoption placement agreement pursuant to Section 8801.3, the department, county adoption agency, licensed adoption agency, or adoption service provider, as applicable, shall ask the child and the child’s parent or custodian whether the child is, or may be, a member of, or eligible for membership in an Indian tribe or whether the child has been identified as a member of an Indian organization. The department, county adoption agency, licensed adoption agency, or adoption service provider, as applicable, shall complete the forms provided for this purpose by the department and shall make this completed form a part of the file.
(2) If there is any oral or written information that indicates that the child is, or may be, an Indian child, the department, county adoption agency, licensed adoption agency, or adoption service provider, as applicable, shall obtain the following information:
(A) The name of the child involved, and the actual date and place of birth of the child.
(B) The name, address, date of birth, and tribal affiliation of the birth parents, maternal and paternal grandparents, and maternal and paternal great-grandparents of the child.
(C) The name and address of extended family members of the child who have a tribal affiliation.
(D) The name and address of the Indian tribes or Indian organizations of which the child is, or may be, a member.
(E) A statement of the reasons why the child is, or may be, an Indian.
(3) (A) The department, county adoption agency, licensed adoption agency, attorney for the prospective adoptive parents, or adoption service provider shall send a notice, which shall include information obtained pursuant to paragraph (2) and a request for confirmation of the child’s Indian status, to any parent and any custodian of the child, and to any Indian tribe of which the child is, or may be, a member or eligible for membership. If any of the information required under paragraph (2) cannot be obtained, the notice shall indicate that fact.
(B) The notice sent pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall describe the nature of the proceeding and advise the recipient of the Indian tribe’s right to intervene in the proceeding on its own behalf or on behalf of a tribal member relative of the child.
(b) The department shall adopt regulations to ensure that if a child who is being voluntarily relinquished for adoption, pursuant to Section 8700, is an Indian child, the parent of the child shall be advised of his or her right to withdraw his or her consent and thereby rescind the relinquishment of an Indian child for any reason at any time prior to entry of a final decree of termination of parental rights or adoption, pursuant to Section 1913 of Title 25 of the United States Code.
(c) If a child who is the subject of an adoption proceeding after being relinquished for adoption pursuant to Section 8700, is an Indian child, the child’s Indian tribe may intervene in that proceeding on behalf of a tribal member relative of the child.
(d) Any notice sent under this section shall comply with Section 180.
(e) If all prior notices required by this section have been provided to an Indian tribe, the Indian tribe receiving those prior notices is encouraged to provide notice to the department and to the licensed adoption agency, county adoption agency, or adoption service provider, not later than five calendar days prior to the date of the hearing to determine whether or not the final adoption order is to be granted, indicating whether or not it intends to intervene in the proceeding required by this section, either on its own behalf or on behalf of a tribal member who is a relative of the child.
(f) The Legislature finds and declares that some adoptive children may benefit from either direct or indirect contact with an Indian tribe. Nothing in the adoption laws of this state shall be construed to prevent the adopting parent or parents, the birth relatives, including the birth parent or parents, an Indian tribe, and the child, from voluntarily entering into a written agreement to permit continuing contact between the Indian tribe and the child, if the agreement is found by the court to have been entered into voluntarily and to be in the best interest of the child at the time the adoption petition is granted.
(g) With respect to giving notice to Indian tribes in the case of voluntary placements of Indian children pursuant to this section, a person, other than a birth parent of the child, shall be subject to a civil penalty if that person knowingly and willfully:
(1) Falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device, a material fact concerning whether the child is an Indian child or the parent is an Indian.
(2) Makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement, omission, or representation.
(3) Falsifies a written document knowing that the document contains a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry relating to a material fact.
(4) Assists any person in physically removing a child from the State of California in order to obstruct the application of notification.
(h) Civil penalties for a violation of subdivision (g) by a person other than a birth parent of the child are as follows:
(1) For the initial violation, a person shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(2) For any subsequent violation, a person shall be fined not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 35, Sec. 12. (SB 1013) Effective June 27, 2012.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018