Duties of registrar following request to be reunited with
pre-adoptive sibling
Sec. 8. (a) If an adoptee who is at least twenty-one (21) years of
age or a pre-adoptive sibling who is at least twenty-one (21) years of
age submits a written request to be reunited with a pre-adoptive
sibling under section 6 of this chapter but the pre-adoptive sibling
has not made a similar inquiry, the state registrar shall:
(1) search the sealed adoption records for information
concerning the pre-adoptive sibling; and
(2) if possible, contact and advise the sibling of the request
unless the sibling is less than twenty-one (21) years of age.
(b) If the state registrar locates a sibling who is at least twenty-one
(21) years of age, the contacted sibling shall make the final decision
as to whether to release the sibling's name and present location to the
requesting person.
(c) If the state registrar locates a sibling who is less than
twenty-one (21) years of age, the state registrar shall contact the:
(1) sibling's birth parents if the sibling has not been adopted; or
(2) sibling's adoptive parents if the sibling has been adopted;
for the final determination regarding release of the sibling's name and
present location to the requesting person.
(d) The state registrar shall notify the requesting person whenever
a sibling has been located, but may not release information about the
sibling's identity or present location without authorization under this
section.
(e) If the sibling is deceased or cannot be identified or located
under this section, the state registrar shall notify the requesting party,
but may not release any information that would tend to identify the
sibling.
(f) In an attempt to discover the identity and present location of a
pre-adoptive sibling, the state registrar shall receive, upon request,
any available adoptive information regarding the sibling's identity or
location that is in the possession of any of the following:
(1) The state division of vital records.
(2) The county office of family and children.
(3) A licensed child placing agency.
(4) A professional health care provider (as defined in
IC 34-6-2-117).
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.11. Amended by P.L.1-1998, SEC.166.
Last modified: May 24, 2006