Rule 5.730. Adoption

(a) Procedures-adoption

(1) The petition for the adoption of a dependent child who has been freed for adoption may be filed in the juvenile court with jurisdiction over the dependency.

(2) All adoption petitions must be completed onAdoption Request(form ADOPT-200) and must be verified. In addition, the petitioner must completeAdoption Agreement(form ADOPT-210) andAdoption Order(form ADOPT-215).

(3) A petitioner seeking to adopt an Indian child must also completeAdoption of Indian Child(form ADOPT-220). If applicable,Parent of Indian Child Agrees to End Parental Rights(form ADOPT-225) may be filed.

(4) The clerk must open a confidential adoption file for each child and this file must be separate and apart from the dependency file, with an adoption case number different from the dependency case number.

(b) Notice The clerk of the court must give notice of the adoption hearing to:

(1) Any attorney of record for the child;

(2) Any CASA volunteer;

(3) The child welfare agency;

(4) The tribe of an Indian child; and

(5) The California Department of Social Services. The notice to the California Department of Social Services must include a copy of the completedAdoption Request(form ADOPT-200) and a copy of any adoptive placement agreement or agency joinder filed in the case.

(c) Hearing If the petition for adoption is filed in the juvenile court, the proceeding for adoption must be heard in juvenile court once appellate rights have been exhausted. Each petitioner and the child must be present at the hearing. The hearing may be heard by a referee if the referee is acting as a temporary judge.

(d) Record The record must reflect that the court has read and considered the assessment prepared for the hearing held under section 366.26 and as required by section 366.22(b), the report of any CASA volunteer, and any other reports or documents admitted into evidence.

(e) Assessment The preparer of the assessment may be called and examined by any party to the adoption proceeding.

(f) Consent

(1) At the hearing, each adoptive parent must executeAdoption Agreement(form ADOPT-210) in the presence of and with the acknowledgment of the court.

(2) If the child to be adopted is 12 years of age or older, he or she must also executeAdoption Agreement(form ADOPT-210), except in the case of a tribal customary adoption.

(g) Dismissal of jurisdiction If the petition for adoption is granted, the juvenile court must dismiss the dependency, terminate jurisdiction over the child, and vacate any previously set review hearing dates. A completedTermination of Dependency (Juvenile)(form JV-364) must be filed in the child’s juvenile dependency file.

Committee Notes

(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 1996, January 1, 1999, and January 1, 2004.)

(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2004.)

(Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 1999, and January 1, 2004.)

(Subd (d) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2004.)

(Subd (f) amended effective July 1, 2010; previously amended effective January 1, 1999, January 1, 2004, and January 1, 2007.)

(Subd (g) amended January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 1999, and January 1, 2004.)