Section 8714.5 Of Chapter 2. Agency Adoptions From California Family Law Code >> Division 13. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 2.
8714.5
. (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to expedite legal
permanency for children who cannot return to their parents and to
remove barriers to adoption by relatives of children who are already
in the dependency system or who are at risk of entering the
dependency system.
(2) This goal will be achieved by empowering families, including
extended families, to care for their own children safely and
permanently whenever possible, by preserving existing family
relationships, thereby causing the least amount of disruption to the
child and the family, and by recognizing the importance of sibling
and half-sibling relationships.
(b) A relative desiring to adopt a child may for that purpose file
a petition in the county in which the petitioner resides. Where a
child has been adjudged to be a dependent of the juvenile court
pursuant to Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and
thereafter has been freed for adoption by the juvenile court, the
petition may be filed either in the county where the petitioner
resides or in the county where the child was freed for adoption.
(c) Upon the filing of a petition for adoption by a relative, the
clerk of the court shall immediately notify the State Department of
Social Services in Sacramento in writing of the pendency of the
proceeding and of any subsequent action taken.
(d) If the adopting relative has entered into a postadoption
contact agreement with the birth parent as set forth in Section
8616.5 the agreement, signed by the participating parties, shall be
attached to and filed with the petition for adoption under
subdivision (b).
(e) The caption of the adoption petition shall contain the name of
the relative petitioner. The petition shall state the child's name,
sex, and date of birth.
(f) If the child is the subject of a guardianship petition, the
adoption petition shall so state and shall include the caption and
docket number or have attached a copy of the letters of the
guardianship or temporary guardianship. The petitioner shall notify
the court of any petition for adoption. The guardianship proceeding
shall be consolidated with the adoption proceeding, and the
consolidated case shall be heard and decided in the court in which
the adoption is pending.
(g) The order of adoption shall contain the child's adopted name
and, if requested by the adopting relative, or if requested by the
child who is 12 years of age or older, the name the child had before
adoption.
(h) For purposes of this section, "relative" means an adult who is
related to the child or the child's half-sibling by blood or
affinity, including all relatives whose status is preceded by the
words "step," "great," "great-great," or "grand," or the spouse of
any of these persons, even if the marriage was terminated by death or
dissolution.