To qualify as an adoptive applicant:

1. (1) The applicant must be at least nineteen years of age and reside in South Dakota;
2. (2) No member of the applicant's household who is eighteen years of age or older, other than a child placed in the home for foster care, may have on record a substantiated report of child abuse or neglect;
3. (3) No member of the applicant's household may have a conviction for any crime specified in § 67:14:32:05.05;
4. (4) The applicant must have income to meet the needs of the applicant's existing family and to support, care for, and educate an adopted child;
5. (5) The applicant's children, if any, must be willing to accept an adopted child as a member of the family;
6. (6) The applicant's family composition, needs, and relationships may not adversely affect an adopted child;
7. (7) The applicant must have the ability to parent an adopted child, which includes a basic understanding of the child's physical and mental or emotional development and the ability to fulfill the child's needs;
8. (8) The applicant must have the ability to offer continuing care and guidance to an adopted child throughout the stages of the child's development in a manner consistent with the social and cultural heritage norms of the child;
9. (9) The applicant must be able to continue meeting the needs of the applicant's own children, if any; and

10. (10) The applicant must display the capacity to provide good care a child.

    The department may require a psychological evaluation and the submission of medical records if questions arise during the application process regarding the applicant's emotional stability or the emotional stability of another household member.

    Cross-References:

    Required criminal records checks, 42 U.S.C. § 671(a)(20).

    Home study report--Requirement--Cost, SDCL 25-6-9.1.

    Confidentiality of abuse or neglect information--Violation as misdemeanor--Release to certain parties, SDCL 26-8A-13.

    Information from another state's central registry or national crime database to be used only for background check, SDCL 26-6-14.13.

Source: 2 SDR 62, effective April 5, 1976; 7 SDR 23, effective September 18, 1980; 7 SDR 66, 7 SDR 89, effective July 1, 1981; 9 SDR 72, effective December 14, 1982; 17 SDR 157, effective April 23, 1991; 21 SDR 206, effective June 4, 1995; 35 SDR 187, effective February 11, 2009; 47 SDR 24, effective September 10, 2020 ; 51 SDR 127, effective June 1, 2025 .

General Authority: SDCL 26-4-9.1 .

Law Implemented: SDCL 26-4-9.1 .

Prior versions effective: 2020-09-10, 2009-02-11.