Wyo. Code R. 049-0001-1
Adoption - Children and Family Services
Effective Date: 06/29/1992 to 04/15/2015
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 049.0001.1.06291992
Section 1. Authority. The Wyoming Statutes, W.S. 1-22-101 through 1-22-116 (as amended) establish the state's adoption programs. W.S. 1-22-115 establishes the authority of the Department of Family Services for adoption subsidy.
Section 2. Statement of Reasons. These rules are adopted to define the role of the Department in adoption services and to protect children who become dependents of the state through court termination of parental rights. The Department will accept voluntary parental relinquishment only after referral to private child placement agencies has been refused. The intention is to limit adoption services provided by the Department to the placement of special needs and dependent children into permanent adoptive homes identified, studied and evaluated by private child placement agencies and to the development and payment of adoption assistance agreements for special needs children and their adoptive families. Adoptive home study services shall not be provided by the Department unless so ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction or requested through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC).
(a) 'Adoptive Family' is a couple or single person evaluated and approved for adoption by the Department pursuant to a court order or a private child placement agency, licensed by the State of Wyoming or another state licensing agency.
(b) 'Applicant' is a couple or a single person who is interested in applying to adopt a child(ren).
(c) 'Adoption Process' is the process whereby adults, not being the biological parent of a child, may legally accept that child into the full rights, privileges and obligations of their family. By this process, the child assumes the family name and identity, is considered a dependent of that family and is eligible for inheritance through that family.
(d) 'Adult' is a person who has achieved the age of majority as specified by state statute.
(e) 'Child' is the minor person who is to be adopted.
(f) 'Child Placement Agencies' are private adoption agencies that are licensed or certified by the State of Wyoming or another state jurisdiction.
(g) 'Court Termination' is an action by the court of competent jurisdiction that terminates parental rights to a child, assigning these rights of guardianship to the Department.
(h) 'Special Needs Child' means a child who exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:
(i) Has irreversible or non-correctable physical or mental disabilities;
(ii) Has physical, mental or emotional disabilities correctable through surgery, treatment or other specialized services;
(iii) Is six years of age or older;
(iv) Has been in the same foster family home for a lengthy period of time, emotional ties have developed with the foster family and adoption assistance is necessary to facilitate an adoption;
(v) Is a member of a racial minority; or
(vi) Is a member of a sibling group and needs to be placed in the same home with siblings.
(i) “Relinquishment” is a voluntary action on the part of the parents that transfers the parental rights over their child to the state, a private child placement agency or individual empowered by statute to assume these rights.
(j) “Resident” means that, pursuant to W.S. 1-22-103, the petitioner has lived in Wyoming during the 60 days prior to the filing of the petition to adopt.
(k) “Subsidized Adoption” is the granting of a definite amount of financial assistance to an approved adoptive home in the adoption of a special needs child.
(a) The Department shall take applications for adoption services for prospective adoptive families only when ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction or through an Interstate Compact request. All other individuals and families requesting adoptive home study services are to be referred to child placement agencies.
(b) If the Department is ordered by the court to conduct an adoptive home study, the applicant is to provide the following:
(i) Names, addresses, age, sex, race and nationality, education, work and employment record, physical description, verification of marriage(s) and divorce(s), financial statement of assets, liabilities and income, family members and others living within the home;
(ii) Names and addresses of five (5) references who have known the applicant for a minimum of two (2) years:
(iii) A general physical examination, completed within the year, including fertility/infertility studies. When the applicant has any chronic medical condition, further medical evaluation may be requested. Related costs shall be the responsibility of the applicant. Fertility/infertility information may not be relevant to studies where the applicant is only considering special needs children.
(iv) Autobiographies of each applicant;
(v) A statement as to the motivation to apply for adoption and the types of children the applicant is considering for adoption.
(c) Applicants must document that they are a resident of the State of Wyoming.
(d) Following the receipt of the above, interviews both at the Department field office and the applicant’s home shall be conducted to provide the information needed to complete an adoptive home study and to assist in the evaluation of the suitability of placement of a child for adoption in that home. Such interviews shall be conducted within the time frame specified by the court order, but in no case shall the process exceed six (6) months from date of application.
(e) Further information may be required such as criminal history checks, psychological evaluations from a licensed psychologist and central registry checks. Related costs are the responsibility of the applicant.
(f) All of the above materials shall be compiled and submitted to the Field Office Manager for review within the time frame specified by the court order. Upon the manager’s review of the adoptive home study, the study shall be forwarded by the Department Field Office to the court initially ordering the study either directly or through the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children, if appropriate.
(a) The Department social worker, the worker’s supervisor or the manager of the field office shall evaluate the applicant, including but not limited to the following areas:
(i) Is the applicant an adult, as established by state statute, and of an age appropriate for the age of the child to be adopted?
(ii) If unmarried, is the applicant secure in his current status and able to provide, alone, for the child?
(iii) Is the applicant medically sterile and are feelings and attitudes concerning this situation resolved? This factor may not be appropriate for families desiring older, special needs children.
(iv) Is the adoptive parent’s health, security, income, physical and emotional ability such as to allow stable parenting?
(v) Is the applicant’s motivation one centering on the best interests of the child?
(vi) Is the applicant accepting of a child biologically parented by others?
(vii) Has the applicant handled past concerns such as divorce, marital conflict, employment changes, etc. in a constructive manner?
(viii) Are the applicant and other members of the applicant’s family open and comfortable with the sharing of the fact of adoption and biological background material with the child?
(b) The adoptive home study shall include a recommendation for or against adoptive placement.
(a) Selection and placement of a child in Department custody in an adoptive home may be accomplished in the following manner:
(i) The social worker is to prepare a profile of the child with non-identifying information to be sent to the central office.
(ii) The Department central office shall request from child placement agencies adoptive home studies that would best meet the needs of the child.
(iii) The Department central office will forward the home studies to the field office having legal custody of the child available for adoption. The field office manager and/or his designee shall select an adoptive home from the studies submitted.
(iv) If none of the adoptive home studies submitted are accepted, the field office will return all studies to the central office. The central office will obtain another selection of adoptive home studies to be considered.
(v) Department field offices should not contact agencies directly for the purpose of obtaining an adoptive home study. All requests for adoptive home studies shall be made through the central office.
(b) In the selection of the adoptive home, the field office manager and/or his designee shall consider, at a minimum, the following:
(i) The prospective adoptive parent’s ability to meet the needs of the child;
(ii) The prospective adoptive parent(s) personalities, attitude, preferences as to the child’s age, sex, race, nationality and number of children already in the family;
(iii) The prospective adoptive parent’s religious affiliation only if a certain religious preference is indicated by the biological parent when participating in the selection of an adoptive home; and
(iv) The location of the child’s biological family and relatives to assure confidentiality.
(v) In all such evaluations, the needs and the best interests of the child are to be paramount.
(c) The Department may contract with private child placement agencies for the provision of services to include:
(i) Pre- and post placement counseling of special needs children and their prospective adoptive families; and
(ii) Supervision of placement of special needs children in adoptive homes.
(a) The Department may grant subsidy payments to adoptive parent(s), if at the time of placement for adoption, the following apply:
(i) The child is in the legal custody of the Department of Family Services or a child placement agency certified by the state;
(ii) The child is legally free for adoption;
(iii) The Department or a certified, private child placement agency is financially responsible for the child;
(iv) The child is a special needs child as defined in Chapter I, Section 3(h) of these rules;
(v) Reasonable efforts to place the child without a subsidy have proven unsuccessful; and
(vi) The Department has determined the adoptive parent can provide for the non-financial needs of the child.
(b) The determination of the amount of subsidy shall be based upon the child’s needs and the circumstances of the adoptive parent.
(c) The subsidy may include, but is not limited to, medical costs, psychological counseling, maintenance and costs incurred for the adoption.
(d) Application for subsidy is to be made by the adoptive parent or agency on behalf of the child. Application shall be made on a form provided by the Department.
(e) With the exception of item (f) below, the amount of the adoption assistance payment shall be less than the foster care maintenance payment the child received or would receive in a foster family home.
(f) Payment of one-time, non-recurring expenses related to the facilitation of a special needs adoption may be provided by the Department.
(g) After the amount of the subsidy is agreed upon by the Department in consultation with the adoptive parents, an Adoption Assistance Agreement shall be signed by all the parties.
(h) The Agreement must be completed prior to the finalization of the adoption.
(i) The Adoption Assistance Agreement shall be reviewed not less than annually to determine if the terms of the agreement have changed or remain the same. The adoptive parent will be required to sign a form provided by the Department indicating:
(i) If the child has reached his 18th birthday, are there any mental or physical disabilities which warrant the continuation of the assistance;
(ii) If the adoptive parent continues to be legally responsible for the support of the child, and if he is providing financial support for the child;
(iii) If the child continues to reside in the home of the adoptive parent;
(iv) If there are any changes in the household that would affect the adoption assistance agreement; and
(v) If the adoptive parent wants to continue to receive the assistance amount.
(j) Once the child has been determined eligible, the adoption assistance agreement continues in effect regardless of the state of residence.
(i) The adoptive parent must notify the Department of any change in his address.
(ii) The central office will notify the new state of the child’s eligibility status for Medicaid coverage.
(iii) The Department is responsible for payment of the subsidy amount to the adoptive parent in his new state of residence.
(a) The Department central office shall maintain adoption records on infants and children in Department custody who are placed for adoption, as well as adoptions related to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
(b) Within ninety (90) days of finalization of adoption, the Department field office shall forward its file to the Department central office for sealing. The file shall include the following documents:
(i) The Final Decree;
(ii) The Relinquishment or Termination of Parental Rights;
(iii) Consent of the Field Office Manager to Adoption; and
(iv) Placement Agreement with Adoptive Parents.
(c) If certain court documents, such as the Final Decree, are not made available to the field office, then it shall be noted in the file that such a document is available in the District Court where the adoption was finalized.
(d) If an Adoption Assistance Agreement is in place, a separate file shall be maintained at the field office containing the items listed in the Adoption Services Program Procedures, Section VII, B, for federal audit purposes, found in Appendix A.
(e) The contents of adoption files are confidential and access to the information is limited by law.
(f) If the adoptive parents, birth parents, siblings of adopted children or adult adoptee's request access to their files, they should be referred to the central office for assistance.
(g) Non-identifying medical information may be provided to the adoptive parents or the adult adoptee without benefit of court order.
(i) The above individuals are to write to the adoption consultant at the central office and request that information.
(ii) In the request letter, the names of the adoptive parent, the adopted child, the date of birth of the child and, if possible, the place of birth or the county where the adoption was finalized need to be included.
(iii) The letter shall be signed and dated by the person making the request for information.
(iv) Information will be provided, when available from those files maintained by the Department, to include all available information regarding conditions or diseases believed to be hereditary, any drugs or medication taken during pregnancy and any other information which may be a factor influencing the child's health.
(h) There is no provision to provide birth parents with non-identifying medical information, but if they wish to add something to the adoption file, they may do so by writing the adoption consultant.
(i) All other access to adoption files is accomplished only by order of the District Court.
(a) Should the adoptive applicant whose study was completed by the Department feel that decisions made concerning the application are not clear or understandable, a review may be requested. Such request may be made to the field office manager or his designee.
(b) If further review is requested, the applicant may contact the region manager of that field office. Since adoption studies may only be completed as a result of a court order, the applicant has the opportunity to present his case to the court that ordered the study.
(c) If an Adoption Assistance Agreement is denied, terminated modified or changed in some manner, the field office manager shall notify the adoptive parent of that decision in writing.
(d) If the adoptive parent does not agree with that decision, the adoptive parent shall write to the field office manager within 30 calendar days from the date of the adverse decision and request that a fair hearing be scheduled.
(e) All hearing procedures shall be followed, as outlined in the Department’s Rules for Administrative Hearings, filed with the Secretary of State’s Office on March, 1988.