THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY WAGNER, BELFANTI, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, CARROLL, D. COSTA, DALEY, FREEMAN, HORNAMAN, JOSEPHS, KULA, MAHONEY, MANN, MUNDY, MURPHY, M. O'BRIEN, PALLONE, PARKER, PASHINSKI, READSHAW, K. SMITH, VULAKOVICH, WALKO, WATSON AND YOUNGBLOOD, MAY 26, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, MAY 26, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, providing for disposition of adoption

agency records upon closure.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Title 23 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 2911.  Disposition of adoption agency records upon closure.

As soon as practicable, but no less than 30 days prior to the

date on which an adoption agency will cease to operate as a

legal entity in this Commonwealth, the agency shall, unless it

has applied to operate as a new legal entity, notify the

Department of Public Welfare of its intention to cease operating

and forward all of its case records to the department. The

department shall forward all records, in cases where the agency

acted as an intermediary regarding a child or parent, to the

courts which finalized the adoptions or which are in the process

of considering petitions to terminate parental rights or

petitions to adopt. All other records received by the department

under this section shall be disposed of or forwarded, at the

discretion of the department, in the manner most likely to

ensure their confidentiality.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 180 days.