Title 45 — Juvenile Justice
10 chapters · 136 sections in this title.
A.S.C.A. § 45.0401 Termination of parental rights in a child
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(a) The Court may, upon petition, terminate all rights of a parent or parents in a child in: (1) proceedings under paragraph (a)(3) of 45.0115 by which the Court has determined the child to be neglected by one or both parents or to be dependent; or (2) proceedings under paragraph…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0402 Relinquishment procedure-Petition-Hearings
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(a) Any parent desiring to relinquish his child petitions the Court upon forms supplied by the Court, giving the following information: name of both natural parents, if known; name of the child, if named; ages of all parties concerned; race and religion of both natural parents, i…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0403 Final order of relinquishment
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(a) If the Court terminates parental rights of both parents or of the only living parent, the Court, after taking into account the racial, cultural, and religious background of the child, shall order guardianship of the person and legal custody transferred to: (1) the Department …
A.S.C.A. § 45.0404 Records-Separate dockets
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(a) Records and papers in relinquishment and in adoption proceedings from and after the filing of a petition are confidential and open to inspection only upon order of the Court for good cause shown. Separate dockets are maintained for relinquishment proceedings and for adoption …
A.S.C.A. § 45.0410 Who may be adopted
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Any child under 18 years of age present in the territory at the time the petition for adoption is filed and legally available for adoption under 45.0412 may be adopted. Upon approval of the Court, a person 18 years of age or older but under 21 years of age may be adopted as a chi…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0411 Who may adopt
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(a) Any person 21 years of age or older may petition the Court to decree an adoption. (b) A minor, upon approval of the court, may petition the Court to decree an adoption. History: 1980, PL, 16-71 § 1.
A.S.C.A. § 45.0412 Availability for adoption
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(a) A child may be available for adoption only upon: (1) order of the Court terminating all parental rights in the child in a proceeding brought under paragraph (a)(3) of 45.0115; (2) order of the Court decreeing the voluntary relinquishment of all parental rights in the child un…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0413 Placement for purposes of adoption
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No placement of any child legally available for adoption under paragraph (a)(l), (a)(2), (a)(3) or subsection (d) of 45.0412 may be made for the purposes of adoption except by the Court, the Department of Health, a child placement agency or institution, or an individual in whom g…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0414 Written consent and report
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(a) Unless the placement is made by the Court or in accordance with the law of another State or Territory, written consent of the Department of Health, agency, or individual to the proposed adoption, as required by 45.04 12, shall be filed with the petition to adopt. (b) In place…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0420 Petition for adoption
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(a) The petition for adoption is filed not later than 30 days after the date on which the child is first placed in the home of the adoptive applicants for the purpose of adoption unless the Court finds that there was reasonable cause or excusable neglect for not filing the petiti…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0421 Petition-Written reports
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Except for stepparent adoptions and those cases in which placement for adoption has been made by the Court, or by an individual in whom guardianship of the person of the child has been placed by the Court, or in accordance with the law of another State or Territory, if a petition…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0422 Hearing on petition
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(a) A hearing on the petition for adoption is held on the date set or the date to which the matter has been regularly continued. (b) No later than 6 months following the date of the hearing, unless for good cause shown that time is extended by the Court, the Court may enter a dec…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0423 Legal effects of final decree
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(a) After the entry of a final decree of adoption, the petitioner and the adopted person sustain toward each other the legal relation of parent and child, including the rights of inheritance from each other, and have all the rights and be subject to all the duties of a child born…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0424 Copies of order of adoption-To whom given
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(a) If the Court enters an order of adoption, certified copies are given to the adopting parents, the person or agency consenting to the adoption, the Clerk of the High Court, and the Registrar of Vital Statistics. (b) The Court or the adopting parents or their legal representati…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0430 Compensation for placing child prohibited
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(a) No person may offer, give, charge, or receive any money or other consideration or thing of value in connection with the consent to adoption or with the petition for adoption except attorney’s fees relative to the adoption proceedings and the charges and fees as may be approve…
A.S.C.A. § 45.0431 Limitation on annulment of adoption
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Final decree of adoption may not be attacked by reason of any jurisdictional or procedural defect after 2 years following the entry of the final decree. History: 1980, PL, 16-71 § 1.
A.S.C.A. § 45.0432 Long term guardianships for minor children
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(a) Notwithstanding any other section of law, in appropriate cases serving the best interests of a child, the Court may appoint a qualified person as the child’s guardian with such powers and custodial duties as set forth under 45.0103 (16) and (18), or either, as the Court may o…