Title 8 — Child Safety

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Adult" means a person eighteen years of age or older. 2. "Agency" or "adoption agency" means a person other than the division licensed by the division to place children for adoption, including an attorney or law firm. 3.…

A. Except as provided in title 14, chapter 8 and subsection B of this section, only a child, or a foreign-born person who is twenty-one years of age or less and who is not an illegal alien, who is present within this state at the time the petition for adoption is filed may be ado…

If a petition for adoption is filed prior to a child's eighteenth birthday jurisdiction of the superior court continues for purposes of entering an order of adoption of such child even if the child becomes eighteen years of age prior to the final adoption hearing.

A. Any adult resident of this state, whether married, unmarried or legally separated, is eligible to qualify to adopt children. A husband and wife may jointly adopt children. B. An adult nonresident of this state, whether married, unmarried or legally separated, is eligible to qu…

A petitioner may begin adoption proceedings in the court in the county where the prospective adoptive parent resides or, if applicable, in the county where the child is a ward.

A. Before any prospective adoptive parent may petition to adopt a child the person shall be certified by the court as acceptable to adopt children. A certificate shall be issued only after an investigation conducted by an officer of the court, by an agency, by the department or b…

A. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the division, an agency or the court shall not deny or delay a placement or an adoption certification based on the race, the color or the national origin of the adoptive parent or the child. B. This section does not apply to the placeme…

The division shall not remove a child from the child's foster parents for the sole reason that the foster parents have applied to adopt the child.

The division shall establish and administer a child placement program that uses community organizations to inform communities about the adoption process and the need for adoptive homes. For purposes of this section, religiously affiliated organizations may qualify as community or…

A. The court shall not grant an adoption of a child unless consent to adopt has been obtained and filed with the court from the following: 1. The child's birth or adoptive mother, if living. 2. The child's father if any of the following is true: (a) The father was married to the …

A. A person who is seeking paternity, who wants to receive notice of adoption proceedings and who is the father or claims to be the father of a child shall file notice of a claim of paternity and of his willingness and intent to support the child to the best of his ability with t…

A. All consents to adoption shall be in writing and signed by the person giving the consent and witnessed by two or more credible witnesses who are at least eighteen years of age and who subscribe their names in the presence of the person giving the consent or shall be acknowledg…

A. A person who is not currently certified as acceptable to adopt but who has custody of a child who the person intends to adopt shall petition the court for an order permitting that person to keep custody of the child pending certification. The person shall file the petition not…

A. The potential adoptive parent or parents, an agency or the division may file a petition to adopt. The petition shall specify: 1. The full name, age and place of residence of the prospective adoptive parent and, if married, the date and place of marriage and the relationship if…

A. The court may order, upon request of any interested party, that the child to be adopted shall be referred to by a fictitious name in all proceedings before the court, if such would be in the best interest of the child. B. If the court, by order, authorizes the use of a fictiti…

After a petition to adopt has been filed, the clerk of the superior court shall set a time and place for a hearing by the court. Notice shall be as provided for the service of process in civil actions to: 1. The petitioner. 2. The agency, if any. 3. The person or agency conductin…

A. The division, an agency or an officer of the court shall conduct and submit a social study to the court ten days before the hearing on the petition to adopt. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, the court may order an additional social study or waive the socia…

A. A child who has been placed in a certified adoptive home by any agency or the division shall not be removed from the home except on order of the juvenile court. The agency or the division may request a hearing for removal before the juvenile court, and in those cases, a hearin…

A. The court may approve any monies paid to a parent of a child placed for adoption or another person for the benefit of the parent or adopted child for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the adoption. These expenses may include costs for medical and ho…

A. The court shall hold a hearing on a petition filed pursuant to this article in as informal a manner as the requirements of due process and fairness permit. The prospective adoptive parent, the spouse of a prospective adoptive parent and the child to be adopted shall attend unl…

A. If, after the hearing and consideration of all the evidence, the court is satisfied that the requirements of this article have been met and that the adoption is in the best interests of the child, the court shall order the adoption. The order may change the name of the child t…

A. The parties to a proceeding under this chapter may enter into an agreement regarding communication with a child adoptee, the adoptive parents and a birth parent. B. An agreement is not enforceable unless the agreement is in writing and is approved by the court. The court shall…

A. On entry of the decree of adoption, the relationship of parent and child and all the legal rights, privileges, duties, obligations and other legal consequences of the natural relationship of child and parent thereafter exist between the adopted child and the adoptive parent as…

In any case in which the petition is withdrawn or denied the court shall order the removal of the child from the proposed adoptive home if the court finds that such removal is in the child's best interest. If such removal is ordered, the court shall vest temporary legal custody i…

In the event of the death of the petitioner, the petition for adoption shall be dismissed, except where there are two petitioners and one of the petitioners dies the proceeding shall continue unless withdrawn by the surviving petitioner.

A. Except as provided in section 8-129, all files, records, reports and other papers compiled under this article, whether filed in or in possession of the court, an agency or any person or association, shall be withheld from public inspection. B. Such files, records, reports and …

A. It is unlawful, except for purposes for which files and records or social records or parts thereof or information therefrom have been released pursuant to subsection C of this section or section 8-120, 8-129, 8-134 or 36-340, or except for purposes allowed by order of the cour…

The court, an agency or the division may voluntarily defer, waive or reduce any fee if payment of the fee would cause a hardship to the adoptive parent or would be detrimental to the welfare of the adoptive child.

After one year from the date the adoption decree is entered, any irregularity in the proceeding shall be deemed cured and the validity of the decree shall not thereafter be subject to attack on any such ground in any collateral or direct proceeding.

The adoption of an adopted person is authorized, and in that case the references to the parents are to adoptive parents.

Where an adoption has been judicially decreed by a court in another state, such decree shall have the same force and effect as to matters within the jurisdiction of this state as though it had been granted by a court of this state.

The division shall: 1. License agencies on an annual basis subject to renewal. Before issuing a license, the division shall investigate the activities of the agency, its financial stability, the character and training of its personnel and the adequacy of the agency's intended ser…

A. The county attorney of the county in which the prospective adoptive parent resides or, if applicable, the county where the child is a ward of the court, on application of the person or persons seeking adoption, shall prepare the adoption petition and act as attorney without ex…

A person who knowingly violates any provision of this article is guilty of a class 6 felony.

A. Before placing a child for adoption, the division or the agency or the person placing the child, if the child is not placed by the division, shall compile and provide to the prospective adoptive parents detailed written nonidentifying information, including a health and geneti…

A. A consent to adoption of a child shall not be granted to an agency unless the agency is licensed to place children for adoption under this article. A consent may be granted to the division, which is exempt from licensure. An agency or the division may conduct both agency place…

The division is not required to be licensed but the division shall comply with the provisions of this article and with the standards required by the division for licensed adoption agencies.

A. Unless otherwise provided by law and except as provided in subsection C or D of this section, all personal information concerning an individual who applies for or who receives an adoption agency license is confidential and may not be released, unless the release is ordered by …

A. The division may charge fees for studying and certifying adoption applicants and for providing placement supervision services to cover the costs of providing these services. B. If an investigation is conducted by an officer of the court, the court may charge a reasonable fee, …

A. Any of the following persons may use the services of a confidential intermediary who is listed with the court: 1. The adoptive parents of an adoptee who is at least eighteen years of age or, if the adoptive parents are deceased, the adoptee's guardian. 2. An adoptee if the ado…

A. The confidential intermediary and fiduciary fund is established consisting of the monies received pursuant to section 12-284.03, subsection A, paragraph 8, section 14-5651, subsection A, section 36-341, subsection B and section 41-178, legislative appropriations, donations, fe…

A. A court may not refuse to do either of the following: 1. Certify a prospective adoptive parent as acceptable to adopt children based on the prospective adoptive parent's blindness, if the prospective adoptive parent is otherwise acceptable to adopt children. 2. Grant an adopti…

A. In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Adoption subsidy" means a grant that is provided to a child with special needs and that has been applied for through the department. 2. "Agency" means the department or a child welfare agency that is authorized in its…

A. The department shall establish and administer an ongoing program of subsidized adoption. Adoption subsidies shall be provided from monies appropriated to the department or made available to it from other sources. B. The department shall not pay claims for a special services su…

A. Notwithstanding section 8-144, subsection B, for inpatient hospital admissions and outpatient hospital services on or after March 1, 1993, the department shall reimburse a hospital according to the rates established by the Arizona health care cost containment system pursuant t…

A. The following persons may apply to the department to have the adoption of a child subsidized: 1. Foster parents who are interested in adopting a child in their home. 2. Permanent guardians who are appointed for a child pursuant to chapter 4, article 12 of this title. 3. Other …

A. The family entering into subsidized adoption and the department shall sign a subsidy agreement that contains a provision for periodic review as provided in subsection D of this section before the final decree of adoption is issued, except as provided in subsection B of this se…

An order denying, reducing or terminating a subsidy shall be appealable pursuant to title 41, chapter 6, article 6 and chapter 14, article 3.

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Application" means the completion of the department application form with documentation of the child's special needs and nonrecurring expenses related to the adoption. 2. "Child" means a person who is under the age of ei…

A. The department shall establish and administer a program of payment for nonrecurring adoption expenses. Nonrecurring adoption expenses shall be provided from monies appropriated to the department or made available to it from other sources. B. Except as provided in subsection C,…