HB 1407: Adoption

Summary

• C Allows an adoption to take place without the consent of a parent if the parent has been convicted of rape or incest and the child was the victim or the result of the offense.
• C Provides that the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) must follow the placement wishes of parents who voluntarily give up their parental rights unless the proposed adoptive parents are unqualified, or the adoption is not in the child's best interest;
• if the DSHS has filed a petition seeking termination of the parent and child relationship, it must consider the placement wishes of the parents.
• C Adds conviction of the parent of a sex offense or incest when the child is born of the offense to the list of factors a court must consider when determining whether aggravating circumstances exist that would allow the court to order the filing of a petition to terminate a parent and child relationship without reasonable efforts to unify the family.
• $ Requires that the aggravating circumstances allowing the court to order the filing of a petition to terminate a parent and child relationship without reasonable efforts to unify the family must be proven by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence.

From the Substitute House Bill Report (SHB 1407), written by the Legislature's nonpartisan staff. Read the full report ↗