Montana Code 42-3-213. Filing of evaluation in adoption proceedings
42-3-213. Filing of evaluation in adoption proceedings. (1) In a direct parental placement adoption, the preplacement evaluation report must be filed with the court in support of the petition to terminate parental rights for purposes of adoption.
Terms Used In Montana Code 42-3-213
- Adoption: means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child when it does not exist genetically. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Agency: means a child placement agency licensed by the state of Montana pursuant to Title 52, chapter 8, that is expressly empowered to place children preliminary to a possible adoption. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Court: means a court of record in a competent jurisdiction and in Montana means a district court or a tribal court. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Department: means the department of public health and human services, provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Direct parental placement adoption: means an adoption in which the parent of the child places the child with a prospective adoptive parent personally known and selected by the parent independent of an agency. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Preplacement evaluation: means the home study process conducted by the department or a licensed child-placing agency that:
(a)assists a prospective adoptive parent or family to assess its own readiness to adopt; and
(b)assesses whether the prospective adoptive parent or family and home meet applicable standards. See Montana Code 42-1-103
(2)In an adoption arranged by the department or a licensed child-placing agency, the preplacement evaluation report must be permanently maintained in the files of the department or the licensed child-placing agency.