Montana Code 42-3-202. Initiation of preplacement evaluation — who conducts evaluation — payment of fees
42-3-202. Initiation of preplacement evaluation — who conducts evaluation — payment of fees. (1) A prospective adoptive parent who wishes to adopt a child may initiate the process by:
Terms Used In Montana Code 42-3-202
- 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
- Adoptive parent: means an adult who has become the mother or father of a child through the legal process of adoption. 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
- Child: means any person under 18 years of age. 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
- Parent: means the birth or adoptive mother or the birth, adoptive, or legal father whose parental rights have not been terminated. 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
- Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
(a)establishing a client relationship with the department or a licensed child-placing agency; or
(b)requesting a preplacement evaluation from the department, a licensed social worker, or a licensed child-placing agency.
(2)In a direct parental placement adoption, the preplacement evaluation must be conducted by either a licensed social worker or a licensed child-placing agency.
(3)The prospective adoptive parent and the home of the prospective adoptive parent must be studied and evaluated according to the provisions of this part.
(4)A department or agency from which an individual is seeking to adopt a child may require the individual to be evaluated by its own qualified employee or independent contractor even if the individual has received a favorable preplacement evaluation from another evaluator.
(5)Fees for the study and report are set by the entity completing them and must be paid for by the prospective adoptive parent.