Oregon Statutes 419B.656 – Tribal customary adoption; rules; forms
(1) As used in this section, ‘tribal customary adoption’ means the adoption of an Indian child, by and through the tribal custom, traditions or law of the child’s tribe, and which may be effected without the termination of parental rights.
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 419B.656
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
(2) If the juvenile court determines that tribal customary adoption is in the best interests, as described in ORS § 419B.612, of a ward who is an Indian child and the child’s tribe consents to the tribal customary adoption:
(a) The Department of Human Services shall provide the Indian child’s tribe and proposed tribal customary adoptive parents with a written report on the Indian child, including, to the extent not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, the medical background, if known, of the child’s parents, and the child’s educational information, developmental history and medical background, including all known diagnostic information, current medical reports and any psychological evaluations.
(b) The court shall accept a tribal customary adoptive home study conducted by the Indian child’s tribe if the home study:
(A) Includes federal criminal background checks, including reports of child abuse, that meet the standards applicable under the laws of this state for all other proposed adoptive placements;
(B) Uses the prevailing social and cultural standards of the Indian child’s tribe as the standards for evaluation of the proposed adoptive placement;
(C) Includes an evaluation of the background, safety and health information of the proposed adoptive placement, including the biological, psychological and social factors of the proposed adoptive placement and assessment of the commitment, capability and suitability of the proposed adoptive placement to meet the Indian child’s needs; and
(D) Except where the proposed adoptive placement is the Indian child’s current foster care placement, is completed prior to the placement of the Indian child in the proposed adoptive placement.
(c)(A) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, the court may not accept the tribe’s order or judgment of tribal customary adoption if any adult living in the proposed adoptive placement has a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, crimes against a child, including child pornography, or a crime involving violence.
(B) As used in this paragraph, ‘crime involving violence’ has the meaning described by the Department of Human Services by rule, which must include rape, sexual assault or homicide, but may not include other physical assault or battery.
(3)(a) The juvenile court shall accept an order or judgment for tribal customary adoption that is filed by the Indian child’s tribe if:
(A) The court determines that tribal customary adoption is an appropriate permanent placement option for the Indian child;
(B) The court finds that the tribal customary adoption is in the Indian child’s best interests, as described in ORS § 419B.612; and
(C) The order or judgment:
(i) Includes a description of the modification of the legal relationship of the Indian child’s parents or Indian custodian and the child, including contact, if any, between the child and the parents or Indian custodian, responsibilities of the parents or Indian custodian and the rights of inheritance of the parents and child;
(ii) Includes a description of the Indian child’s legal relationship with the tribe; and
(iii) Does not include any child support obligation from the Indian child’s parents or Indian custodian.
(b) The court shall afford full faith and credit to a tribal customary adoption order or judgment that is accepted under this subsection.
(4)(a) Notwithstanding ORS § 109.276, a tribal customary adoptive parent is not required to file a petition for adoption when the court accepts a tribal customary adoption order or judgment under subsection (3) of this section.
(b) The tribal customary adoptive parent shall file an Adoption Summary and Segregated Information Statement with accompanying exhibits as provided under ORS § 109.287.
(c) Notwithstanding ORS § 21.135, the clerk of the juvenile court may not charge or collect first appearance fees for a proceeding under this subsection.
(d) After accepting a tribal customary adoption order or judgment under subsection (3) of this section, the juvenile court that accepted the order or judgment shall proceed as provided in ORS § 109.350 and enter a judgment of adoption. In addition to the requirements under ORS § 109.350, the judgment of adoption must include a statement that any parental rights or obligations not specified in the judgment are transferred to the tribal customary adoptive parents and a description of any parental rights or duties retained by the Indian child’s parents, the rights of inheritance of the child and the child’s parents and the child’s legal relationship with the child’s tribe.
(e) A tribal customary adoption under this section does not require the consent of the Indian child or the child’s parents.
(f) Upon the court’s entry of a judgment of adoption under this section, the court’s jurisdiction over the Indian child terminates as provided in ORS § 419B.328 (2)(d).
(g) Records of adoptions filed and established under this subsection shall be kept in accordance with, and are subject to, ORS § 109.289.
(5) Any parental rights or obligations not specifically retained by the Indian child’s parents in the juvenile court’s adoption judgment are conclusively presumed to transfer to the tribal customary adoptive parents.
(6) This section shall remain operative only to the extent that compliance with the provisions of this section do not conflict with federal law as a condition of receiving funding under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act.
(7)(a) The Department of Human Services shall adopt rules requiring that any report regarding a ward who is an Indian child that the department submits to the court, including home studies, placement reports or other reports required under ORS chapters 109, 418, 419A and 419B, must address tribal customary adoption as a permanency option.
(b) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may make rules necessary for the court processes to implement the provisions of this section.
(c) The State Court Administrator may prepare necessary forms for the implementation of this section. [2021 c.398 § 65a]
Section 80, chapter 398, Oregon Laws 2021, provides:
No later than March 15, 2024, the Department of Human Services shall submit a report to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to the judiciary describing the department’s implementation of tribal customary adoption as described in section 65a of this 2021 Act [419B.656], as an alternative permanency option for wards who are Indian children and the department’s recommendations for proposed legislation to improve the tribal customary adoption process. [2021 c.398 § 80]