PA consent and revocation

The state laws in PA are 30 days revokation period for consent and 6 months to finalize. We are in the process of adopting from MD, but we are from PA, so we had looked into the laws in the 2 states to see where it would be better to finalize. Turns out, it doesn't make a difference; both states were basically the same. I am not sure what the birthfather's rights are if he does not sign, so that may be an even greater risk. The 30 days are too long and I hope they change the laws soon. I can't imagine having to give back a baby after a day, let alone 30! But the 6 months are more for the state to make sure the child is in good hands rather than a period for anyone to come reclaim their child. Our social worker told us it should be looked at as the afamily's bragging period.

Hi there, I read your post regarding PA laws and the amount of time a birthmom has to "take back" the baby. Actually, the revocation period for PA is 90-120 days! I have two PA attorneys on retainer and one in KS, they are all members of AAAA and all say the same. I would not want to use PA laws for an adoption! Way too scarey. Good Luck!

emmy98 is right. my husband and I took custody of a newborn infant right from the hospital. the BM and BF had revoked their parental consent. however, there is a waiting period between the time that is signed and the the time a lawyer can petition the court for an adoption hearing - i believe it is 40 or 45 days. even then, until the hearing, at which time the adoption is finalized, the Bparents can change their minds. in our case, because of a problem with filing the paperwork, our hearing was one month later than it should have been. three days before the hearing, the BM had convinced the BF (and his mom) that they should keep the child (they were both teenagers). on 9/11/01, we were sitting in our lawyers office crying, going over our options and listening as both the twin towers and our lives were crumbling around us. a week later, we turned over our son to his birth parents, he was 3.5 months old. it was an awful experience and i would not wish that on anyone. the laws in PA favor birth parents. i do understand that people can change their minds and sometimes need time to do it but in this case, we served as nothing more than free child care while the BM used the potential of adoption as a way to get both the BF and his parents to give her support so she could keep her child. her situation was difficult but she took advantage of us financially and emotionally. i only pray that she is half the mother she said she would be. anyway, BEWARE!

I thought things had recently changed so I went to the local resolve website and found a link to this info: House Approves True's Bill Setting 20-Day Time Limit For Birth Parents to Revoke Consent for Adoption Tuesday, June 24, 2003 In a move that bolsters the rights of adoptive parents in Pennsylvania, the House today approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Katie True (R-41) that limits the time in which a birth mother or father can revoke their consent for adoption to 20 days after that consent was given. House Bill 1423, which amends the Pennsylvania Adoption Act, passed this afternoon by a 189-8 vote. It now moves on to the Senate for consideration. "This certainly is a significant step in reforming Pennsylvanias archaic adoption laws," True said. "ItҒs really a long-overdue victory for adoptive parents, those loving people who are willing to open their hearts and share their lives with children who need a nurturing home." Currently, state law does not define a clear revocation period. The existing statute provides that a consent to an adoption may only be revoked prior to either the entry of a decree of termination of parental rights or the entry of a decree for adoption, whichever occurs earlier. As it stands, the limitation is indeterminate and varies from county to county. "Because of this, adopting a baby in Pennsylvania can be a heartbreaking process," True said. "We have situations in this state where adoptive parents take a child into their home, only to have the child taken away from them six months or even a year later, after the birth mother reconsiders her decision." True said passage of House Bill 1423 is "extremely satisfying" because she has been involved with the issue, as well as overall adoption reform since 1993. "Ive received numerous letters and have had many conversations with people in my district and around the state who lament PennsylvaniaҒs adoption laws," True said. "They have been adamant in encouraging me to champion adoption reform in this Commonwealth. "Recently, the issue has become more personal with me," she added. "My son and his wife are in the process of trying to adopt a child here, and Ive observed some of the obstacles theyҒve encountered. Theyve told me theyҒre hoping their baby will come from any state but Pennsylvania." Under Trues legislation, a birth parent who has given his or her consent to an adoption may challenge the validity of that consent after the 20-day revocation period expires only if he or she can prove by clear and convincing evidence that consent was given under fraud or duress. In those cases, a person may challenge validity within 60 days after the birth of the child or execution of the consent, whichever occurs later, or 30 days after the entry of the adoption decree. Rep. Katie True 41st District Hope this helps.

I contacted my state senator in June when I heard about this legislation. He wrote me back saying that the bill HB1423 is stuck in the Judiciary Committee and that it is not scheduled for review. Republican Senator Stewart Greenleaf is the majority chairman of the committee. Here's a link to the bill's history [url]http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BH/2003/0/HB1423.HTM[/url] Contact Senator Greenleaf at: Harrisburg Office Senate Box 203012 Harrisburg, PA 17120-3012 (717) 787-6599 800-848-5013 or fill in the form at [url]http://greenleaf.pasenategop.com/contact.html[/url] to ask him to move the bill to a vote!! And contact your senator to ask for their support. To find you senator go to [url]http://www2.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/findyourlegislator/find.cfm[/url] I will repost this to the top of the list also! Deborah

ReunitedMom2354, giving up my girl was very painfull but I wouldnt have wanted her in foster care for 6 weeks. Its not the babys fault that some bthparents cant parent and I dont think its right to not let the baby be with adparents right away. During the 9 months is when all options should be explored. Not in the weeks after giving birth and greeving and feeling sad. It would be too easy to make the wrong decision only on what bthmother wants and not what is best for the baby. If the facts were during the 9 months that the baby should be adopted, feeling heartbrake is not going to change the facts.

WE are in the process of our second adoption from PA. Our first adoption from placement to finalization was one year. Our son was a foster child (not ours)placed in our home for perminancy. Our current placement occurred mid April. The birthmom signed placement papers that were notarized and given to the judge, but in PA that is not good enough. We had a scheduled hearing 4 months after placement. Since the birth mom did not appear, a second hearing was scheduled 3 months after the first(add it up now 7 months). They physically have to appear before the judge to agree with termination of their rights at the first hearing. According to our lawyer, this rarely happens. A registered letter was sent to her place of residence and she had moved with no forewarding address. Now the lawyers had to advertise for both the birth father(who was unknown) and birthmother notifying them publically they had 30 days to respond or their rights would be involuntarily terminated. They did not respond. Luckily our lawyer said the registered letter returned in enough time to advertise or they would have had to delay that hearing and reschedule. Now 7 months after placement termination has occurred. Up till now, the birthparents could have legally changed their mind. Now we are waiting for finalization hearing that has not as of yet been scheduled. We are hoping for early spring, but the last time we adopted, the finalization hearing was 6 months after the lawyer got on the schedule for the judge. I think all of the timing depends on the business of that county's court system. Anyway, we are till waiting....Yes PA is quite a risk for a long time legally and I encourage everyone I know to push for changes in adoption law.

Please..... be careful!! I cannot express this enough. We have been residents here in PA for 6 years, have been on our adoption journey for 2 1/2 yrs and after being victims of 2 scams, than the loss of a son by stillborn, than about 5 bmoms changing their minds we thought our dreams of becoming a family were finally coming true. Our son was born Nov 5th in Virginia, his bmom had contacted us back in May about placing, which she found us purely by accident... or the work of God. The bdad was not onboard at the time, he did not even take the time to meet us when we went down to Va for a week in July.... than he Sept he decided he would sign and realized adoption was in the best interest of this baby. He asked the bmom for our numbers so he could establish a relationship with us and so we thought all was fine..... PA law requires signing of consents 72 hrs after birth.... bmom signed........ bdad did not and in fact he wrote a note he was revoking his consent.... well all the attorneys involved said "no problem because he will have to come to PA to fight it should he choose to continue making trouble" so all the papers were sent to ICPC in Va who approved our leaving with our son on Nov 18th, I knew ICPC in PA had not approved us bringing our son across state lines so I stopped at my nieces' house in New Jersey to stay until clearance came ........ ICPC in PA rejected the baby coming home....... no signed consent and there was a note that bdad was against the adoption and is giving baby to his parents. Needless to say everyone was shocked. At the advice of my attorney I contacted my state rep, he got nowhere with ICPC so here we are 2 weeks later and the baby cannot come home.... bdad is taking us to court on Feb 12th in Virginia for custody. He has never once contacted anyone to ask how his son is, where he is or anything at all.......... neither has his parents. His own Mom has stated that "no Judge in his right mind would give her son custody so that is why she is doing this" Where is this in the best interest of this child?? What is fair to this baby??? Please........ do not attempt to do an adoption WITHOUT signed consents, we are now at a great risk of losing our son who we fell more in love with the second he came out and I saw him. Our attorneys never expected ICPC to reject this and nobody in that office can tell me they have never received an adoption packet that did not have a signed bdad consent....... this cannot and is not the first time this has happened!! If anyone knows anything this precious baby who is in limbo and cannot come home needs your help...... Feel free to email me at Poogiebr@ptd.net Thanks and good luck to all Jennifer The dream continues

My prayers are with you...I know all too well what fears you have in your heart. Take each day as a gift from God and try not to withhold your heart from your child. For as long as he is with you, he is in your care and relies on you for love and comfort. May God's grace and love shine upon you and may all involved listen to God to know the path they should walk.