Kansas

Adoption Laws

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Consent to Adoption

Who Must Consent to an Adoption Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 59-2129; 59-2136(d)

Consent to an independent adoption shall be given by:

• The living parents of the child
• One of the parents of the child if the other’s consent is found unnecessary under § 59-2136
• The legal guardian of the child if both parents are dead or if their consent is found to be unnecessary
• The court entering an order under § 38-2270
• The judge of any court having jurisdiction over the child pursuant to the code for care of children if parental rights have not been terminated

Consent to an agency adoption shall be given by the authorized representative of the agency having authority to consent to the adoption of the child.

In a stepparent adoption, if a mother consents to the adoption of a child who has a presumed father or a father for whom the child is a legitimate child, the consent of such father must be given to the adoption unless such father has failed or refused to assume the duties of a parent for 2 consecutive years immediately prior to the filing of the adoption petition or is incapable of giving such consent.

Consent of Child Being Adopted Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2129

Consent to adoption shall be given by the child sought to be adopted if the child is over age 14 and of sound intellect.

When Parental Consent Is Not Needed Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2136(d), (h)

If a mother desires to consent to the adoption of her child, a petition shall be filed in the district court to terminate the parental rights of the father unless the father’s relationship to the child has been previously terminated or determined not to exist by a court.

The court may terminate the father’s parental rights upon a finding, by clear and convincing evidence, of any of the following:

• The father abandoned or neglected the child after having knowledge of the child’s birth.
• The father is unfit as a parent or incapable of giving consent.
• The father has made no reasonable efforts to support or communicate with the child.
• The father, after having knowledge of the pregnancy, failed without reasonable cause to provide support for the mother during the 6 months prior to the child’s birth.
• The father abandoned the mother after having knowledge of the pregnancy.
• The birth of the child was the result of rape of the mother.
• The father has failed or refused to assume the duties of a parent for 2 consecutive years immediately prior to the filing of the petition.

In making a finding whether parental rights shall be terminated, the court may:

• Consider and weigh the best interests of the child
• Disregard incidental visitations, contacts, communications, or contributions

As far as is applicable, the provisions also apply to the mother.

When Consent Can Be Executed Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 59-2114; 59-2116

A consent or relinquishment may not be given by the mother or accepted until 12 hours after the birth of a child. Any consent or relinquishment given by the mother before 12 hours after the birth of a child is voidable, prior to the final decree of adoption.

Consent in all cases shall have been executed not more than 6 months prior to the date the petition for adoption is filed.

How Consent Must Be Executed Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 59-2114; 59-2115

Consent shall be in writing and shall be acknowledged before a judge of a court of record or before an officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments. If consent is acknowledged before a judge of a court of record, it shall be the duty of the court to advise the consenting person of the consequences of the consent.

Minority of a parent shall not invalidate a parent’s consent except that a minor parent shall have the advice of independent legal counsel as to the consequences of the consent prior to its execution. The attorney providing independent legal advice to the minor parent shall be present at the execution of the consent. Unless the minor parent is otherwise represented by independent legal counsel, the petitioner or child-placing agency shall provide independent legal counsel to the minor parent at such petitioner’s or child-placing agency’s sole expense.

Revocation of Consent Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2114

A consent is final when executed unless the consenting party, prior to final decree of adoption, alleges and proves by clear and convincing evidence that the consent was not freely and voluntarily given. The burden of proving the consent was not freely and voluntarily given shall rest with the consenting party.

Criminal Background Checks for Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents

Requirements for Foster Parents Ann. Stat. § 65-516(a) & (e)

No licensed child care facility, including a foster home, may have on the premises a person who has:

• A felony conviction for a crime against persons, including murder, manslaughter, assault, battery, or kidnapping
• A felony conviction under §§ 21-36a01 through 21-36a17, relating to controlled substances
• A conviction of any act described in chapter 21, article 35 [sex offenses, including rape, sexual battery, or sexual exploitation of a child]
• A conviction of any act described in chapter 21, article 36 [crimes affecting family relationships and children, including incest, or abuse, abandonment, or endangerment of a child]
• A conviction of an attempt to commit any such act
• A conviction for promoting obscenity or promoting obscenity to minors
• Been adjudicated a juvenile offender for any of the above acts
• Committed an act of physical, mental or emotional abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse and who is listed in the child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the department
• Had a child removed from home in this or any other State based on a finding of abuse or neglect or sexual abuse, and the child has not been returned home
• Had parental rights terminated

The secretary is authorized to conduct fingerprint-based national criminal history record checks to determine criminal history on persons residing, working, or regularly volunteering in a foster care home. The secretary shall submit the fingerprints to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.

Requirements for Adoptive Parents Ann. Stat. § 59-2132

An adoption investigation report must include the results of a child abuse registry check and a criminal registry check that determines whether the prospective adoptive parent has any prior felony convictions.

In making the assessment, the social worker, child-placing agency, or the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services shall determine whether the petitioner has been convicted of a felony for any act described in chapter 21, articles 34 [crimes against persons, such as murder, manslaughter, assault, battery, or kidnapping], 35 [sex offenses, such as rape, sexual battery, or sexual exploitation of a child], or 36 [crimes affecting family relationships or children, such as incest, or abuse, abandonment, or endangerment of a child] or, within the past 5 years has been convicted of a felony violation of §§ 21-36a01 through 21-36a17, relating to controlled substances, and, when appropriate, any similar conviction in another jurisdiction.

The costs of making the assessment and report may be assessed as court costs.

Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights

Circumstances That Are Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights Ann. Stat. §§ 38-2269; 38-2271

The court may terminate parental rights when it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent is unfit by reason of conduct or condition that makes the parent unable to care properly for a child, and the conduct or condition is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. In making a determination of unfitness, the court shall consider, but is not limited to, the following:

• Emotional illness, mental illness, mental deficiency, or physical disability of such duration or nature as to make the parent unable to care for the child
• Conduct toward a child of a physically, emotionally, sexually cruel, or abusive nature
• The use of intoxicating liquors or dangerous drugs that render the parent unable to care for a child
• Physical, mental, or emotional abuse; neglect; or sexual abuse of a child
• Conviction of a felony and imprisonment
• Unexplained injury or death of another child or stepchild of the parent
• Failure of reasonable efforts made by appropriate public or private agencies to rehabilitate the family
• Lack of effort on the part of the parent to adjust the parent’s circumstances, conduct, or conditions to meet the needs of the child
• Whether the child has been in extended out-of-home placement as a result of actions or inactions attributable to the parent and any of the factors listed below apply

In addition, when a child is not in the physical custody of a parent, the court shall consider, but is not limited to, the following:

• The parent has failed:
  • To assure care of the child when able to do so
  • To maintain regular visitation, contact, or communication with the child
  • To carry out a reasonable plan approved by the court directed toward the integration of the child into a parental home
  • To pay a reasonable portion of the cost of substitute physical care and maintenance based on ability to pay
• A parent has previously been found to be an unfit parent.
• A parent has twice before been convicted of a crime against the person or a sex offense, or the attempt to commit such a crime, and the victim was under age 18.
• On two or more prior occasions a child in the physical custody of the parent has been adjudicated a child in need of care.
• The parent has been convicted of causing the death of another child or stepchild of the parent.
• The child has been in out-of-home placement for a cumulative period of 1 year or longer, and the parent has substantially neglected or willfully refused to carry out a reasonable plan for reintegration of the child into the parental home.
• The child has been in out-of-home placement for a cumulative period of 2 years or longer, the parent has failed to carry out a reasonable plan for reintegration of the child into the parental home, and there is a substantial probability that the parent will not carry out such plan in the near future.
• A parent has been convicted of capital murder or voluntary manslaughter, or has been adjudicated a juvenile offender, and the victim of such murder was the other parent of the child.
• A parent abandoned or neglected the child after having knowledge of the child’s birth.
• A parent has made no reasonable efforts to support or communicate with the child after having knowledge of the child’s birth.
• A father, after having knowledge of the pregnancy, failed without reasonable cause to provide support for the mother during the 6 months prior to the child’s birth.
• A father abandoned the mother after having knowledge of the pregnancy.
• A parent has been convicted of rape resulting in the conception of the child.
• A parent has failed to assume the duties of a parent for 2 consecutive years prior to the filing of the petition. In making this determination the court may disregard incidental visitations, contacts, communications, or contributions.

Circumstances That Are Exceptions to Termination of Parental Rights

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Circumstances Allowing Reinstatement of Parental Rights

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Home Study Requirements for Prospective Parents in Domestic Adoption

Who Must Be Studied Citation: Admin. Regs. § 28-4-176

Each member of the prospective adoptive family must be included in the home study.

Agency or Person Conducting the Study Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2132

In independent and agency adoptions, the court shall require the petitioner to obtain an assessment of the advisability of the adoption by a court-approved licensed:

• Social worker
• Marriage and family therapist
• Professional counselor
• Psychologist or psychotherapist
• Child-placing agency

Qualifications for Adoptive Parents Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2113; Admin. Regs. § 28-4-176

A petition to adopt a child may be filed by any unmarried adult or a husband and wife together.

In regulation: The agency shall provide orientation to prospective adoptive parents to acquaint them with the agency’s policies and practices, the approximate time the assessment will take, eligibility standards, types of children available, and the availability of subsidy.

Elements of a Home Study Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2132; Admin. Regs. § 28-4-176

In making the assessment, the investigator is authorized to observe the child in the petitioner’s home, verify financial information of the petitioner, clear the name of the petitioner with the child abuse and neglect registry and, when appropriate, with a similar registry in another State, and clarify any genetic and medical history filed with the petition.

In regulation:The agency shall require prospective adoptive parents to submit an application that shall be designed to obtain information their family, their home, their financial status, and references to initiate a home study. The agency shall conduct a social study with the family in their home. The study process shall include a face-to-face interview with each member of the household. The agency shall have on file a written assessment of the adoptive home that shall assess the following areas:

• Motivation for adoption
• The family’s attitude toward accepting an adoptive child
• Emotional stability, physical health, and compatibility of the adoptive parents
• Ability to cope with problems, stress, frustrations, crises, and loss
• Information on medical or health conditions that would affect the applicant’s ability to parent a child
• Record of convictions other than minor traffic violations
• Ability to provide for child’s physical and emotional needs
• Adjustment of the petitioners’ own children, if any, including their school reports
• Positive feelings about parenting an adoptive child
• Capacity to give and receive affection
• Types of children desired and kinds of handicaps accepted
• Types of children who would not be appropriate for placement with the family
• References
• Recommendations for number, age, sex, characteristics, and special needs children best served by the family

Grounds for Withholding Approval Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2132

In making the assessment, the investigator shall determine whether the petitioner has been convicted of a felony for any act described in chapter 21, articles 34 [crimes against person, including murder, manslaughter, assault, battery, or kidnapping], 35 [sex offenses, including rape, sexual battery, or sexual exploitation of a child], or 36 [crimes affecting family relationships or children, including incest, abuse, abandonment, or endangerment of a child], (prior to their repeal, or section 36 through 86, 174, 210, 211 or 229 through 231 of chapter 136 of the 2010 Session Laws of Kansas) or, within the past 5 years been convicted of a felony violation of §§ 21-36a01 through 21-36a17, or any felony violation of any provision of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act prior to July 1, 2009, and, when appropriate, any similar conviction in another jurisdiction.

When Studies Must Be Completed Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2132

The assessment and report required by this section shall have been completed no more than 1 year prior to the filing of the petition for adoption.

Postplacement Study Requirements Citation: Admin. Regs. § 28-4-176

The agency worker shall establish a time schedule for visits to the adoptive family after the placement of a child in order to be able to make clear recommendations for the finalization of the adoption.

Exceptions for Stepparent or Relative Adoptions Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2132

The assessment and report required by this section may be waived by the court upon review of a petition requesting such waiver by a relative of the child.

Requirements for Interjurisdictional Placements Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 59-2120; 59-2132

Any out-of-home placement of a child outside the State is subject to the provisions of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.

The child shall not be sent into the receiving State until the appropriate public authorities in the receiving State notify the sending agency, in writing, that the proposed placement does not appear to be contrary to the interests of the child.

In the case of a nonresident who is filing a petition to adopt a child in Kansas, the assessment and report required by this section must be completed in the petitioner’s State of residence by a person authorized in that State to conduct such assessments. Such report shall be filed with the court no less than 10 days before the hearing on the petition.

Foster to Adopt Placements

This issue is not addressed in the statutes and regulations reviewed.

Infant Safe Haven Laws

Infant’s Age Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2282

An infant who is 45 days old or younger may be relinquished.

Who May Relinquish the Infant Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2282

A parent or other person having lawful custody of an infant that has not suffered bodily harm may surrender physical custody of the infant.

Who May Receive the Infant Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2282

Physical custody of the infant may be surrendered to any employee who is on duty at a fire station, city or county health department, or medical care facility.

Responsibilities of the Safe Haven Provider Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2282

As soon as possible after an employee takes physical custody of an infant, such person shall notify a local law enforcement agency. Upon receipt of such notice, a law enforcement officer shall take custody of the infant as an abandoned child.

Any person, city or county agency, or medical care facility taking physical custody of an infant shall perform any act necessary to protect the physical health or safety of the infant.

Immunity for the Provider Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2282

Any person, city or county agency, or medical care facility taking physical custody of an infant shall be immune from liability for any injury to the infant that may result from taking care of the infant.

Protection for Relinquishing Parent Citation: Ann. Stat. § 21-5605

No parent or other person having lawful custody of an infant shall be prosecuted for abandonment of a child, if such parent or person surrenders custody of an infant in the manner provided by § 38-2282, and if such infant has not suffered bodily harm.

Effect on Parental Rights Citation: Ann. Stat. § 38-2269(d)

At a hearing for termination of termination of parental rights, a finding of unfitness may be made if the court finds that the custody of the child was surrendered pursuant to § 38-2282, or the child was left under such circumstances that the identity of the parents is unknown and cannot be ascertained, despite diligent searching, and the parents have not come forward to claim the child within 3 months after the child is found.

Regulation of Private Domestic Adoption Expenses

Birth Parent Expenses Allowed Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2121(a)

The following payments may be made on behalf of the birth mother:

• Actual medical expenses of the mother attributable to pregnancy and birth
• Actual medical expenses of the child
• Reasonable living expenses of the mother that are incurred during or as a result of the pregnancy

Birth Parent Expenses Not Allowed Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2121(c)

Expenses other than those specified in statute or that are clearly excessive are prohibited.

Fees for legal and professional services performed outside the State shall not exceed the customary fees for similar services performed within the State.

Allowable Payments for Arranging Adoption Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2121(c)

Except as otherwise authorized by law, no person shall request, receive, give, or offer to give any consideration in connection with an adoption or a placement for adoption, other than:

• Reasonable legal or professional fees and services, not to exceed customary fees of similar services by professionals
• For fees for legal and professional services performed outside of the State, compensation that is comparable to customary fees for similar services performed within the State

Allowable Payments for Relinquishing Child Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2121(a)

Except as authorized by law, no person shall request or receive any consideration in connection with an adoption.

Allowable Fees Charged by Department/Agency Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 59-2121(a); 59-2132

The following payments are permitted:

• Reasonable fees of a licensed child-placing agency
• Actual and necessary expenses connected to the placement of the child or the adoption proceeding

The costs of making the adoption assessment and report may be assessed as court costs.

Accounting of Expenses Required by Court Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2121(b)

A detailed accounting of all consideration given or to be given, and all disbursements made or to be made in connection with the adoption shall accompany the petition for adoption. Upon review of the accounting, the court shall disapprove any such consideration that the court determines to be unreasonable or in violation of this section and, to the extent necessary to comply with the provisions of this section, shall order reimbursement of any consideration already given in violation of this section.

The Rights of Unmarried Fathers

Legal Definition of Father Ann. Stat. §§ 38-1111; 38-1114

The term ‘parent and child relationship’ means the legal relationship existing between a child and the child’s biological or adoptive parents on which the law confers or imposes rights, privileges, duties, and obligations. It includes the mother and child relationship and the father and child relationship.

A man is presumed to be the father of a child if:

• The man and the child’s mother are, or have been, married to each other, and the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated.
• Before the child’s birth, the man and the child’s mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is void or voidable, and:
  • If the attempted marriage is voidable--the child is born during the attempted marriage or within 300 days after its termination.
  • If the attempted marriage is void--the child is born within 300 days after the termination of cohabitation.
• After the child’s birth, the man and the child’s mother have married, or attempted to marry, each other by a marriage, although the attempted marriage is void or voidable, and:
  • The man has acknowledged paternity of the child in writing.
  • With the man’s consent, he is named as the child’s father on the child’s birth certificate.
  • The man is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by a court order.
• The man notoriously or in writing recognizes paternity of the child, including but not limited to a voluntary acknowledgment.
• Genetic test results indicate a probability of 97 percent or greater that the man is the father of the child.
• The man has a duty to support the child under an order of support regardless of whether the man has ever been married to the child’s mother.

Paternity Registry Ann. Stat. §38-1138

An acknowledgment of paternity creates a permanent father and child relationship that can only be ended by court order. A person who wants to revoke the acknowledgment of paternity must file the request with the court before the child is 1 year old, unless the person was under age 18 when the acknowledgment of paternity was signed. A person under age 18 when the acknowledgment was signed has 1 year after his or her 18th birthday to file a request, but if the child is more than 1 year old, the judge will first consider the child’s best interests.

The person will have to show that the acknowledgment was based on fraud, duress (threat), or an important mistake of fact, unless the request is filed within 60 days of signing the acknowledgment or before any court hearing about the child, whichever is earlier.

Alternate Means to Establish Paternity Ann. Stat. § 38-1115

A child, or any person on behalf of a child, may bring an action:

• At any time to determine the existence of a father and child relationship presumed under § 38-1114
• At any time until 3 years after the child reaches the age of majority to determine the existence of a father and child relationship that is not presumed under § 38-1114

When authorized under§ 39-755 or 39-756, the secretary of Social and Rehabilitation Services may bring an action at any time during a child’s minority to determine the existence of the father and child relationship. Any agreement between an alleged or presumed father and the mother or child does not bar an action under this section.

Required Information

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Revocation of Claim to Paternity Ann. Stat. §§ 38-1115; 38-1138

If an acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to § 38-1138 has been completed, the man named as the father, the mother, or the child may bring an action to revoke the acknowledgment of paternity at any time up to 1 year after the child’s date of birth. The legal responsibilities, including any child support obligation, of any signatory arising from the acknowledgment of paternity shall not be suspended during the action, except for good cause shown.

If the person bringing the action was a minor at the time the acknowledgment of paternity was completed, the action to revoke the acknowledgment of paternity may be brought at any time up to 1 year after that person attains age 18, unless the court finds that the child is more than 1 year of age and that revocation of the acknowledgment of paternity is not in the child’s best interests.

The person requesting revocation must show, and shall have the burden of proving, that the acknowledgment of paternity was based upon fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact unless the action to revoke the acknowledgment of paternity is filed before the earlier of 60 days after completion of the acknowledgment of paternity or the date of a proceeding relating to the child in which the signatory is a party, including but not limited to a proceeding to establish a support order.

If an acknowledgment of paternity has been revoked, it shall not give rise to a presumption of paternity pursuant to§ 38-1114. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a court from admitting a revoked acknowledgment of paternity into evidence for any other purpose.

Access to Information Ann. Stat. § 38-1138

Upon request, the State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall provide a certified copy of the acknowledgment of paternity to an office providing title IV-D program services.

Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements

Use of Advertisement Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2123(a)(1), (b)-(c)

No person shall advertise that such person will adopt, find an adoptive home for a child, or otherwise place a child for adoption. This provision shall not apply to a licensed child-placing agency.

Any person who advertises that he or she will adopt, find an adoptive home for a child, or otherwise place a child for adoption shall state in such advertisement whether or not such person is licensed, and if licensed, under what authority such license is issued and in what profession.

As used in this section, ‘advertise’ means to communicate by newspaper, radio, television, handbills, placards or other print, broadcast, telephone directory, or electronic medium.

The above provisions shall not apply to the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services or to an individual seeking to adopt a child.

Use of Intermediaries/Facilitators Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2123(a)(2)-(3)

No person shall offer to adopt, find a home for, or otherwise place a child as an inducement to a woman to come to such person’s maternity center during pregnancy or after delivery.

No person shall offer to adopt, find a home for, or otherwise place a child as an inducement to any parent, guardian, or custodian of a child to place such a child in such person’s home, institution, or establishment.

Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?

Who May Adopt Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2113

The following persons may adopt:

• Any adult
• A husband and wife jointly

Who May Be Adopted Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2113

Any minor or adult may be adopted.

Who May Place a Child for Adoption Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 59-2112; 59-2124

A child may be placed by any of the following:

• The child’s parent(s)
• The child’s legal guardian
• A person given authority to consent in loco parentis
• A child-placing agency

Post-Adoption Laws

Access to Adoption Records

Who May Access Information Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2122

The files and records of the court in adoption proceedings shall not be open to inspection or copy by persons other than the parties in interest and their attorneys, representatives of the State Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, and the Commission on Judicial Performance in the discharge of the commission’s duties, except upon an order of the court expressly permitting the same. As used in this section, parties in interest shall not include genetic parents once a decree of adoption is entered.

Access to Nonidentifying Information Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2122

The Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services may contact the adoptive parents of the minor child or the adult adopted person at the request of the genetic parents in the event of a health or medical need. The department may contact the adult adopted person at the request of the genetic parents for any reason.

Mutual Access to Identifying Information Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2122

Identifying information shall not be shared with the genetic parents without the permission of the adoptive parents of the minor child or the adult adopted person.

Access to Original Birth Certificate Citation: Ann. Stat. § 65-2423

The original birth certificate is a sealed document that may be opened by the State Registrar only upon the demand of the adult adopted person or by an order of the court.

Where the Information Can Be Located

Kansas Department of Children and Family Services, Post Adoption Search and Records

Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Persons

Birth Parents in Relation to Adopted Person Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2118

Upon adoption, all the rights of birth parents to the adopted person, including their right to inherit from or through the person, shall cease. An adoption shall not terminate the right of the child to inherit from or through the birth parent.

Adoptive Parents in Relation to Adopted Person Citation: Ann. Stat. § 59-2118

When adopted, a person shall be entitled to the same personal and property rights as a birth child of the adoptive parent(s).

Adopted Persons Who Are Not Included in a Will

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families

These issues are not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Laws Related to Intercountry Adoption

Effect and Recognition of a Foreign Adoption Decree

Ann. Stat. § 59-2144(a)-(b)

When a Kansas resident adopts a child in a foreign country in accordance with the laws of the foreign country pertaining to relinquishment, termination of parental rights, and consent to the adoption, the decree of adoption or a similar document or documents that evidences finalization of the adoption in the foreign country, and evidence of lawful admission into the United States, when filed with and entered in the records of the clerk of the district court of any county in this State, has the same force and effect as if the decree of adoption, or a similar document or documents, was granted in accordance with the provisions of the Kansas Adoption and Relinquishment Act.

When the adoption decree or document is filed and entered, the adoptive parent or parents may request a birth certificate pursuant to § 65-2423.

Readoption After an Intercountry Adoption

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Application for a U.S. Birth Certificate

Ann. Stat. § 65-2423(b) The State Registrar will, upon request, complete and register a birth certificate for a foreign-born child who was adopted in Kansas or who was adopted abroad and his or her foreign adoption decree was filed and entered in Kansas when it receives:

• A certified copy of the decree of adoption, or similar document(s) that evidences the finalization of the adoption abroad
• The report of adoption form and proof of the date and place of the child's birth

The certificate shall show:

• The new name of the child as specified in the decree of adoption or a similar document or documents
• Such further information concerning the adopting parents as may be necessary to complete the birth certificate

The certificate will show the true country of birth and the date of birth of the child. The certificate shall state the following: ‘This certificate is issued pursuant to § 65-2423(b) and amendments thereto.’

Source

Child Welfare Information Gateway. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/laws/domestic.cfm#sss