Statutory Changes in Child Placement

Based on recommendations by the Joint Subcommittee on the Placement of Children for Adoption, [hereinafter cited as the Subcommittee], the 1978 Session of the General Assembly made significant changes in the adoption statutes. The study by the Subcommittee was authorized during the 1977 Session following the introduction of several bills which would have permitted physicians and attorneys to participate in child placement without being licensed. The Assembly felt that such an important issue was deserving of closer scrutiny and therefore commissioned the study. The Subcommittee was directed to probe with particular care the special case of "independent adoptions," that is, those adoptions brought about "without the assistance of a licensed social service agency."