HOUSE BILL NO. 1897 Offered January 10, 2007 Prefiled January 4, 2007 A BILL to amend and reenact § 63.2-1213 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the exchange of medical and psychological information. ---------- Patron-- Albo ---------- Committee Referral Pending ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That § 63.2-1213 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 63.2-1213. Final order of adoption.

A. After consideration of the report made pursuant to § 63.2-1212 or as permitted pursuant to § 63.2-1210, if the circuit court is satisfied that the best interests of the child will be served thereby, the circuit court shall enter the final order of adoption, provided that the child has been in the physical custody of the petitioner for at least six months immediately prior to entry of the order. However, a final order of adoption shall not be entered until information has been furnished by the petitioner in compliance with § 32.1-262 unless the circuit court, for good cause shown, finds the information to be unavailable or unnecessary. No circuit court shall deny a petitioner a final order of adoption for the sole reason that the child was placed in the physical custody of the petitioner by a person not authorized to make such placements pursuant to § 63.2-1200. An attested copy of every final order of adoption shall be forwarded, by the clerk of the circuit court in which it was entered, to the Commissioner and to the child-placing agency that placed the child or to the local director, in cases where the child was not placed by an agency.

B. No court shall enter a final order of adoption until an affidavit is filed stating that all reasonably attainable medical and psychological records of the child have been provided to the prospective adoptive parent(s).  Such affidavit shall be signed, under oath, by the agency or parent(s) and the prospective adoptive parent(s) and shall include a statement of what documents were provided.