OAR 419-420-0060: Records Requirements for Adoptions

In addition to compliance with the records and documentation requirements of OAR 419-400-0140 and 419-420-0110: (1) Permanent record in a domestic adoption. An adoption agency must maintain a permanent record on each birth parent who has consented to and has surrendered a child to the adoption agency. Except as authorized by section (2) of this rule, the record must include all of the following documents or information: (a) The date and place of the birth parent's initial inquiry with the adoption agency and the persons present when the inquiry was made. (b) The date, place, and purpose of each subsequent contact between the adoption agency and the birth parent. (c) Evidence that the following adoption agency forms were provided to the birth parent: (A) Consent for Service; (B) Receipt of Grievance Procedures; (C) Clients' Rights and Responsibilities, including the notice required by ORS 109.346 when applicable; and (D) Service Plan. (d) Each alternative to adoption discussed with the birth parent. (e) A description of each discussion relating to fees, expenses, or other consideration or thing of value relating to the adoption. (f) The date, time, and place of birth of the child, the name and address of the hospital or birthing center if the child was born in one, and all pertinent prenatal information. (g) The names, dates of birth, physical description of the birth parents at the time of the child's birth, including age, height, weight, and color of eyes, hair and skin. (h) Personality traits of the child's birth parents, siblings, and members of the child's extended family. (i) A medical history of the birth parents, siblings, and extended family of the child, including medical, mental, and emotional history, including the history of the use of drugs or alcohol, gynecologic and obstetric history of the birth mother, and a record of inheritable genetic or physical traits or tendencies of the birth parents or their families. (j) The ethnicity of the child's birth parents and the members of the child's extended family. (k) Documentation of the efforts of the adoption agency to determine whether the child is an Indian child, whether the ICWA applies, and if it applies, documentation demonstrating compliance with the ICWA. (l) The religious background of the child's birth parents and the members of the birth parents' extended family. (m) The educational level and functioning, employment history, criminal history, and social and emotional functioning of the birth parents, siblings, and the members of their extended family. (n) A notation that identifies the adoptive parents sufficient to cross-reference the file of the adoption agency on the adoptive parents. (o) A copy of the placement agreement. (p) Post-adoption communication agreements. (q) Details about any termination of parental rights. (r) A copy of the general judgment of adoption. (s) Copies of any documents signed by the birth parent. (2) If the adoption agency is unable to include in the permanent record a document or information required by subsections (1)(f) to (1)(m) of this rule, the adoption agency must include in the record a description of its reasonable effort to obtain the document or information. (3) Preservation and retention of adoption records for adoptions. An adoption agency giving legal consent to the adoption of a child must permanently retain, to the extent allowed by law, the records concerning the child's adoption, as follows: (a) The record must include all of the following: (A) Adoptive parent orientation documentation. (B) Evaluation documentation of both the birth and adoptive parents. (C) Placement documentation. (D) Post-placement supervision documentation. (E) Originals of photographs, letters, and other personal items provided by the child's birth family. (b) The adoption agency must store the records in fire-retardant, locked files kept in a secure location. (c) If more than one adoption agency is involved in an adoption, the adoption agency that placed the child must preserve the permanent case record.