Amends TCA Title 36; Title 37 and Title 68.

This bill makes various changes and additions to present law concerning adoption, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) After a final order of adoption is entered, present law prohibits entry of an order requiring visitation or other contact between an adopted person and a biological parent or other biologically related person unless the order is entered pursuant to a written contract for post-adoption contact. This bill replaces "biologically related person" with "related person";<br /> <br /> (2) This bill clarifies that abandonment may occur when a child's parent or guardian fails to visit, fails to support, or fails to make reasonable payments toward the support of the child for four consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of a supplemental petition;<br /> <br /> (3) This bill clarifies that the opinion of one, rather than multiple, qualified experts may establish the expected adverse results of specific brutality, abuse, or neglect that is necessary to establish the existence of severe child abuse;<br /> <br /> (4) Under present law, upon receipt of the surrender or upon filing a parental consent for an adoption by a person other than a related person, and if no home study had been completed or updated within six months prior to the surrender or the filing of a parental consent, and no court report based upon the home study has been filed with the court, the court is required to, by an order of reference issued within five days, direct that a home study be conducted and filed. Under this bill, such requirement will only apply upon filing a parental consent;<br /> <br /> (5) This bill makes several grammatical clarifications concerning the putative father registry;<br /> <br /> (6) Present law requires that a petition to terminate parental rights state that the Tennessee putative father registry has been consulted prior to the filing of the petition or will be consulted within 10 days thereafter unless the biological father has been identified through DNA testing and that identification is set out in the petition. This bill specifies that the 10-day period is 10 working days;<br /> <br /> (7) This bill clarifies that it is not necessary for a petitioner to consult putative father registries of foreign nations;<br /> <br /> (8) Under present law, the parental rights of a putative father who is recorded on the child's birth certificate must be terminated by surrender, parental consent, termination of parental rights, or by waiver of interest, before the court may enter an order of adoption concerning that child. This bill deletes such requirement; and<br /> <br /> (9) Present law generally requires that a petitioner for adoption live and maintain their regular place of abode in Tennessee when the adoption is filed. Where the petitioner is seeking to adopt a child that is related, the residency requirement does not apply if the petitioner is an actual resident of this state at the time the petition is filed. This bill removes the provision concerning a petitioner who is related to the child.<br />