Adoption SB 138 (Campbell)
(A Letter to Members of the Senate Children and Families Committee)

 
                                                                                                   February 14, 2001

RE:  Adoption SB 138 (Campbell)

Dear Senator:

Please vote YES for SB 138 in the Senate Children and Families Committee on February 21, 2001.

     Adoption is an act of love which should benefit all members of the adoption triad: the child, the adoptive parents and the birth parents.  SB 138 ensures detailed attention to fairly and equitably recognizing the adoption triad and provides the maximum certainty and finality that can be achieved in the adoption process.

     The bill will:

• Provide that the consent to adoption may not be signed until 48 hours after the child is born or until the birth mother's release from the hospital, so that the birth mother has an opportunity to recover from the delivery of the baby before signing the consent for adoption.

• Provide that a birth parent of a child, who is not a newborn, may revoke a consent to adoption for any reason within three days of signing it. Twenty-one states provide a statutorily specified time for revocation of a birth parent's consent to adoption. California and New York have revocation periods of 90 days and 45 days respectively.
  
• Require the adoption entity to initiate steps to notify the "father" no later than seven days after the adoption entity has been contracted in writing by the birth mother regarding her desire to place a child for adoption.

     Thank you for your consideration of this bill which will bring positive changes to Florida's adoption law.   I am available to meet with you to discuss the bill and can be reached at 222-3803.

                                                                                                     Sincerely,


                                                                                                     Patricia M. Chivers
                                                                                                     Associate for Social Concerns

PMC