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 Back | 144th General Assembly
Senate Bill # 225 |
| Primary Sponsor: | Amick | Additional Sponsor(s): Rep. Lofink & Rep. M Marshall |
| CoSponsors: | & Sen. McDowell |
| Introduced on : | 03/20/2008 | |
| Long Title: | AN ACT AUTHORIZING FAMILY COURT TO ALLOW RAMATOULAYE BAH TO ADOPT HER NIECE RAGHIATOU BAH. |
| Synopsis: | Ramatoulaye Bah (“Rama”) seeks special statutory authorization from the Delaware legislature to adopt her biological niece, Raghiatou Bah, now 15 years old. Raghiatou’s mother, Rama’s sister, died from complications of childbirth in the Republic of Guinea on June 14, 1992. (Raghiatou’s biological father is unknown.) Upon her sister’s death, Rama was named as Raghiatou’s mother on her birth certificate. Because Guinea is a very poor country, with a high rate of mortality for infants and for women bearing children, it is a common practice to put a relative’s name on a child’s birth certificate upon the mother’s death. This is an administratively simple way of assuring that an orphaned child has parents in the eyes of the law. This is considered a valid adoption in Guinea and no other legal procedures are necessary. Rama is recognized as Raghiatou’s mother in Guinea for all legal purposes.
Rama lives at 2 Lille Court, in Newark, Delaware, and has been a resident of Delaware since 2001. Rama is a citizen of Guinea and has a valid green card, having come to the United States seeking political asylum. Because Raghiatou is not her biological child, she has not been able to secure a green card for her, as she has for her other children, because the Immigration and Naturalization Service requires DNA samples to prove relationship for immigration purposes. For Raghiatou to benefit from Rama’s favorable immigration status, she must be adopted before her 16th birthday, which is June 14, 2008. If the adoption is not completed by this date, Raghiatou risks deportation and separation from the only mother she has ever known, even if she is subsequently adopted by Rama.
To that end, Rama filed a Petition in the Family Court of the State of Delaware in New Castle County on November 19, 2007 to adopt Raghiatou. That petition was rejected by order of the Family Court because Rama is a married person living apart from her husband in Guinea, Souleymane Kouyate. Section 903 of Title 13 of the Delaware Code provides that an unmarried person can adopt, as can a husband and wife jointly “who are not legally separated or who are not living apart from each other.” In this case, because Rama and her husband are married but living apart, in order to adopt, Rama has to be reunited with him in Delaware and to file jointly with him. Under Delaware law, Rama cannot be the sole adoptee. At this juncture, her husband, while he seeks to join the family here, does not have the necessary authorization to immigrate to the United States. A divorce at this time would be detrimental to the family and to his immigration efforts.
In a conference held on March 5, 2008 with the Family Court to determine what, if anything, can be done to facilitate this adoption, which is clearly in the child’s best interests, the Court stated that, while the Court appreciated the situation, and the urgency of the impending deadline, the Court’s hands were tied by the statutory language prohibiting a married person from adopting who was not living with her husband. Short of divorce, which is not desirable, the Court suggested that Rama seek special legislation so that the statutory language not be a bar to a Family Court Judge granting this particular adoption petition in a timely way.
Thus, for this instance only, special legislation is sought authorizing Ramatoulaye Bah, notwithstanding the requirements of 13 Del C. § 903, or any related provision of the Delaware Code, (1) to be permitted to adopt Raghiatou Bah by herself as a married person living apart, but not legally separated, from her husband and (2) that such adoption be permitted without the requirement of a social study and report for the husband of Ramatoulaye Bah, Souleymane Kouyate.
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| Committee Reports: |
Senate Committee report 04/08/08 F=0 M=5 U=0----->
House Committee Report 04/16/08 F=2 M=5 U=0----> |
| Voting Reports: |
Senate vote: () Passed 4/8/08 5:11:15 PM------->
House vote: () Passed 4/17/08 3:59:40 PM-------> |
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Actions History:
| Apr 24, 2008 - Signed by Governor
Apr 17, 2008 - Passed by House of Representatives. Votes: 39 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 2 ABSENT
Apr 16, 2008 - Reported Out of Committee (HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT) in House with 2 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits
Apr 09, 2008 - Introduced and Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House
Apr 08, 2008 - Passed by Senate. Votes: 20 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 1 ABSENT
Apr 08, 2008 - Necessary rules are suspended in Senate
Apr 08, 2008 - Reported Out of Committee (CHILDREN; YOUTH & FAMILIES) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits
Mar 20, 2008 - Assigned to Children; Youth & Families Committee in Senate
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