CHAPTER 143
RELATING TO ADOPTION
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 9, TITLE 13, DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ADOPTION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. § 905, Title 13, Delaware Code is amended by striking out "ten days after notice" and inserting in lieu thereof "thirty days after notice."
Section 2. § 912, Title 13, Delaware Code is amended by adding to subsection (c) thereof an additional subparagraph (7) immediately following subparagraph (6) at the end of subsection (c) as follows:
7. A statement of the amount of the service fee charged by the authorized agency.
Section 3. § 913, Title 13, Delaware Code is amended by striking subsection (a) thereof and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (a) as follows:
(a) A decree of adoption for a child to be adopted shall be entered only after the child has resided in the adoption home continuously for at least one year under the supervision of the Department of Public Welfare, or an authorized agency; except that, on recommendation of the Department of Public Welfare or an authorized agency, and upon due cause being shown, a decree may issue at any time after 6 months' supervision, or in a case of a child to be adopted by blood relatives or by a stepparent, upon due cause being shown and upon recommendation of the Department of Public Welfare, a decree may issue after 6 months of continuous residence of the child in the adoptive home, whether or not such residence was supervised.
Section 4. § 928, Title 13, Delaware Code is amended by striking out subsection (b) thereof and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (b) as follows:
(b) No person or organization who is in any way connected with an adoption shall receive any remuneration in connection therewith, except for Court costs, and legal services; provided, however, that an authorized agency may charge a service fee for each adoption in an amount not exceeding the cost of services rendered, to be paid by the adopting parent or parents at the time of the placement, or thereafter. The amount of any such fee shall be made a part of the report provided for in Section 912 hereof. If part or all of such fee is not approved by the Court, the fee or that part of the fee not approved shall be returned to the adopting parent or parents.
Approved June 13, 1957.