600.1 Construction. 1. This chapter* shall be construed liberally. The best interest of the person to be adopted shall be the paramount consideration in interpreting this chapter. However, the interests of the adopting parents shall be given due consideration in this interpretation. However, in determining the best interest of the person to be adopted and […]
600.10 Minimum residence of a minor child. The adoption of a minor person shall not be decreed until that person has lived with the adoption petitioner for a minimum residence period of one hundred eighty days. However, the juvenile court or court may waive this period if the adoption petitioner is a stepparent or related […]
600.11 Notice of adoption hearing. 1. The juvenile court or court shall set the time and place of the adoption hearing prescribed in section 600.12 upon application of the petitioner. The juvenile court or court may continue the adoption hearing if the notice prescribed in subsections 2 and 3 is given, except that such notice […]
600.12 Adoption hearing. 1. An adoption hearing shall be conducted informally as a hearing in equity. The hearing shall be reported or electronically recorded. 2. Only those persons notified under section 600.11 and their witnesses and legal counsel or persons requested by the juvenile court or court to be present shall be admitted to the […]
600.12A Death of person to be adopted — process for final adoption decree. 1. If the person to be adopted dies following the filing of an adoption petition pursuant to section 600.3, but prior to issuance of a final adoption decree pursuant to section 600.13, the juvenile court or court may waive any investigations and […]
600.13 Adoption decrees. 1. At the conclusion of the adoption hearing, the juvenile court or court shall do one of the following: a. Issue a final adoption decree. b. Issue an interlocutory adoption decree. c. Issue a standby adoption decree pursuant to section 600.14A. d. Dismiss the adoption petition if the requirements of this chapter […]
600.14 Appeal — rules. 1. An appeal from any final order or decree rendered under this chapter or chapter 600A shall be taken in the same manner as an appeal is taken from a final judgment under the rules of civil procedure. However, a rule of civil procedure provision regarding a minimum amount of value […]
600.14A Standby adoption. 1. As used in this section: a. “Standby adoption” means an adoption in which a terminally ill parent consents to termination of parental rights and the issuance of a final adoption decree effective upon the occurrence of a future event, which is either the death of the terminally ill parent or the […]
600.15 Foreign and international adoptions. 1. A decree establishing a parent-child relationship by adoption which is issued pursuant to due process of law by a juvenile court or court of any other jurisdiction within or outside the United States shall be recognized in this state. 2. For an adoption based on a decree issued by […]
600.16 Adoption record — penalty for violations. 1. Any information compiled under section 600.8, subsection 1, paragraph “c”, relating to medical and developmental histories shall be made available at any time by the clerk of court, the department, or any adoption service provider that made the placement to: a. The adopting parents. b. The adopted […]
600.16A Termination and adoption records closed — exceptions — penalty. 1. The permanent termination of parental rights record of the juvenile court under chapter 600A and the permanent adoption record of the juvenile court or court shall be sealed by the clerk of the juvenile court or the clerk of court, as appropriate, when they […]
600.16B Fees. The supreme court shall prescribe and the department of human services shall adopt rules, to defray the actual cost of the provision of information or the opening of records pursuant to section 600.16 or 600.16A. 92 Acts, ch 1196, §5
600.17 Financial assistance. The department of human services shall, within the limits of funds appropriated to the department of human services and any gifts or grants received by the department for this purpose, provide financial assistance to any person who adopts a child with physical or mental disabilities or an older or otherwise hard-to-place child, […]
600.18 Determination of assistance. 1. Any prospective adoptive parent desiring financial assistance shall state this fact in the petition for adoption. The department of human services shall investigate the person petitioning for adoption and the child and shall file with the juvenile court or court a statement of whether the department will provide assistance as […]
600.19 Amount of assistance. The amount of financial assistance for maintenance shall not exceed the amount the department would normally spend for foster care of the child. The amount of financial assistance for special services shall not exceed the amount the department would normally spend if it were to provide these services. [C73, 75, §600.13; […]
600.2 Definitions. 1. “Child”, “parent”, “parent-child relationship”, “termination of parental rights”, “biological parent”, “stepparent”, “guardian”, “custodian”, “guardian ad litem”, “minor”, “adoption service provider”, “certified adoption investigator”, “adult”, “agency”, “department”, “court”, and “juvenile court” mean the same as defined in section 600A.2. 2. “Investigator” means a natural person who is certified or approved by the department […]
600.20 Availability of assistance. Financial assistance shall be available only if the child to be adopted was under the guardianship of the state, county, or an agency immediately prior to adoption. The one-hundred-eighty-day period of residence in the proposed home required in section 600.10 shall not apply to this section. [C73, 75, §600.14; C77, 79, […]
600.21 Termination of assistance. Financial assistance shall terminate when the need for assistance no longer exists. Financial assistance shall not extend beyond the adopted child’s twenty-first birthday. [C73, 75, §600.15; C77, 79, 81, §600.21] Referred to in §600.5, 600.18, 600.22, 627.19
600.22 Rules. The department of human services shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter 17A, which are necessary for the administration of sections 600.17 through 600.21 and 600.23. [C73, 75, §600.16; C77, 79, 81, §600.22] 83 Acts, ch 96, §157, 159; 87 Acts, ch 102, §1; 2021 Acts, ch 80, §352 Referred […]
600.23 Adoption assistance compact. 1. Purpose. The department of human services may enter into interstate agreements with state agencies of other states for the protection of children on behalf of whom adoption subsidy is being provided by the department of human services and to provide procedures for interstate children’s adoption assistance payments, including medical payments. […]
