POST ADOPTION CONTACT OR COMMUNICATION LAW

SECTION 20. Section 6 of said chapter 210, as appearing in the 1996 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following paragraph:-

Every decree of adoption entered by the court shall include the words “This adoption is final and irrevocable.”

SECTION 21. Said chapter 210 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 6B the following three sections:-

SECTION 6C. (a) Prior to the entry of an adoption decree, prospective adoption parents and a birth parent may enter into an agreement for post adoption contact or communication between or among a minor to be adopted, the prospective adoptive parents and the birth parents. Such agreement may be approved by the court issuing the termination decree under section 3; provided, however, that as agreement under this section shall be finally approved by the court issuing the adoption decree. Any breach, modification or invalidation of the agreement, or any part of it, shall not affect the validity of the adoption. The adoption shall be final.

(b) The court shall approve an agreement for post adoption contact or communication if the court finds that such agreement:

(i) is in the best interests of the child;

(ii) contains terms that are fair

(iii) has been entered knowingly and voluntarily by all parties to the agreement. This requirement may be satisfied by an affidavit executed by all parties, either jointly or separately, that is filed with the court. The afidavit shall state that the agreement is entered into knowingly and voluntarily and is not the product of coercion or duress. The court may hear testimony from the parties to the agreement.

(c) To be approved by the court, an agreement for post-adoption contact or communication shall contain the following statements:

(i) This agreement is entered into pursuant to the provisions of section 6C of chapter 210 of the General Law.

(ii) Any breach, modification or invalidation of the agreement or any part of it shall not affect the validity of the adoption. The adoption shall be final.

(iii) The parties acknowledge that either the birth or adoptive parents who have entered into the agreement have the right to seek enforcement as set forth in section 6D of chapter 210 of the General Law.

(iv) The parties have not relied on any representations other that those contained in this agreement.

The agreement shall be signed by the parties and acknowledged before a notary public as the free act and deed of the parties. If the child is above the age of 12, the agreement shall contain the written consent of the child. If the child is in the custody of the department of social services, the agreement shall contain the written approval of the department and the attorney for the child. If the child is in the custody of the department of social services, the agreement shall contain the written approval of the department and the attorney for the child. If the child is in the custody of a licensed child care agency, the agreement shall contain the written approval of the agency.

(d) To be enforceable, an agreement for post-adoption contact or communication shall be: (i) in writing; (ii) approved by the court prior to the date for entry of the adoption decree; and (iii) incorporated but not merged in to the adoption decree, and shall survive as an independent contract.

(e) An agreement under this section need not disclose the identity of the parties to be enforceable; but if an identity is not disclosed, the unidentified person shall designate an agent for the purpose of service of process.

(f) An agreement for post-adoption contact or communication shall cease to be enforceable on the date the adopted person turns 18 years of age.

Section 6D. A party to a court-approve agreement for post adoption contract or communication may seek to enforce the agreement by commencing a civil action for specific performance. A court order for specific performance of the terms of a post-adoption contact agreement shall be the sole remedy of breach of an agreement.

In such proceedings, parties shall not be entitled to the appointment of counsel; provided, however, that the court may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the child.

In an enforcement proceeding, the court may modify the terms of the agreement if the court finds that there had been a material and substantial change in circumstances and the modification is necessary in the child. A court- imposed modification of a previously approved agreement may limit, restrict, condition or decrease contact between the birth parents and the child but in no event shall a court-imposed modification serve to expand, enlarge or increase the amount of contact between the birth parents and the child or place new obligations on adoptive parents.

If the court finds that an action brought under this section was wholly insubstantial, frivolous and not advanced in good faith in accordance with the provisions of section 6F of chapter 231, the court may award attorney’s fee to all prevailing parties.

Nothing in the agreement shall preclude a part seeking to enforce an agreement for post-adoption contact or communication from utilizing child welfare mediation or permanency mediation before, or in addition to, the commencement of a civil action for specific enforcement. All proceedings conducted under this section shall be closed to the public and confidential and papers shall be segregated in accordance with section 5D.

Section 6D. Nothing contained in sections 6Cand 6D shall be construed to abrogate the right of an adoptive parent to make decisions on behalf of his child.