Adoption Law Seminar
Prof. Rhonda Wasserman
Syllabus
I. Adoption Procedure (Part 1) (Week 1)
A. Pennsylvania Adoption Procedure
Joanne Ross Wilder, Pennsylvania Family Law Practice & Procedure ch. 32 (6th ed. 2005) [Supp. 1-14] (optional background reading)
B. Notice
1. Statutory Provisions
a. §§ 3-401 & 3-404 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) on Notice [Supp. 15-16]
b. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2721 (2005) [Supp. 17]
2. Commentary
1 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 4.10[1][a] (2005), on Consent Rights and Notice Rights Distinguished [Supp. 18]
C. Consent
1. Persons from Whom Consent is Required
a. Statutory Provisions
1. §§ 2-401, 2-402 & 2-403 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) on Consent [Supp. 19-20]
2. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 2502(b), 2711(a) & (b) & 2714 (2005) [Supp. 21]
b. Case
, 6 Pa. D. & C.3d 777 (Pa. Ct. Common Pleas 1978) [Supp. 22]Commonwealth v. Hughes
c. Commentary
1 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 2.05 (2005), on Consent When Mother or Father is a Minor [Supp. 23]
2. Contents of Consent
a. § 2-406 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) on Consent [Supp. 24-25]
b. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2711(d) (2005) [Supp. 26]
3. Timing, Validity and Revocability of Consent
a. Statutory Provisions
1. §§ 2-404, 2-405(c), 2-408 & 2-409 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) on Consent [Supp. 27-29]
2. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2711(c) (2005) [Supp. 30]
3. Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1913(c) [Supp. 31]
b. Case
, 496 N.W.2d 239 (Iowa 1992) ("Baby Jessica" case) [Supp. 32-39]In the Interest of B.G.C.
c. Commentary
2 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 8.02[1][b] (2005), on Claim by the Biological Parent That a Valid Consent or Surrender Was Never Executed [Supp. 40-43]
4. Consequences of Consent
§ 2-407 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) [Supp. 44]
D. Notes [Supp. 45-47]
II. Adoption Procedure (Part 2) (Week 2)
A. The Rights of Birth Fathers and the Termination Thereof
1. Statutory Provisions
a. § 3-404 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) on Notice [Supp. 16] (from Week 1’s readings)
b. §§ 3-504 & 3-505 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) on Termination of Parental Rights [Supp. 51-53]
c. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 2503 & 2511 (2005) [Supp. 54-56]
2. Cases
a. Lehr v. Robertson, 463 U.S. 248 (1983) [Supp. 57-67]
b. In re Adoption of Doe, 543 So. 2d 741 (Fla. 1989) [Supp. 68-76]
3. Commentary
David D. Meyer, Family Ties: Solving the Constitutional Dilemma of the Faultless Father, 41 Ariz. L. Rev. 753 (1999) [Supp. 77-95]
B. Finality of Decree
1. 2 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 8.01[3] (2005), on Statute of Limitations [Supp. 96-97]
2. §§ 3-706 & 3-707 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) [Supp. 98]
C. Interstate Adoption Procedures
1. Interstate Compact and Statutory Provisions
a. Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children ("ICPC") [Supp. 99-102]
b. 62 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 761-765 (2005) [Supp. 103]
c. § 2-107 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) [Supp. 104]
2. Commentary
1 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 3.07[3] (2005), on Judicial Interpretation of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children [Supp. 105-08]
3. Case
, 597 A.2d 456 (Md. Ct. App. 1991) [Supp. 109-25]In re Adoption No. 10087 in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County
D. Notes [Supp. 126-27]
III. Secrecy versus Openness in Adoption (Week 3)
http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/vol3no1ART10.PDF)]A. Types of Placements
1. 1 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 1.05[2][g][3] (2005), on Types of Adoption as Defined by the Method of Placement [Supp. 131-34]
2. L. Jean Emery, Agency Versus Independent Adoption: The Case for Agency Adoption, in 3 The Future of Children 139 (1993) [Supp. 135-41] (on-line at
3. Mark T. McDermott, Agency Versus Independent Adoption: The Case for Independent Adoption, in 3 The Future of Children 146 (1993) [Supp. 142-47] (on-line at
http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/vol3no1ART11.PDF)B. Secrecy v. Access to Records of Adoption Proceedings
1. Statutory Provisions
a. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2905 (2005) [Supp. 148-49]
b. Alaska Stat. § 18.50.500 (2006) [Supp. 150]
c. Comment to Article 6 and §§ 6-101 – 6-110 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) [Supp. 151-56]
2. Article
Naomi Cahn & Jana Singer, Adoption, Identity, and the Constitution: The Case for Opening Closed Records, 2 U. Pa. J. Const. L. 150 (1999) [Supp. 157-76]
3. Case
, 601 F.2d 1225 (2d Cir. 1979) [Supp. 177-83]Alma Society Inc. v. Mellon
C. Open Adoption
1. Statutory Provisions
a. Minn. Stat. § 259.58 (2005) [Supp. 184-85]
b. §§ 1-105, 2-102, 2-106(d), 2-404(e), 2-406(d)(1) & (2), 3-707(c) & 4-113 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) [Supp. 186-89]
2. Article
Joan Heifetz Hollinger, The Uniform Adoption Act: Reporter’s Ruminations, 30 Fam. L.Q. 345, 372-77 (1996) [Supp. 190-92]
3. Cases
a. In re Adoption of Brunner, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 1418 (Ohio Ct. App. 1993) [Supp. 193-99]
b. Michaud v. Wawruck, 551 A.2d 738 (Conn. 1986) [Supp. 200-03]
D. Notes [Supp. 204-06]
IV. Step-Parent and Second-Parent Adoptions and Adoptions by Gays and Lesbians (Week 4)
A. Step-parent adoptions
1. Statutory Provisions
a. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2701(7), 2711(a)(3) & (d)(1), 2901, 2903 (2005) [Supp. 209-10]
b. Comment to Article 4 and §§ 4-101 – 4-106, 4-111 & 4-113 of the Uniform Adoption Act (1994) [Supp. 211-17]
2. Treatise
1 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 2.10[3] (2005), on Dispensing With the Requirement of Consent in Stepparent Adoptions [Supp. 218-25]
3. Inheritance Rights
a. § 4-103(b)(3) of the Uniform Adoption Act and Comment thereto [Supp. 213-14]
b. 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2108 (2005) [Supp. 226]
B. Second-Parent Adoptions
1. Cases
a. In re Adoption of R.B.F., 803 A.2d 1195 (Pa. 2002) [Supp. 227-32]
b. In re Adoption of Luke, 640 N.W.2d 374 (Neb. 2002) [Supp. 233-39]
2. Statutes
a. Cal. Fam. Code § 297 & 9000(b) (2006) [Supp. 240]
b. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-724(a) (2006) [Supp. 241]
3. Article
Mark Strasser, Courts, Legislatures, and Second-Parent Adoptions: On Judicial Deference, Specious Reasoning, and the Best Interests of the Child, 66 Tenn. L. Rev. 1019 (1999) [Supp. 242-49]
C. Adoption by Gays and Lesbians
1. Treatise
1 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 3.06[6] (2005), on Sexual Orientation as a Factor in Adoption Placement [Supp. 250-58]
2. Cases
a. Lofton v. Sec’y of Dep’t of Children & Family Servs., 358 F.3d 804 (11th Cir. 2004), rehearing en banc denied, 377 F.3d 1275 (11th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 2005 U.S. LEXIS 285 (2005) [Supp. 259-74]
b. Finstuen v. Edmondson, No. CIV-04-1152-C, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32122 (W.D. Okl. 2006) [Supp. 275-85]
D. Notes [Supp. 286-89]
V. Transracial Adoption (Week 5)
A. Treatise
1 Joan Heifetz Hollinger et al., Adoption Law and Practice § 3.06[4] (2005), on Race as a Factor in Adoption Placement [Supp. 293-95]
B. Policy Statement
Statement of the National Association of Black Social Workers [Supp. 296-97]
C. Cases
1. Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (1984) [Supp. 298-300]
2. Tallman v. Tabor, 859 F. Supp. 1078 (E.D. Mich. 1994) [Supp. 301-07]
D. Articles
1. Elizabeth Bartholet, Where Do Black Children Belong? The Politics of Race Matching in Adoption, 139 U. Penn. L. Rev. 1163 (1991) [Supp. 308-35]
2. R. Richard Banks, The Color of Desire: Fulfilling Adoptive Parents’ Racial Preferences Through Discriminatory State Action, 107 Yale L.J. 875 (1998) [Supp. 336-47]
E. Statutes
1. Multiethnic Placement Act ("MEPA") of 1994 [Supp. 348-50]
2. Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption ("IEP") provision in the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 [Supp. 351-52]
F. Agency Interpretations of Federal Law
1997 Memorandum of the Dep’t of Health & Human Servs. on IEP [Supp. 353-57]
1998 Memorandum of the Dep’t of Health & Human Servs. on IEP [Supp. 358-65]
G. Notes [Supp. 366-68]
VI. International Adoption (Week 6)
A. Policy Considerations
Elizabeth Bartholet, International Adoption: Propriety, Prospects and Pragmatics, 13 J. Amer. Acad. Matr. Lawyers 181 (1996) [Supp. 371-75]
B. Regulation of International Adoption by the Country of Origin
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_369.html (website maintained by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs containing summaries of the policies of many foreign countries regarding international adoption; take a look at one or two)
C. Regulation of International Adoption in the United States: Federal and State Statutes and Regulations
1. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2908 (2005) [Supp. 376-77]
2. Relevant Sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(b)(1)(E) & (F), 1151(b)(2)(A)(1) & 1154(a), (b) & (d) (2006) [Supp. 378-80]
3. Child Citizenship Adoption Act of 2000, codified at 8 U.S.C. §§ 1431 & 1433 (2006) [Supp. 381-82]
4. Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, Public Law 106-279 [Supp. 383-86]
5. State Department Issues Final Rules on Hague Accreditation and Record Preservation, 32 BNA FAMLR 1191 (2006) [Supp. 387]
6. State Department Issues Proposed Rules for Intercountry Adoption Convention, 32 BNA FAMLR 1407 (2006) [Supp. 388-89]
D. Analysis of Federal Law
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1312.html1. U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service booklet on The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children (Revised September 2000) [Supp. 390-409]
2. United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web page on Child Citizenship Act of 2000 [Supp. 410-12], available at
3. Information Sheet Regarding the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 Contributed by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) [Supp. 413-15], available at http://library.adoption.com/Laws-Legal-Issues/Information-Sheet-Regarding-the-Intercountry-Adoption-Act-of-2000/article/6020/2.html
E. Hague Convention
1. Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993) [Supp. 416-28]
2. Meghan Hendy, Hague Convention: Next Steps for the United States, The Bulletin of the Joint Council on International Children’s Services (Winter 2004) [Supp. 429-30]
3. Convention Requirements for Intercountry Adoptions and Recognition of Convention Adoptions and U.S. Certification Procedures in D. Marianne Blair & Merle H. Weiner, Family Law in the World Community: Cases, Materials, and Problems in Comparative and International Family Law 932-35 (2003) [Supp. 431-36]
F. Notes [Supp. 437-39]