Legislation
State: Georgia
Signed: April 22, 2024
Effective: April 22, 2024
Chapter: Act No. 425
SummaryGeorgia enacts the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, which requires a notarized certification for certain child placements involving private adoption agency.
AffectsAdds new Chapter 4A to Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
ChangesDefines “certification” to mean to attest, declare, or swear before a judge or Notary Public.
Requires placements by a private child agency in a receiving state to include a request for approval which includes a certification by a licensed attorney or authorized agent of a private adoption agency that the consent or relinquishment is in compliance with the applicable laws of the sending state, or where permitted the laws of the state where finalization of the adoption will occur.
AnalysisSenate Bill 483 enacts the most recent changes to the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC). The ICPC governs the placement of abused, neglected, dependent, delinquent, or unmanageable children and children for possible adoption between all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and certain U.S. territories that have signed onto the Compact. The new compact has a provision requiring a notarized “certification” for placements by a private adoption agency. The new Compact takes effect when 35 states have enacted the provisions of the new Compact. According to the American Public Human Services Association that tracks enactments, as of October 1, 2023, 16 states had enacted the ICPC. Until then, the prior version governs interstate placements.
Read Senate Bill 483.