Subdivision 1. Services provided. Agencies shall provide assistance and counseling services upon receiving a request for current information from adoptive parents, birth parents, or adopted persons aged 19 years and over. The agency shall contact the other adult persons or the adoptive parents of a minor child in a personal and confidential manner to determine whether there is a desire to receive or share information or to have contact. If there is such a desire, the agency shall provide the services requested. The agency shall provide services to adult genetic siblings if there is no known violation of the confidentiality of a birth parent or if the birth parent gives written consent.

Subd. 1a. Social and medical history. (a) If a person aged 19 years and over who was adopted on or after August 1, 1994, or the adoptive parent requests the detailed nonidentifying social and medical history of the adopted person's birth family that was provided at the time of the adoption, agencies must provide the information to the adopted person or adoptive parent on the form required under section 259.43.

(b) If an adopted person aged 19 years and over or the adoptive parent requests the agency to contact the adopted person's birth parents to request current nonidentifying social and medical history of the adopted person's birth family, agencies must use the form required under section 259.43 when obtaining the information for the adopted person or adoptive parent.

Subd. 1b. Genetic siblings. (a) A person who is at least 19 years old who was adopted or, because of a termination of parental rights, was committed to the guardianship of the commissioner of human services, whether adopted or not, must upon request be advised of other siblings who were adopted or who were committed to the guardianship of the commissioner of human services and not adopted.

(b) Assistance must be provided by the county or placing agency of the person requesting information to the extent that information is available in the existing records at the Department of Human Services. If the sibling received services from another agency, the agencies must share necessary information in order to locate the other siblings and to offer services, as requested. Upon the determination that parental rights with respect to another sibling were terminated, identifying information and contact must be provided only upon mutual consent. A reasonable fee may be imposed by the county or placing agency.

Subd. 2. Health information. When the agency receives information about a medical or genetic condition which has affected or may affect the physical or mental health of genetically related persons, the agency shall make a diligent effort to contact those persons in order to transmit the health information.

Subd. 3. Identifying information. In adoptive placements made on and after August 1, 1982, the agency responsible for or supervising the placement shall obtain from the birth parents named on the original birth record an affidavit attesting to the following:

(a) that the birth parent has been informed of the right of the adopted person at the age specified in section 259.89 to request from the agency the name, last known address, birthdate and birthplace of the birth parents named on the adopted person's original birth record;

(b) that each birth parent may file in the agency record an affidavit objecting to the release of any or all of the information listed in clause (a) about that birth parent, and that parent only, to the adopted person;

(c) that if the birth parent does not file an affidavit objecting to release of information before the adopted person reaches the age specified in section 259.89, the agency will provide the adopted person with the information upon request;

(d) that notwithstanding the filing of an affidavit, the adopted person may petition the court according to section 259.61 for release of identifying information about a birth parent;

(e) that the birth parent shall then have the opportunity to present evidence to the court that nondisclosure of identifying information is of greater benefit to the birth parent than disclosure to the adopted person; and

(f) that any objection filed by the birth parent shall become invalid when withdrawn by the birth parent or when the birth parent dies. Upon receipt of a death record for the birth parent, the agency shall release the identifying information to the adopted person if requested.

Subd. 4. Confidentiality. Agencies shall provide adoptive parents, birth parents and adult siblings, and adopted persons aged 19 years and over reasonable assistance in a manner consistent with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations regarding the confidentiality and privacy of child welfare and adoption records.

Subd. 5. Charges. The commissioner, the commissioner's agents, and licensed child-placing agencies may require a reasonable expense reimbursement for providing services required in this section. Reimbursements received by the commissioner according to this subdivision shall be deposited in the general fund.

History: 1982 c 584 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 282 art 2 s 165; 1994 c 631 s 31; 1997 c 177 s 23; 1Sp2001 c 9 art 15 s 32; 2003 c 68 s 1; 2007 c 49 s 1