1. Except as otherwise provided in this section:

(a) In a county whose population is less than 100,000, the Division shall, in accordance with NRS 432.014; and

(b) In a county whose population is 100,000 or more, the board of county commissioners of the county shall, by ordinance,

charge reasonable fees for the services provided by an agency which provides child welfare services in placing, arranging the placement of or assisting in placing or arranging the placement of any child for adoption, and for conducting any investigation required by NRS 127.2805.

2. The fees charged for those services must vary based on criteria developed by the Division and board of county commissioners but must not exceed the usual and customary fees that child-placing agencies in the area where the services are provided, or in a similar geographic area, would charge for those services. The Division and board of county commissioners shall not discriminate between adoptions made through an agency and specific adoptions in setting their fees.

3. A fee must not be charged for services related to the adoption of a child with special needs.

4. An agency which provides child welfare services may waive or reduce any fee charged pursuant to this section if the agency which provides child welfare services determines that the adoptive parents are not able to pay the fee or the needs of the child require a waiver or reduction of the fee.

5. Any money collected by an agency which provides child welfare services in a county whose population is less than 100,000 pursuant to this section must be accounted for in the appropriate account of the Division and may be used only to pay for the costs of any adoptive or postadoptive services provided by any agency which provides child welfare services in a county whose population is less than 100,000.

6. Any money collected by an agency which provides child welfare services in a county whose population is 100,000 or more pursuant to this section must be deposited in the county treasury for the credit of the agency which provides child welfare services and may be used only to pay for the costs of any adoption or postadoptive services provided by the agency which provides child welfare services.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2678; A 1993, 2726; 1999, 149; 2001 Special Session, 9; 2005, 22nd Special Session, 48)