A. An agency or an individual with the credentials set out in Subsection C of Section 32A-5-13 NMSA 1978 shall file with the court its post-placement report of the prospective adoptive home and the adoptee. The post-placement report shall be completed as prescribed by department regulations and shall include the following:

(1) the expressed desires of the parents as to the kind of adoptive family sought;

(2) the interaction between the adoptee and petitioner;

(3) the adjustment of the adoptee since placement;

(4) the integration and acceptance of the adoptee in the petitioner's family;

(5) the petitioner's ability to meet the physical and emotional needs of the adoptee;

(6) whether the adoptive home is a suitable home for the proposed adoption;

(7) whether the adoption is in the best interest of the adoptee;

(8) the type and frequency of post-placement services given to the petitioner;

(9) orders, judgments or decrees affecting the adoptee or children of the petitioner;

(10) property owned by the adoptee;

(11) full disclosure;

(12) the costs, expenses and professional fees connected with the adoption;

(13) other circumstances that are relevant to the adoption of the adoptee by the petitioner; and

(14) when the adoptee is placed by an agency, an itemized agency statement of all payments made to any person or entity in connection with the adoption, including the date paid, the amount paid, the payee and the purpose of the payment.

B. The post-placement report shall contain an evaluation of the proposed adoption with a recommendation as to the granting of the petition for adoption and other information required by the court.

C. Unless directed by the court, a post-placement report is not required in cases in which the child is being adopted by a stepparent, a relative or a person named in the child's deceased parent's will pursuant to Section 32A-5-12 NMSA 1978.

D. The investigation for the post-placement report shall be conducted by the department, an agency or an investigator. The department, agency or investigator conducting the post-placement report may be the same as the agency or individual conducting the pre-placement study and they shall be maintained on the same list as that compiled for pre-placement studies under Subsection D of Section 32A-5-13 NMSA 1978.

E. The department, agency or investigator shall observe the adoptee and interview the petitioner in the petitioner's home as specified in department regulations as soon as possible after the receipt of notice of the action, but in any event within thirty days after receipt of the notice.

F. For an adoptee who is under one year of age at the time of placement, the department, agency or investigator shall complete and file the written report with the court within sixty days from receipt of notice of the proceeding and for an adoptee who is one year of age or older at the time of placement, the written report shall be filed with the court within one hundred twenty days from the receipt of notice of the proceeding. Concurrently, the deliverer shall forward a copy of the report to the petitioner's attorney or to the petitioner, if not represented by counsel, and to the department if the report is not generated by the department. Upon a showing of good cause and after notice to the petitioner, the court may grant extensions of time to the department, agency or investigator to file the post-placement report so long as the report is filed at least thirty days before the hearing for the decree of adoption.

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-5-31, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 158; 2001, ch. 162, § 6.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, updated the internal references throughout the section; deleted "a description of" following "shall include" in Subsection A; in Subsection F, inserted "For an adoptee who is under one year of age at the time of placement" at the beginning of the subsection, substituted "for an adoptee who is one year of age or older at the time of placement, the written report shall be filed with the court within one hundred twenty days from the receipt of notice of the proceeding. Concurrently, the deliverer shall forward" for "shall deliver"; and inserted "if the report is not generated by the department" in the second sentence.