Bill > SB500

This bill modifies Texas Family Code provisions related to adoption information sharing, requiring the Department of Family and Protective Services and licensed child-placing agencies to compile and distribute comprehensive health, social, educational, and genetic history reports about children being adopted. The bill mandates that these agencies provide such reports within 45 days of a child's adoption becoming the primary permanency goal or parental rights being terminated. Prospective adoptive parents will now be entitled to examine more detailed records about a child's history, including confidential information (except for the direct identity of biological parents), with the requirement that social security numbers be redacted and certain identities protected. The bill introduces a new requirement that prospective adoptive parents must sign a nondisclosure agreement before receiving confidential information, and agencies must provide requested information within 90 days. Additionally, the bill aims to protect the identities of biological siblings, adoptive parents of those siblings, and individuals who have reported abuse or neglect. The provisions will take effect on September 1, 2025, providing transparency while maintaining privacy safeguards in the adoption process.

Health and Social Services

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB500