Montana Code 42-3-204. Contents of preplacement evaluation
42-3-204. Contents of preplacement evaluation. (1) The preplacement evaluation report must contain the following information if available:
Terms Used In Montana Code 42-3-204
- Adoption: means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child when it does not exist genetically. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Adoptive parent: means an adult who has become the mother or father of a child through the legal process of adoption. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Child: means any person under 18 years of age. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Court: means a court of record in a competent jurisdiction and in Montana means a district court or a tribal court. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. Source: OCC
- Parent: means the birth or adoptive mother or the birth, adoptive, or legal father whose parental rights have not been terminated. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Preplacement evaluation: means the home study process conducted by the department or a licensed child-placing agency that:
(a)assists a prospective adoptive parent or family to assess its own readiness to adopt; and
(b)assesses whether the prospective adoptive parent or family and home meet applicable standards. See Montana Code 42-1-103
(a)age and date of birth, nationality, racial or ethnic background, and any religious affiliation;
(b)marital status and family history, including the age and location of any child of the individual and the identity of and relationship to anyone else living in the individual’s household;
(c)physical and mental health and any history of abuse of alcohol or drugs;
(d)educational and employment history and any special skills;
(e)property and income, including outstanding financial obligations as indicated in a current credit report or financial statement furnished by the individual;
(f)any previous request for an evaluation or involvement in an adoptive placement and the outcome of the evaluation or placement;
(g)whether the individual has been charged with or convicted of domestic violence or has been involved in a substantiated charge of child abuse or neglect or abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult as defined in 52-3-803 and the disposition of the charges;
(h)whether the individual is subject to a court order restricting the individual’s right to custody or visitation with a child;
(i)whether the individual has been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation;
(j)whether the individual has located a parent interested in placing a child with the individual for adoption and, if so, a brief description of the parent and the child; and
(k)any other fact or circumstance that may be relevant in determining whether the individual is suited to be an adoptive parent, including the quality of the environment in the individual’s home and the functioning of other children in the individual’s household.
(2)The report must contain recommendations regarding the suitability of the subject of the study to be an adoptive parent.
(3)A preplacement evaluation is valid for 1 year following its date of completion and must be updated if there is a significant change in circumstances.
(4)Prior to accepting physical custody of a child for purposes of adoption, a prospective adoptive parent must have the preplacement evaluation completed by the evaluator, and the evaluation must specifically address the appropriateness of placing the specifically identified child or children who will be the subject of the adoption proceedings with the prospective adoptive parent.