Montana Code 42-2-214. Duties of department
42-2-214. Duties of department. (1) The department shall:
Terms Used In Montana Code 42-2-214
- 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
- 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
- Department: means the department of public health and human services, provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Putative father: means an individual who may be a child's birth father but who:
(i)is not married to the child's mother on or before the date that the child is born; or
(ii)has not established paternity of the child prior to the filing of a petition for termination of parental rights to the child for purposes of adoption. See Montana Code 42-2-201
- Registry: means the putative father registry established under 42-2-202. See Montana Code 42-2-201
(a)prescribe a registration form for the information that a putative father submits under 42-2-205; and
(b)make the registration forms available through:
(i)the department;
(ii)each clerk of a district court; and
(iii)each local health department.
(2)A notice provided by the department that informs the public about the purpose and operation of the registry must be posted in a conspicuous place by each:
(a)clerk of a district court;
(b)driver’s examination station of the motor vehicle division of the department of justice;
(c)local health department; and
(d)county clerk and recorder.
(3)The notice under subsection (2) must include information regarding:
(a)where to obtain a registration form;
(b)where to register;
(c)the circumstances under which a putative father is required to register;
(d)the period under 42-2-206 during which a putative father is required to register in order to entitle the putative father to receive notice of an adoption;
(e)the information that must be provided for the registry and what other actions the putative father is required to take to preserve a right to notice;
(f)the consequences of not submitting a timely registration; and
(g)the penalties for filing a false claim with the putative father registry.