S2917

An Act concerning adoption, amending R.S.26:8-40.1, and supplementing Titles 9 and 26 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. R.S.26:8-40.1 is amended to read as follows:

26:8-40.1. a. When any person born in New Jersey who has been adopted pursuant to provisions of the laws of any state or country, and which adoption has been certified to the State Registrar as required by [paragraph B of section 15 of P.L.1953, c.264 (C.9:3-31)] subsection b. of section 16 of P.L.1977, c.367 (C.9:3-52) or there is submitted a certification or a certified copy of the decree or judgment of the court in such adoption proceedings, the State Registrar shall establish, in lieu of the original birth record, a certificate of birth showing (a) the name of the adopted person as changed by the decree of adoption, if changed, (b) the date and place of birth, (c) the names of the adopting parents or parent including the maiden name of the female adopting parent if such name is given in the certification or certified copy of the decree or judgment of the court, and (d) the date of filing. In any instance where the child has been adopted by the spouse of the natural parent the name of such parent shall also be entered on the new certificate of birth. Such certificate shall be of the same general type as is used in making a birth certificate for a person who has not been adopted.

[Upon application by an adopting parent or parents of any person born in the United States and adopted pursuant to the laws of this State, the court before which the adoption proceedings have been conducted, may, for good cause shown, direct and order that the place of birth shall be the residence of the adopting parent or parents at the time of said adoption; provided, however, that the adopting parent or parents were residents of this State at the time of said adoption.]

Upon receipt of [such application,] a certification or a certified copy of the decree or judgment of a court in an adoption proceeding, the State Registrar shall make a new certificate of birth containing the information referred to in the preceding paragraph. The fee for such service shall be [$6.00 which includes the issuance of a certified copy of the new certificate] established by the Commissioner of Health, by regulation.

The State Registrar may file such a new certificate:

[a.] (1) for any foundling, for any child born in any state, and for any child for whom an original birth report cannot be located, who has been adopted in New Jersey; provided that there is attached to the decree or judgment of the court in such adoption proceeding or is submitted to the State Registrar a certified copy of the original birth record or acceptable evidence of birth. In the case of a foundling, the date and place of birth [may] shall be decided [by the adopting parent or parents if not decided by the court before which the adoption proceedings were conducted] by a court of competent jurisdiction; and

[b.] (2) for any child born in a foreign country who was not a citizen of the United States at the time of the child's birth, whose adopting parent is a resident of this State, and who is adopted: [(1)] (a) through a court of competent jurisdiction in this State; or [(2)] (b) under the laws of a jurisdiction or country other than the United States and has been granted an IR-3 immigrant visa, or a successor immigrant visa, by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The new certificate shall be filed upon receipt of: a request for the certificate from the court, the adopting parent, or the adopted person if that person is 18 years of age or older; proof that the adopting parent is a resident of this State; an official copy of the judgment from the jurisdiction or country in which the child was adopted; a certified translation of the foreign adoption; proof of the date and place of the child's birth; and proof of IR-3 immigrant visa status, or a successor immigrant visa status.

When applicable, the State Registrar may file a new certificate for any child who is not a citizen of the United States and who is adopted by a resident of this State, which certificate shall bear the notation ["by adoption,"] "Certificate of Foreign Birth," which shall also be shown upon any copy of the certificate issued; such notation may be removed at any subsequent date upon submission of acceptable proof that the child has become a citizen of the United States.

When a new certificate of birth is made, the State Registrar shall notify the local registrar of vital statistics of the place in which the birth occurred, if applicable, who shall enter the new certificate in his local record and [place] forward his copy of the original record [under seal] to the State Registrar for disposition.

b. The State Registrar shall cause to be placed under seal the original certificate of birth and all papers pertaining to the new certificate of birth. Such seal shall not be broken except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction or in accordance with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

c. Thereafter whenever a certificate of birth of such person is issued, it shall be made from the new certificate of birth except when an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall require the issuance of [a] an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth.

(cf: P.L.2005, c.81, s.3)

2. (New section) a. As used in this section and sections 3 through 5 and sections 7 through 9 of P.L , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

"Adoption facilitator" means, with respect to a particular adopted person, the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption or an attorney that represented a party in the adoption, or, in the case of a private adoption, the approved agency assigned by the court to conduct the home study that preceded the adoption.

"Authorized requester" means an adopted person 18 years of age or older, a direct descendant 18 years of age or older of a deceased adopted person, or the adoptive parent or guardian of a minor adopted person.

"Confidential intermediary" means a person, employed by an approved adoption agency, who conducts a diligent search to locate a birth parent on behalf of an authorized requester, or facilitates communication between an authorized requester and a birth parent.

"Diligent search" means a review of records and other relevant materials for the purpose of obtaining information regarding the identity and whereabouts of a birth parent.

"Direct descendant" means a natural or adopted child of an adopted person.

"Family medical history information" means information about the medical, cultural, and social history of an adopted person's birth family that is provided to an adoption facilitator or confidential intermediary by a birth parent, including the medical and social characteristics of birth family members and family health histories.

3. (New section) a. In the case of a person adopted prior to the effective date of this section, the State Registrar shall provide an authorized requester with an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of an adopted person when the requester submits a written, notarized request accompanied by written, notarized consent from a birth parent or birth parents to release the certificate of birth to the requester, on a form prescribed by the Department of Health, and any applicable fee. The State Registrar shall redact the name of any birth parent who has not submitted a consent form prior to releasing the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth to the requester. The State Registrar shall retain consent forms in the adopted person's original certificate of birth file.

b. If an authorized requester cannot locate either or both birth parents of a person adopted prior to the effective date of this section, the requester may obtain from the State Registrar a list of approved adoption agencies that conduct diligent searches, by a confidential intermediary, to locate birth parents. The Department of Children and Families shall maintain a list of the approved adoption agencies that it shall update, as appropriate, and make available to the Department of Health for use in accordance with the provisions of this act. A confidential intermediary shall maintain the results of a search and the related information in confidence and shall not share the information with the requester or any other person except in accordance with the provisions of this section.

c. In the case of an authorized requester who uses a confidential intermediary to conduct a diligent search to locate the birth parents of a person adopted prior to the effective date of this section:

(1) If, as a result of the search, a birth parent consents to the release of an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester, the confidential intermediary shall obtain a written, notarized consent to release on a form prescribed by the Department of Health. The State Registrar shall provide an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this section.

(2) If, as a result of the search, a birth parent is located but does not consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester, the confidential intermediary shall request that the birth parent submit family medical history information to the State Registrar on a form prescribed by the Department of Health, and to update that form, as appropriate. The State Registrar shall retain the initial and any updated forms in the adopted person's original certificate of birth file. Upon receipt of an initial family medical history information form, the State Registrar shall provide a copy of the initial form to the requester with all identifying information redacted upon payment of any applicable fee. Updated family medical history information forms shall be provided upon a subsequent written, notarized request to the State Registrar by the requester and upon payment of any applicable fee. The confidential intermediary shall advise the birth parent that if the birth parent wishes to consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth to the requester, in the future, the birth parent may complete and submit a consent form to the State Registrar.

(3) If the confidential intermediary is unable to locate either or both of the birth parents within 12 months after the commencement of the search, the confidential intermediary shall so advise the State Registrar, on a form prescribed by the Department of Health. The State Registrar shall retain the form in the adopted person's original certificate of birth file, and provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee.

(4) If the search reveals that the birth parents are deceased, the confidential intermediary shall so advise the State Registrar, on a form prescribed by the Department of Health. The State Registrar shall retain the form in the adopted person's original certificate of birth file, and provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee.

(5) If the search reveals that a birth parent is unable to complete a consent form because the birth parent is an incapacitated individual as defined in N.J.S.3B:1-2, the confidential intermediary shall attempt to obtain a written, notarized consent from the legal guardian of the birth parent, on a form prescribed by the Department of Health. Upon receipt of the consent from the legal guardian of the birth parent, the State Registrar shall retain the form in the adopted person's original certificate of birth file and provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee. If the confidential intermediary is unable to obtain such consent, the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth shall not be provided to the requester.

(6) If the search reveals that:

(a) one birth parent consents and one birth parent, or the legal guardian of a birth parent who is an incapacitated individual, does not consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester, the State Registrar shall redact the name of the birth parent who does not consent to the release from the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth and provide the redacted copy to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee;

(b) one birth parent is deceased and the surviving birth parent does not consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester, the State Registrar shall redact the name of the surviving birth parent from the certificate of birth and provide the redacted copy to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee; or

(c) one birth parent cannot be located within 12 months after commencement of the search, the State Registrar shall provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person, including information concerning the birth parent who cannot be located, to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee. The State Registrar shall provide information related to the other birth parent based on the results of the search in accordance with the provisions of this section.

d. The State Registrar shall include information about counseling resources, for the purpose of making contact with the birth parent, with the uncertified long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person provided to the requester in accordance with the provisions of this section.

4. (New section) a. In the case of a person adopted on or after the effective date of this section, a birth parent shall submit a birth parent information statement to the adoption facilitator, on a form prescribed by the Department of Children and Families. The adoption facilitator shall inform both birth parents of the procedures for submitting the birth parent information statement in accordance with procedures established by the Department of Children and Families.

The birth parent information statement shall be provided to an authorized requester upon submission of a written, notarized request to the State Registrar for an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person in accordance with the provisions of section 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) ( pending before the Legislature as this bill) and upon payment of any applicable fee. The birth parent may submit a revised or updated statement to the adoption facilitator which shall be maintained in accordance with the provisions of subsections d. and e. of this section.

b. A birth parent information statement submitted by a birth parent shall specify the following options, from which the birth parent shall select one:

(1) "Complete information sharing" means the birth parent consents to the release of an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the authorized requester, including the birth parent's name, last known address, and telephone number, if available, and unredacted family medical history information submitted by the birth parent;

(2) "Intermediary information sharing only" means the birth parent does not consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person but agrees to communication with the requester through a confidential intermediary, or another third party designated by the birth parent on the birth parent information statement; or

(3) "Medical information sharing only" means the birth parent does not consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person or to communication with the requester through a confidential intermediary, in which case, communication with the requester will be limited to the sharing of non-identifying family medical history information through a confidential intermediary, or another third party designated by the birth parent on the birth parent information statement.

c. If a birth parent does not submit a birth parent information statement, the birth parent shall be deemed to have selected the "medical information sharing only" option.

d. The adoption facilitator shall transmit the completed birth parent information statement and any revised statement to the State Registrar, who shall retain the statement in the adopted person's original certificate of birth file.

e. A copy of the completed birth parent information statement and any revised statement shall also be retained in the adopted person's confidential case records maintained by the adoption facilitator.

5. (New section) a. In the case of a person adopted on or after the effective date of this section, an authorized requester may submit to the State Registrar a written, notarized request for an uncertified long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person.

b. Upon receipt of the request, the State Registrar shall review the adopted person's original certificate of birth file to ascertain which option the birth parent selected, in accordance with the provisions of subsection b. of section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

(1) If the birth parent information statement specifies "complete information sharing," the State Registrar, upon payment of any applicable fee, shall provide an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the authorized requester and unredacted family medical history information submitted by the birth parent.

The State Registrar shall include with the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth information about counseling resources and the use of a confidential intermediary for the purpose of making contact with the birth parent.

(2) If the birth parent information statement specifies "intermediary information sharing only," the State Registrar shall inform the requester of the birth's parent's wish to communicate with the requester through a confidential intermediary, or another third party designated by the birth parent on the statement.

(3) If the birth parent information statement specifies "medical information sharing only," the State Registrar shall inform the requester of the birth parent's wish for communication limited to the sharing of non-identifying family medical history information with the requester through a confidential intermediary, or another third party designated by the birth parent on the statement.

(4) If both birth parents have not submitted birth parent information statements in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this act) specifying "complete information sharing," the State Registrar shall: redact the name and other identifying information of the birth parent who has not specified "complete information sharing" from the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth, and, upon payment of any applicable fee, provide the redacted copy to the requester and share other information based on the statements in accordance with this section.

c. If a birth parent submits a revised statement to the adoption facilitator, the adoption facilitator shall retain a copy of the revised statement in the adopted person's and shall forward the revised statement to the State Registrar, who shall share information with the requester based on the revised statement in accordance with the provisions of this section.

6. (New section) a. Nothing in this act shall affect searches conducted pursuant to regulations adopted by the Department of Children and Families with respect to adoptions facilitated by the Department of Children and Families.

b. Nothing in this act shall alter the requirement for an approved adoption agency to provide a prospective adoptive parent with non-identifying information relevant to the child's development, including the child's developmental and medical history, and the birth parents' complete medical histories, as provided in section 1 of P.L.1979, c.292 (C.9:3-41.1).

7. (New section) In the event that an adopted person was under the care and custody of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families at the time of the person's adoption, the director of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency shall provide, upon request by an authorized requester, a statement providing summaries of the medical and social characteristics of birth family members, family health histories, the facts and circumstances related to the adoptive placement, and summaries of case record material. The director shall not release confidential case records in response to the request.

8. (New section) a. An authorized requester may request the adoption facilitator that placed a child for adoption or conducted an investigation pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1977, c.367 (C.9:3-48) to provide any available non-identifying family medical history information concerning the adopted person contained in that person's confidential case records maintained by the adoption facilitator.

b. Upon receipt of a request pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the adoption facilitator shall provide the requester with a detailed summary of any available non-identifying family medical history information concerning the adopted person contained in that person's confidential case records.

c. If the requester is unable to obtain any available non-identifying family medical history information pursuant to subsection b. of this section because the adoption facilitator is unknown, in order to accommodate the request, the requester may petition the court that granted the adoption to identify the adoption facilitator, if possible.

9. (New section) a. Notwithstanding the requirements of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) to the contrary, in the case of a child who was surrendered in accordance with the provisions of the "New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act," P.L.2000, c.58 (C.30:4C-15.5 et seq.) and upon receipt of notification from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families in accordance with the provisions of subsection b. of this section, the State Registrar shall not provide any of the birth parent's identifying information recorded on the child's certificate of birth upon receipt of a written, notarized request from an authorized requester for an uncertified long-form copy of an adopted person's original certificate of birth in accordance with the provisions of sections 3 and 5 of P.L., c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. The Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families shall notify the State Registrar when a child is surrendered in accordance with the provisions of P.L.2000, c.58 (C.30:4C-15.5 et seq.) to enable the State Registrar to identify the certificate of birth of the child who was so surrendered and deem that the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth shall not be provided to the requester.

c. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families to provide any identifying information about the birth parents of a child who was surrendered in accordance with the provisions of P.L.2000, c.58 (C.30:4C-15.5 et seq.).

10. (New section) The fee an approved adoption agency may charge for conducting a diligent search shall be in accordance with a graduated fee schedule, established by regulation of the Department of Health.

11. (New section) The Commissioner of Health and the Commissioner of Children and Families, as appropriate, may adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to carry out the provisions of this act.

12. (New section) Notwithstanding any provision of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to the contrary, the Commissioner of Health and the Commissioner of Children and Families may adopt, immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law, such regulations as the commissioners deem necessary to implement the provisions of this act, which regulations shall be effective for a period not to exceed 12 months and shall, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted by the commissioner in accordance with the requirements of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).

13. This act shall take effect immediately; except that sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a framework for an authorized requester to gain access to an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of an adopted person, as specified in the bill. Under the provisions of the bill, "authorized requester" means an adopted person 18 years of age or older, the direct descendent of the adopted person, or the adoptive parent or guardian of a minor adopted person. "Direct descendent" means a natural or adopted child of an adopted person.

In the case of a person adopted prior to the effective date of section 3 of the bill, the State Registrar, upon payment of any applicable fee, would provide an authorized requester with an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of an adopted person when the requester submits a written, notarized request accompanied by written, notarized consent from a birth parent or birth parents, to release the birth certificate, on a form prescribed by the Department of Health (DOH). The State Registrar would redact the name of any birth parent who has not submitted a consent form prior to releasing the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth to the requester, and retain the consent forms in the adopted person's original certificate of birth file.

If the requester cannot locate either or both birth parents of the adopted person, the requester may obtain from the State Registrar a list of approved adoption agencies that conduct diligent searches, by confidential intermediaries, to locate birth parents. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) would maintain and update, as appropriate, a list of the approved adoption agencies, and make the list available to DOH for use in accordance with the provisions of bill. A confidential intermediary would maintain the results of a search and the related information in confidence and not share the information with the requester or any other person except in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

In the case of an authorized requester who uses a confidential intermediary to conduct a diligent search to locate the birth parents of a person adopted prior to the effective date of section 3 of the bill, if the search reveals that a birth parent consents to the release of an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth to the requester, the confidential intermediary must obtain a written, notarized consent to release on a form prescribed by DOH. The State Registrar would provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee.

If, as a result of the search, a birth parent is located but does not consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person, the confidential intermediary must request that the birth parent submit family medical history information on a form prescribed by DOH and update that form, as appropriate. The State Registrar would retain the initial and any updated forms in the adopted person's birth file. Upon receipt of an initial family medical history information form, the State Registrar would provide a copy of the initial form to the requester with all identifying information redacted upon payment of any applicable fee. The confidential intermediary would advise the birth parent that if the birth parent wishes to consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth to the requester, in the future, the birth parent may complete and submit a consent form to the State Registrar.

If the confidential intermediary is unable to locate either or both birth parents within 12 months after the commencement of the diligent search, the confidential intermediary would advise the State Registrar on a form prescribed by DOH. The State Registrar would retain the form in the adopted person's birth file and provide an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee.

If the search reveals that the birth parents are deceased, the confidential intermediary would advise the State Registrar on a form prescribed by DOH. The State Registrar would retain the form in the birth file and provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee.

If the search reveals that a birth parent is unable to complete a consent form because the birth parent is an incapacitated individual as defined in N.J.S.3B:1-2, the confidential intermediary must attempt to obtain a written, notarized consent from the legal guardian of the birth parent, on a form prescribed by DOH. Upon receipt of the consent, the State Registrar would retain the form in the adopted person's birth file and provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester. If the confidential intermediary is unable to obtain consent, the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth would not be provided.

If the search reveals that one birth parent consents to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester and one birth parent, or the legal guardian of a birth parent who is an incapacitated individual, does not consent, the State Registrar would redact the name of the birth parent who does not consent to the release from the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth, and provide the redacted copy to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee.

If the search reveals that one birth parent is deceased and the surviving birth parent does not consent to the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester, the State Registrar would redact the name of the surviving birth parent from the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth, and provide the redacted copy to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee.

If the search reveals that one birth parent cannot be located within 12 months after commencement of the search, the State Registrar would provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person, including information concerning the birth parent that cannot be located, to the requester upon payment of any applicable fee. The State Registrar would provide information related to the other birth parent based on the results of the search in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

In the case of adoptions that take place on or after the effective date of section 4 of the bill, a birth parent would submit to the adoption facilitator, a birth parent information statement on a form prescribed by DCF. The adoption facilitator would inform both birth parents of the procedures for submitting a birth parent information statement in accordance with procedures established by DCF.

As defined in the bill, an adoption facilitator is the adoption agency that facilitates an adoption, an attorney that represents a party in the adoption, or, in the case of a private adoption, the approved agency assigned by the court to conduct the home study that precedes the adoption.

The birth parent information statement would be provided to an authorized requester upon submission to the State Registrar of a written, notarized request for an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of an adopted person, and upon payment of any applicable fee. The birth parent may submit a revised or updated statement to the adoption facilitator which would be maintained in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

A birth parent information statement submitted by a birth parent would specify the following options: "Complete information sharing," which would allow for the release of an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester, including the birth parent's name, last known address, and telephone number, if available, and unredacted family medical history information submitted by the birth parent; "Intermediary information sharing only," which would prohibit the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester but would allow for communication with the requester through a confidential intermediary or another third party designated by the birth parent on the statement; or "Medical information sharing only," which would prohibit the release of the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person to the requester and would limit communication with the requester to the sharing of non-identifying family medical history information through a confidential intermediary or another third party designated by the birth parent on the statement.

If a birth parent does not submit a birth parent information statement, the birth parent is deemed to have selected the "medical information sharing only" option. The bill also requires that the adoption facilitator transmit the completed statement to the State Registrar, who would retain the statement in the adopted person's birth file.

In the case of a person adopted on or after the effective date of section 5 of the bill, an authorized requester may submit to the State Registrar a written, notarized request for an uncertified long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of an adopted person. Upon receipt of a request, the State Registrar would review the adopted person's original certificate of birth file.

If the birth parent submitted a birth parent information statement specifying: "complete information sharing," the State Registrar would provide the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of the adopted person, including the birth parent's name, last known address, and telephone number, if available, and unredacted family medical history information, submitted by the birth parent, to the requester, upon payment of any applicable fee; "intermediary information sharing only," the State Registrar would inform the requester of the birth's parent's wish to communicate with the requester through a confidential intermediary or another third party designated by the birth parent on the statement; or "medical information sharing only," the State Registrar would inform the requester of the birth parent's wish for communication limited to the sharing of non-identifying family medical history information through a confidential intermediary or another third party designated by the birth parent on the statement.

If both birth parents have not submitted birth parent information statements specifying "complete information sharing," the State Registrar would: redact the name and other identifying information of the birth parent who has not specified "complete information sharing" from the uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth; and, upon payment of any applicable fee, provide the redacted copy to the requester and share other information based on the statements.

If a birth parent submits a revised statement to the adoption facilitator, the adoption facilitator would retain a copy of the revised statement in the adopted person's confidential case records and forward the revised statement to the State Registrar, who would share information with the requester based on the revised statement.

The bill stipulates that in the event that an adopted person was under the care and custody of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) in DCF at the time of the person's adoption, the director of DCPP would provide, upon request by an authorized requester, a statement providing summaries of the medical and social characteristics of birth family members, family health histories, the facts and circumstances related to the adoptive placement, and summaries of case record material. The director would not release confidential case records maintained by the adoption facilitator in response to the request.

The bill also allows an authorized requester to request the adoption facilitator that placed a child for adoption or conducted an investigation pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1977, c.367 (C.9:3-48) to provide any available non-identifying family medical history information concerning the adopted person contained in that person's confidential case records. Upon receipt of the request, the adoption facilitator would provide the requester with a detailed summary of the information contained in the adopted person's confidential case records.

If the requester is unable to obtain any available non-identifying family medical history information because the adoption facilitator is unknown, in order to accommodate the request, the requester would be allowed to petition the court that granted the adoption to identify the adoption facilitator, if possible.

The bill also includes language to allow for searches conducted pursuant to DCF regulations. In addition, the bill specifies that it does not alter the requirement for an approved adoption agency to provide a prospective adoptive parent with non-identifying information, relevant to the child's development, including the child's developmental and medical history, and the birth parents' complete medical histories, as provided in section 1 of P.L.1979, c.292 (C.9:3-41.1).

The bill also stipulates that the State Registrar would not provide an authorized requester with an uncertified, long-form copy of the original certificate of birth of a child who was surrendered pursuant to the "New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act," P.L.2000, c.58 (C.30:4C-15.5 et seq.).

With regard to fees for conducting diligent searches, the bill provides that fees would be charged to an authorized requester according to a graduated fee schedule established by DOH regulation.

Finally, the bill permits the Commissioners of Health and Children and Families to adopt rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of the bill, and also provides for the adoption of emergency regulations that would be effective for a period not to exceed 12 months and would, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with the requirements of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).