California Welfare and Institutions Code § 305.6

Welfare and Institutions Code
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(a) Any peace officer may, without a warrant, take into temporary custody a child who is in a hospital if the release of the child to a prospective adoptive parent or a representative of a licensed adoption agency poses an immediate danger to the child’s health or safety. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) and Section 305, a peace officer shall not, without a warrant, take into temporary custody a child who is in a hospital if all of the following conditions exist: (1) The child is a newborn who tested positive for illegal drugs or whose birth mother tested positive for illegal drugs. (2) The child is the subject of a proposed adoption and a Health Facility Minor Release Report, developed by the department, has been completed by the hospital, including the marking of the boxes applicable to an independent adoption or agency adoption planning, and signed by the placing birth parent or birth parents, as well as either the prospective adoptive parent or parents or an authorized representative of a licensed adoption agency, prior to the discharge of the birth parent or the child from the hospital. The Health Facility Minor Release Report shall include a notice written in at least 14-point pica type, containing substantially all of the following statements: (A) That the Health Facility Minor Release Report does not constitute consent to adoption of the child by the prospective adoptive parent or parents, or any other person. (B) That the Health Facility Minor Release Report does not constitute a relinquishment of parental rights for the purposes of adoption. (C) That the birth parent or parents or any person authorized by the birth parent or parents may reclaim the child at any time from the prospective adoptive parent or parents or any other person to whom the child was released by the hospital, as provided in Section 8700, 8814.5, or 8815 of the Family Code. (3) The release of the child to a prospective adoptive parent or parents or an authorized representative of a licensed adoption agency does not pose an immediate danger to the child. (4) An attorney or an adoption agency has provided documentation stating that he or she, or the agency, is representing the prospective adoptive parent or parents for purposes of the adoption. In the case of an independent adoption, as defined in Section 8524 of the Family Code, the attorney or adoption agency shall provide documentation stating that the prospective adoptive parent or parents have been informed that the child may be eligible for benefits provided pursuant to the Adoption Assistance Program, as set forth in Chapter 2.1 (commencing with Section 16115) of Part 4 of Division 9, only if, at the time the adoption request is filed, the child has met the requirements to receive federal supplemental security income benefits pursuant to Subchapter XVI (commencing with Section 1381) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code, as determined and documented by the federal Social Security Administration. (5) The prospective adoptive parent or parents or their representative, or an authorized representative of a licensed adoption agency, provides all of the following to the peace officer: (A) A fully executed copy of the Health Facility Minor Release Report. (B) A written form signed by either the prospective adoptive parent or parents or a representative of the licensed adoption agency, which shall include all of the following: (i) A statement that the child is the subject of a proposed adoption. (ii) A declaration that the signer or signers will immediately notify the county child welfare agency pursuant to Section 11165.9 of the Penal Code if the adoption plan is terminated for any reason, and will not release the child to the birth parent or parents or any designee of the birth parent or parents until the county child welfare agency or local law enforcement agency completes an investigation and determines that release of the child to the birth parent or parents or a designee of th

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