VERMONT

 Any single person or any husband and wife can jointly adopt.

Who Can Be Adopted?

 Any person can be adopted.

Consent to Adoption

 The following people must consent to adoption:

 (1) both natural parents, even if minors;

 (2) one parent, if the other parent has abandoned the care and support of the child, or the court determines that parent is incompetent to have the care and custody of the child;

 (3) the mother, if the child was born out of wedlock, or even if the child was born in wedlock, if it is proven that the husband of the woman is not the father of the child. In the case of a child born out of wedlock a father is assumed to waive his rights to the child if he does not acknowledge paternity at the time of the adoption hearing;

 (4) the guardian, child-placing agency, or the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services if the minor has no parent, or if the parent has abandoned the child;

 (5) the adoptee's spouse; and

 (6) the adoptee, who is 14 years of age or older.

Confidentiality

 All records of the adoption and the original birth certificate shall be placed under seal in a locked cabinet with access only to the Commissioner of Health, except upon a court order. Upon the request of the adoptive parent or the adoptee the court can release nonidentifying information. An adoptee who is 18 years of age or a birth parent may petition the court for disclosure of identifying information about the other party. The court shall determine if the other party has filed a consent for release of identifying information with the court and, if they have not, the information cannot be disclosed. A person who consents to the release of identifying information may withdraw consent at any time.

Permissible Fees

 The Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services may charge the adopting person or persons a reasonable fee for services in conduction of the investigation. The fee shall not exceed $535.00. The fee shall be reduced on a sliding scale for families with less than median income.

Place of Adoption Hearing

 The adoption hearing shall take place in the county where the adoptive parents live, if they are residents of the State, or, if they are not residents of the State, where the child-placing agency that has custody of the adoptee is located.

Authority To Place Child

 The Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services or any other charitable or religious corporation organized under the laws of this State, when properly licensed by the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services as a child-placing agency, is authorized to place a child for adoption.

Relative Adoption

 The pre-adoption investigation may be waived when the petition is filed by a near relative with whom the child is already living unless the court orders otherwise.

Attorney Referral Service

 Vermont Bar Association
 P.O. Box 100
 Montpelier, VT 05601
 (802) 223-2020

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