§60.10 Interstate Adoptions

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§ 60.10 INTERSTATE ADOPTIONS

An adoption is "interstate" if a child will be moving from one state to another for the purpose of adoption.

[1] Application of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)

The state of Washington, along with all other 49 states, is a member of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (1960) (ICPC), a uniform state law adopted in Washington as Chapter 26.34 RCW. The ICPC applies when a child is sent or brought into another state in anticipation of and for an intended adoption. In a nutshell, it requires prior approval for such movement and placement by the ICPC offices in the sending state and the receiving state. There is an ICPC office in every state. Washington's ICPC office is under the administration of the DCYF.

The purpose of the ICPC is to ensure that the intended placement of the child is in the child's best interest. The ICPC procedures guard against children being "lost in the system" and/or being placed with a family that never completes an adoption or that simply is not qualified to raise a child.

The ICPC applies in foster-care placements and agency adoptions, but this discussion will focus on the ICPC from a private, independent adoption perspective. The ICPC does not apply to limited, relative adoptions involving aunts, uncles, grandparents, and older siblings.

The penalty for violating the ICPC may be severe: a misdemeanor for every day of violation. RCW 26.34.080. More importantly, the ICPC offices may refuse to give approval for the interstate placement. Because most lay people have never heard of the ICPC, it is not uncommon to receive a call from a client stating that they just brought back a child from out of state. In that event, contact the Washington ICPC office at once to explain the situation. In most cases, both states will allow you to correct this error by preparing the required paperwork.

[2] Choice of Law

At the start of an interstate case, one must determine which state laws to use with respect to the termination of parental rights: the laws of the sending or of the receiving state. Some sending states will insist on using their own laws; other sending states will allow the receiving state's laws to be used. Similarly, some sending states require that the finalization occur in the sending state. These choice of law questions must be addressed early on in the process and be based on conversation with the out-of-state attorney and that state's ICPC office.

Although the...