Gov. Wanda Vazquez Garced turned into law today, Tuesday, a House bill to amend the Adoption Act to expand the adoption “task force” and establish regular meetings between the Department of the Family and nonprofit organizations. for-profit or for-profit, public or private that promote the adoption of minors in Puerto Rico, among other measures.
The measure, which was approved unanimously in the House and Senate, includes a representative of the Judicial Branch in the adoption “task force”, as well as a representative of the College of Labor Professionals. Social Security of Puerto Rico, and a representative of the Department of Justice.
We recommend:
“This law promotes streamlining adoption processes and integrating professionals, organizations, individuals and government agencies focused on improving the quality of children and youth waiting to be adopted,” the governor said of the measure presented by Rep. Jacqueline Rodriguez Hernandez.
It also sets a deadline for the departments of Family and Health to prepare the sign on voluntary delivery to be distributed to all health service institutions throughout Puerto Rico, and establish administrative fines for non-compliance. different provisions.
It also provides for the Department of the Family to publicly convene every six months all organizations that promote the adoption of minors to a working meeting to discuss the Department’s efforts on adoptions, study and propose amendments to related laws. with adoption, promote integrated efforts to expedite the adoption of minors, and any other related matter.
The Department of the Family has an electronic register called the “Voluntary State Register of Adoption of Puerto Rico”, which includes all the names of minors whose plan of stay is adoption, and of the adoptive parties with information updated and accurate to identify them, as required by regulation.
After an applicant has entered the said register, he / she will not have to update the documents originally submitted and accepted by the Department of the Family, until the Candidate Selection Panel begins the evaluation of his / her application addressed to establish a placement. The fact that an applicant does not have the updated documents is not a reason for their disqualification.
The ordinary meetings of the Panel indicated above will be held consecutively every two weeks and, if necessary, may convene extraordinary meetings. Meetings may be held physically or by videoconference through any technological means.
The measure was included by the governor in the last Extraordinary Session, after in November at the symposium ‘Adoption: Gift of Love’, held by the House of Representatives, a group of renowned experts on the subject went alone Request the same. In the group was Dra. Caly Rodríguez de Rivera-Amo, ex-secretary of the Department of the Family under the administration of Pedro Rosselló González, the Lcda. Maria Ortiz, prominent litigant in cases of adoption and family, and the Lcda. Diana Cordero, who is an adoptive mother.