§ 48-3-309. Mandatory preplacement criminal checks of prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt a minor who is in the custody or placement responsibility of a county department of social services
§ 48‑3‑309. Mandatory preplacement criminal checks of prospective adoptive parents seekingto adopt a minor who is in the custody or placement responsibility of a countydepartment of social services and mandatory preplacement criminal checks of allindividuals 18 years of age or older who reside in the prospective adoptivehome.
(a) The Departmentshall ensure that the criminal histories of all prospective adoptive parentsseeking to adopt a minor who is in the custody or placement responsibility of acounty department of social services and the criminal histories of allindividuals 18 years of age or older who reside in the prospective adoptivehome are checked prior to placement and, based on the criminal history, adetermination is made as to the prospective adoptive parent's fitness to haveresponsibility for the safety and well‑being of children and whetherother individuals required to be checked are fit for an adoptive child toreside with them in the home. The Department shall ensure that all individualsrequired to be checked are checked prior to placement for county, state, andfederal criminal histories.
(b) A county departmentof social services shall issue an unfavorable preplacement assessment to aprospective adoptive parent if an individual required to submit to a criminalhistory check pursuant to subsection (a) of this section has a criminalhistory. A county department of social services shall issue an unfavorablepreplacement assessment to a prospective adoptive parent if the county departmentof social services determines, pursuant to G.S. 48‑3‑303(e), that,based on other criminal convictions, whether felony or misdemeanor, theprospective adoptive parent is unfit to have responsibility for the safety andwell‑being of children or other individuals required to be checked areunfit for an adoptive child to reside with them in the home.
(c) The Department ofJustice shall provide to the Department of Health and Human Services thecriminal history of any individual required to be checked under subsection (a)of this section as requested by the Department and obtained from the State andNational Repositories of Criminal Histories. The Department shall provide tothe Department of Justice, along with the request, the fingerprints of anyindividual to be checked, any additional information required by the Departmentof Justice, and a form consenting to the check of the criminal record and tothe use of fingerprints and other identifying information required by the Stateor National Repositories signed by the individual to be checked. Thefingerprints of any individual to be checked shall be forwarded to the StateBureau of Investigation for a search of the State's criminal history recordfile, and the State Bureau of Investigation shall forward a set of fingerprintsto the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history recordcheck.
(d) At the time of therequest for a preplacement assessment or at a subsequent time prior toplacement, any individual whose criminal history is to be checked shall befurnished with a statement substantially similar to the following:
"NOTICE
MANDATORY CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK: NORTH CAROLINA LAWREQUIRES THAT A CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK BE CONDUCTED PRIOR TO PLACEMENT ONPROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS SEEKING TO ADOPT A MINOR WHO IS IN THE CUSTODY ORPLACEMENT RESPONSIBILITY OF A COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND ON ALLPERSONS 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER WHO RESIDE IN THE PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE HOME.
"Criminal history" means a county, State, orfederal conviction of a felony by a court of competent jurisdiction or apending felony indictment of a crime for child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse,a crime against a child, including child pornography, or for a crime involvingviolence, including rape, sexual assault, or homicide, other than physicalassault or battery; a county, State, or federal conviction of a felony by acourt of competent jurisdiction or a pending felony indictment for physicalassault, battery, or a drug‑related offense, if the offense was committedwithin the past five years; or similar crimes under federal law or under thelaws of other states. Your fingerprints will be used to check the criminalhistory records of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the FederalBureau of Investigation (FBI).
If it is determined, based on your criminal history,that you are unfit to have responsibility for the safety and well being ofchildren or have an adoptive child reside with you, you shall have theopportunity to complete, or challenge the accuracy of, the informationcontained in the SBI or FBI identification records.
If the prospective adoptive parent is denied afavorable preplacement assessment by a county department of social services asa result of a criminal history check as required under G.S. 48‑3‑309(a),the prospective adoptive parent may request a review of the assessment pursuantto G.S. 48‑3‑308(a).
Any person who intentionally falsifies any informationrequired to be furnished to conduct the criminal history is guilty of a Class 2misdemeanor."
Refusal to consent to acriminal history check by any individual required to be checked under G.S. 48‑3‑309(a)is grounds for the issuance by a county department of social services of anunfavorable preplacement assessment. Any person who intentionally falsifies anyinformation required to be furnished to conduct the criminal history is guiltyof a Class 2 misdemeanor.
(e) The Departmentshall notify the prospective adoptive parent's supervising county department ofsocial services of the results of the criminal history check. In accordancewith the federal and State law regulating the dissemination of the contents ofthe criminal history file, the Department shall not release or disclose anyportion of an individual's criminal history to the prospective adoptive parentor any other individual required to be checked. The Department, however, shallensure that the prospective adoptive parent or any other individual required tobe checked is notified of the individual's right to review the criminal historyinformation, the procedure for completing or challenging the accuracy of thecriminal history, and the prospective adoptive parent's right to contest thepreplacement assessment of the county department of social services.
A prospective adoptive parentwho disagrees with the preplacement assessment of the county department ofsocial services may request a review of the assessment pursuant to G.S. 48‑3‑308(a).
(f) All theinformation that the Department receives through the checking of the criminal historyis privileged information and is not a public record but is for the exclusiveuse of the Department and those persons authorized under this section toreceive the information. The Department may destroy the information after it isused for the purposes authorized by this section after one calendar year.
(g) There is noliability for negligence on the part of a State or local agency, or theemployees of a State or local agency, arising from any action taken or omissionby any of them in carrying out the provisions of this section. The immunityestablished by this subsection shall not extend to gross negligence, wantonconduct, or intentional wrongdoing that would otherwise be actionable. Theimmunity established by this subsection shall be deemed to have been waived tothe extent of indemnification by insurance, indemnification under Article 31Aof Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, and to the extent sovereign immunity iswaived under the Tort Claims Act, as set forth in Article 31 of Chapter 143 of theGeneral Statutes.
(h) The Department ofJustice shall perform the State and national criminal history checks onprospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt a minor in the custody orplacement responsibility of a county department of social services and allindividuals 18 years of age or older who reside in the prospective adoptivehome and shall charge the Department of Health and Human Services a reasonablefee only for conducting the checks of the national criminal history recordsauthorized by this section. The Division of Social Services, Department ofHealth and Human Services, shall bear the costs of implementing this section. (1998‑229, s. 15; 2005‑114,s. 1; 2007‑276, ss. 9, 10.)