Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 50 Part 1.djvu/832

 75TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION-CH. 77 4-AU GUS T 25, 1 937 807 of ascertaining if the adoptee is a proper subject for adoption and if the home of the petitioner is a suitable one for the adoptee and within a period not in excess of sixty days to report its findings with recommendations to the court. If an investigation already has been made by a social agency approved by the court, the Board of Public Welfare shall accept it instead of making one itself : Provided, That the foregoing provisions of this section relating to investigations and reports by the Board of Public Welfare or an approved social agency shall not apply, if an investigation has already been made by a recog- nized religious or fraternal organization, having under its care minors for adoption, no par t of the net earnin gs of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and if such organization appears in the proceeding and reports to the court the results of its investigation and its recommendations with respect to the adoption. SEC. 2 . If adoptee is under twenty-one years of age, no decree of adoption shall be made unless the court shall find that the following persons have consented to the adoption : Adoptee, if fourteen or more years of age ; and the natural parents or adoptive parents by a pre- vious adoption, if living. The consent of the father of an adoptee born out of wedlock shall not be necessary unless he has both acknowl- edged the adoptee and contributed voluntarily to its support. The consent of a parent who Is a minor shall not be voidable because of that minority. If adoptee shall have attained the age of twenty-one years or over, the only conse nts which shall be r equired ar e those of such adop tee . and its spouse, if any. The consent of a natural parent, or parents, or adoptive parents by a previous adoption, may be dispensed with (1) where after such notice as the court shall direct it shall appear to the court that such person or persons cannot be located ; (2) where they have been perma- nently deprived of custody of the adoptee by court order ; (3) where it shall appear to the court that they have abandoned the adoptee and voluntarily failed to contribute to his or her support for a period of at least one year next preceding the date of the filing of the peti- tion ; or (4) where investigation has shown to the satisfaction of the cour t extraord inary caus e why such consent s hould be d ispensed w ith. SEC. 3. After considering the petition, the consents, and such evi- dence as the parties and any other properly interested person may wish to present, the court may enter a final decree of adoption if it is s atisfied ( a) that ad optee is p hysically, mentally, and other wise suitable for adoption by the petitioner ; (b) that the petitioner is fit and able to give the adoptee a proper home and education ; and (c) that the change will be for the best interests of adoptee. No final decree of adoption shall b e entered unless th e adoptee shall have been living with the adoptor at least six months prior to the filing of the petition. If, however, it shall appear in the interests of the adoptee, the court may enter an interlocutory decree for adoption, which decree shall by its terms automatically become a final decree of adoption on a day therein named, which shall not be more than six months from the entry of such interlocutory decree unless such decree shall be set aside for cause shown. If it shall appear in the interests of the adoptee, the Board of Public Welfare shall visit the adoptee during the period of the interlocutory decree at regular intervals. SEC. 4 . No tice of a final decr ee of adop tion shall be sent to the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Health Department. This Bureau shall cause to be made a new record of the bir th in the new name a nd with the names of the adoptor and shall then cause to be sealed and file d the orig inal birth certifica te with th e order of the court and such sealed package shall be opened only by order of court . Proviso. Exc epti ons. Consent provisio ns. Decree of adoption. Notice to Vital Statistics Bureau, Health D epartme nt.