Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 73.djvu/451

 73 S T A T. ]

413

PUBLIC LAW 86-177-AUG. 21, 1959

Public Law 86-177 AN ACT To amend the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the placing of children In family homes, and for other purposes", approved April 22, 1944, as amended, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America. in Congress assembled, That subsection (a) of section 6 of the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the placing of children in family homes, and for other purposes", approved April 22, 1944, as amended (sec. 32-786(a), D.C. Code, 1951 edition), is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 6. (a) Whenever a licensed child-placing agency shall have been given the permanent care and guardianship of any child and the rights of the parent or parents of such child shall have been terminated by order of a court of competent jurisdiction or by a legally executed relinquishment of parental rights, the agency is vestedjwith parental rights and may consent to the adoption of the child pursuant to the statutes regulating adoption procedure. Minority of a natural parent shall not be a bar to such parent's relinquishment to a licensed agency. Any relinquishment of parental rights other than by court order as provided in this subsection may be revoked upon the written consent of all the parties to said relinquishment and any such relinquishment may be transferred from one licensed child-placing agency to another licensed child-placing agency, in which case the second agency shall assume all the rights and duties of the first agency. For the purposes of this section, 'licensed child-placing agency' shall mean any childplacing agency licensed pursuant to this Act or any child-placing agency licensed or authorized by any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, by the Commonwealth of Puerto Ilico, or by any foreign country or any state, province, or other governmental division of any foreign country for the care and placement of minors. Such transfer or relinquishment shall be filed in the domestic relations branch of the municipal court for the District of Columbia, as hereinafter provided in this section. Except in proceedings for adoption, no parent may voluntarily assign or otherwise transfer to another his rights and duties with respect to the permanent care and control of a child under sixteen years of age unless such relinquishment of parental rights is made to a licensed child-placing agency. Such relinquishment of parental rights shall be a statement in writing signed by the person relinquishing such parental rights who shall subscribe his name thereto and acknowledge the same before a representative of the licensed child-placing agency in the presence of at least one witness. Said relinquishment of parental rights shall be recorded and filed in a properly sealed file in the domestic relations branch of the municipal court for the District of Columbia. The seal of said file shall not be broken except for good cause shown and upon the written order of a judge of said court." SEC. 2. Such Act, as amended, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: "SEC. 13. As used m this Act, the term 'Commissioners' means the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia or their designated agents. The performance of any function vested by this Act in the Board of Commissioners or in any office or agency under the jurisdiction and control of said Board of Commissioners may be delegated by said Board of Commissioners in accordance with section 3 of Reorganization Plan Numbered 5 of 1952 (66 Stat. 824)." Approved August 21, 1959.

August 21, 1959 [S. 746]

D.C. child-plaeing a g e n c i e s

58 Stat. 194. R e 1 inquishment of parental rights.

Transfer,

" L i c e n s e d childplacing agency".

Recordation.

"Commissioners".

D. C. Code 1 app.

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