SECTION 735.325. What information must the pre-placement portion of an adoption evaluation report include?

(a) The report must contain:

(1) Documentation of the requirements in Subchapters B, C, and E of this Chapter, including documentation of:

(A) Information that was obtained through the review of documents, reports, and inspections; and

(B) Interviews with the adoptive parents and their family, collateral contacts, and the child;

(2) Documentation of the criminal history and central registry background check results and an assessment of the results, including whether the results should bar placement of the child with the adoptive parents, or the subsequent adoption of the child by the adoptive parents;

(3) Assessments of the:

(A) Adoptive parents and their family's interaction with each other; and

(B) Relationship between the child and each adoptive parent, if a relationship currently exists;

(4) An assessment of the child's present and prospective physical, intellectual, social, and psychological functioning;

(5) An assessment of the basic care and safety issues, including the safety of the physical environment of the adoptive home;

(6) An assessment of the adoptive parents' individual strengths and weaknesses;

(7) Conclusions and recommendations to the court as to whether the:

(A) Adoptive parents' home environment will meet the child's needs once the child begins living in the adoptive parents' home; and

(B) Adoptive parents appear to have the ability to accept the child, assume parenting responsibilities, and adopt the child in the next six months to a year;

(8) For each adoption evaluator that conducted any part of the pre-placement portion of an adoption evaluation, including interviewing participants; making home visits; making assessments, conclusions, or recommendations; or writing the report:

(A) Their names, license numbers, if applicable, and role in conducting the pre-placement portion of an adoption evaluation; and

(B) A statement that each adoption evaluator:

(i) Has read and meets the qualification requirements of Texas Family Code §107.154; or

(ii) Was appointed by the court under Texas Family Code §107.155; and

(9) Telephone numbers for entities where it is appropriate for the adoptive parents to file complaints about how the pre-placement portion of an adoption evaluation was conducted, including phone numbers for:

(A) The court that ordered the adoption evaluation; and

(B) The board or agency that licenses the adoption evaluator who is primarily responsible for the pre-placement portion of an adoption evaluation, if applicable.

(b) The adoption evaluator primarily responsible for the pre-placement portion of an adoption evaluation must sign the report.

Source Note: The provisions of this §735.325 adopted to be effective March 1, 2016, 41 TexReg 1489; transferred effective May 1, 2018, as published in the Texas Register April 13, 2018, 43 TexReg 2289; amended to be effective May 16, 2019, 44 TexReg 2363