Sec. 07.02.13.04. Search, Contact, and Reunion Services Program

A. Program Registration Requirements.

(1) Program registration is open to:

(a) An adoptee, 21 years old or older, who does not live with a birth sibling younger than 21 years old;

(b) The birth parents of an adult adoptee whose parental rights were not terminated under Family Law Article, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland;

(c) A sibling of an adopted individual who is 21 years old or older and who has been adopted; or

(d) A director of a local department acting on behalf of a minor in out-of-home placement.

(2) Completion of Registration Process. The registrant shall provide:

(a) A completed consent form containing a statement of the registrant's consent to be identified to the birth parents, adoptee, sibling, or relative;

(b) A completed registration form as described in Regulation .03A(2)(b) of this chapter;

(c) A photo identification of the registrant; and

(d) Payment of a registration fee as prescribed in the registration fee schedule for the mutual consent registry and Search, Contact, and Reunion Services Program that is available from the Director or the Director's designee.

(3) If a registrant is a director of a local department acting on behalf of a minor in out-of-home placement and the purpose is solely to facilitate a family connection, the consent form required by §A(2)(a) of this regulation:

(a) Shall be signed by the parent, guardian, or attorney of the child in out-of-home placement if the child is younger than 16 years old, unless the local department has a court order granting the local department the right to release the information; or

(b) May be signed by the child, if the child is 16 years old or older.

B. A fee is not required from:

(1) A registrant whose gross income is at or below the federal poverty level; or

(2) A director of a local department who applies for search, contact, and reunion services on behalf of a minor in out-of-home placement.

C. The Director or the Director's designee shall maintain the list of confidential intermediaries.

D. A child placement agency may apply to the Director or the Director's designee to be a confidential intermediary. The director of a child placement agency shall appoint an employee as the representative member to make the application on behalf of the agency.

E. Qualifications established by the Director shall be met by each member or former member of the staff of a child placement agency that provides search, contact, and reunion services and shall include:

(1) Possession of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university or a State employee grandfathered into a social work classification by the Department of Budget and Management, Office of Personnel Services and Benefits;

(2) 2 years of experience providing casework or adoption services;

(3) Documentation of the completion of a criminal background record check or of the request for a criminal background check;

(4) Attendance at 8 hours of training, approved by the Director, in providing search, contact, and reunion services;

(5) Supervision by a licensed clinical or graduate social worker while providing search, contact, and reunion services;

(6) Completion of refresher confidential intermediary training as required by the Director; and

(7) Any other qualification that the Director establishes for confidential intermediaries.

F. The Director may establish a reasonable fee for an application under this section. The overall amount of the fees collected may not exceed the cost of processing the application.