Sec. 07.02.13.06. Service Agreement

A. A registrant who applies for search, contact, and reunion services shall execute a service agreement with a confidential intermediary concerning the provision of search, contact, and reunion services and the fee to be paid for those services.

B. The service agreement shall state the services to be provided by the confidential intermediary and shall last for 90 days beginning the day after the service agreement is signed by both parties. If the search is unsuccessful after the first 90-day period, the service agreement may be extended for an additional 90 days. No additional fees may be charged by the confidential intermediary if an additional 90 days is used to continue the search, contact, and reunion service. A report shall be made to the Director that the service agreement has been extended along with a report of progress made at the end of the first 90-day period and the steps to be taken during the second 90-day period.

C. Fees.

(1) The confidential intermediary may charge the individual a reasonable fee for search, contact, and reunion services. Fees are nonrefundable. The fee to be charged by the confidential intermediary shall be included in the service agreement. Fees shall be waived by the confidential intermediary if the client requests the waiver in writing and provides verification of income that coincides with the schedule in the confidential intermediary fee schedule for the search, contact, and reunion services.

(2) The overall amount of fees collected may not exceed the cost of providing the services or the amounts prescribed in the confidential intermediary fee schedule for search, contact, and reunion services available from the Director, whichever is less.

(3) Fees for services are charged to the registrant one time. If additional services are requested by the registrant within 1 year of the signing of a first service agreement, all previous payments are applied to the total service costs for that year. For example, if the registrant signs a service agreement requesting nonidentifying heritage information and 30 days later requests contact and reunion services with both parents, the confidential intermediary may only charge the registrant the difference between the first fees paid and the cost of the additional service.

D. The confidential intermediary shall promptly:

(1) Provide the registrant with a copy of the signed service agreement;

(2) File the executed service agreement with the Director; and

(3) Determine the identity of the adoptee or birth parent, and search for and contact either the adoptee or the birth parent sought by the applicant.