2010 Tennessee Code
Title 36 - Domestic Relations
Chapter 1 - Adoption
Part 1 - General Provisions
36-1-102 - Part definitions.

36-1-102. Part definitions.

As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:

     (1)  (A)  For purposes of terminating the parental or guardian rights of parent(s) or guardian(s) of a child to that child in order to make that child available for adoption, “abandonment” means that:

                (i)  For a period of four (4) consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of a proceeding or pleading to terminate the parental rights of the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the child who is the subject of the petition for termination of parental rights or adoption, that the parent(s) or guardian(s) either have willfully failed to visit or have willfully failed to support or have willfully failed to make reasonable payments toward the support of the child;

                (ii)  The child has been removed from the home of the parent(s) or guardian(s) as the result of a petition filed in the juvenile court in which the child was found to be a dependent and neglected child, as defined in § 37-1-102, and the child was placed in the custody of the department or a licensed child-placing agency, that the juvenile court found, or the court where the termination of parental rights petition is filed finds, that the department or a licensed child-placing agency made reasonable efforts to prevent removal of the child or that the circumstances of the child's situation prevented reasonable efforts from being made prior to the child's removal; and for a period of four (4) months following the removal, the department or agency has made reasonable efforts to assist the parent(s) or guardian(s) to establish a suitable home for the child, but that the parent(s) or guardian(s) have made no reasonable efforts to provide a suitable home and have demonstrated a lack of concern for the child to such a degree that it appears unlikely that they will be able to provide a suitable home for the child at an early date;

                (iii)  A biological or legal father has either willfully failed to visit or willfully failed to make reasonable payments toward the support of the child's mother during the four (4) months immediately preceding the birth of the child; provided, that in no instance shall a final order terminating the parental rights of a parent as determined pursuant to this subdivision (iii) be entered until at least thirty (30) days have elapsed since the date of the child's birth;

                (iv)  A parent or guardian is incarcerated at the time of the institution of an action or proceeding to declare a child to be an abandoned child, or the parent or guardian has been incarcerated during all or part of the four (4) months immediately preceding the institution of such action or proceeding, and either has willfully failed to visit or has willfully failed to support or has willfully failed to make reasonable payments toward the support of the child for four (4) consecutive months immediately preceding such parent's or guardian's incarceration, or the parent or guardian has engaged in conduct prior to incarceration that exhibits a wanton disregard for the welfare of the child; or

                (v)  The child, as a newborn infant aged seventy-two (72) hours or less, was voluntarily left at a facility by such infant's mother pursuant to § 68-11-255; and, for a period of thirty (30) days after the date of voluntary delivery, the mother failed to visit or seek contact with the infant; and, for a period of thirty (30) days after notice was given under § 36-1-142(e), and no less than ninety (90) days cumulatively, the mother failed to seek contact with the infant through the department or to revoke her voluntary delivery of the infant;

          (B)  For purposes of this subdivision (1), “token support” means that the support, under the circumstances of the individual case, is insignificant given the parent's means;

          (C)  For purposes of this subdivision (1), “token visitation” means that the visitation, under the circumstances of the individual case, constitutes nothing more than perfunctory visitation or visitation of such an infrequent nature or of such short duration as to merely establish minimal or insubstantial contact with the child;

          (D)  For purposes of this subdivision (1), “willfully failed to support” or “willfully failed to make reasonable payments toward such child's support” means the willful failure, for a period of four (4) consecutive months, to provide monetary support or the willful failure to provide more than token payments toward the support of the child;

          (E)  For purposes of this subdivision (1), “willfully failed to visit” means the willful failure, for a period of four (4) consecutive months, to visit or engage in more than token visitation;

          (F)  Abandonment may not be repented of by resuming visitation or support subsequent to the filing of any petition seeking to terminate parental or guardianship rights or seeking the adoption of a child; and

          (G)  “Abandonment” and “abandonment of an infant” do not have any other definition except that which is set forth in this section, it being the intent of the general assembly to establish the only grounds for abandonment by statutory definition. Specifically, it shall not be required that a parent be shown to have evinced a settled purpose to forego all parental rights and responsibilities in order for a determination of abandonment to be made. Decisions of any court to the contrary are hereby legislatively overruled;

     (2)  “Abandonment of an infant” means, for purposes of terminating parental or guardian rights, “abandonment” of a child under the age of one (1) year;

     (3)  “Adopted person” means:

          (A)  Any person who is or has been adopted under this part or under the laws of any state, territory, or foreign country; and

          (B)  For purposes of the processing and handling of, and access to, any adoption records, sealed adoption records, sealed records, post-adoption records, or adoption assistance records pursuant to this part, “adopted person” also includes a person for whom any of those records is maintained by the court, other persons or entities or persons authorized to conduct a surrender or revocation of surrender pursuant to this part, or which records are maintained by the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or the department of health or other information source, whether an adoption petition was ever filed, whether an adoption order was ever entered, whether the adoption was ever dismissed, whether the adoption was ever finalized, or whether the adoption was attempted or was otherwise never completed due to the abandonment of any necessary activity related to the completion of the adoption;

     (4)  “Adoption” means the social and legal process of establishing by court order, other than by paternity or legitimation proceedings or by voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, the legal relationship of parent and child;

     (5)  “Adoption assistance” means the federal or state programs that exist to provide financial assistance to adoptive parents to enable them to provide a permanent home to a special needs child as defined by the department;

     (6)  “Adoption record” means:

          (A)  (i)  The records, reports, or other documents maintained in any medium by the judge or clerk of the court, or by any other person pursuant to this part who is authorized to witness the execution of surrenders or revocations of surrenders, which records, reports, or documents relate to an adoption petition, a surrender or parental consent, a revocation of a surrender or parental consent, or which reasonably relate to other information concerning the adoption of a person, and which information in such records, reports, or documents exists during the pendency of an adoption or a termination of parental rights proceeding, or which records, reports, or documents exist subsequent to the conclusion of those proceedings, even if no order of adoption or order of dismissal is entered, but which records, reports or documents exist prior to those records, reports, or documents becoming a part of a sealed record or a sealed adoption record pursuant to § 36-1-126; or

                (ii)  The records, reports, or documents maintained in any medium by the department's social services division, or by a licensed or chartered child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker, and which records, reports, or documents contain any social, medical, legal, or other information concerning an adopted person, a person who has been placed for adoption or a person for whom adoptive placement activities are currently occurring, and which information in such records, reports, or documents exists during the pendency of an adoption or termination of parental rights proceeding, or which exists subsequent to the conclusion of those proceedings, even if no order of adoption or dismissal of an adoption has been entered, but which records, reports, or documents exist prior to those records, reports, or documents becoming sealed records or sealed adoption records pursuant to § 36-1-126;

          (B)  The adoption record is confidential and is not subject to disclosure by the court, by a licensed child-placing agency, by a licensed clinical social worker or by any other person or entity, except as otherwise permitted by this part; however, prior to the record's becoming a sealed record or a sealed adoption record pursuant to § 36-1-126, the adoption record may be disclosed as may be necessary for purposes directly related to the placement, care, treatment, protection, or supervision by the legal custodian, legal guardian, conservator, or other legally authorized caretaker of the person who is the subject of the adoption proceeding, or as may be necessary for the purposes directly related to legal proceedings involving the person who is subject to the jurisdiction of a court in an adoption proceeding or other legal proceeding related to an adoption, including terminations of parental rights, or as may otherwise be necessary for use in any child or adult protective services proceedings concerning the person about whom the record is maintained pursuant to titles 37 and 71;

          (C)  The adoption record shall not, for purposes of release of the records pursuant to §§ 36-1-127 36-1-141, be construed to permit access, without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138, to home studies or preliminary home studies or any information obtained by the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or other family counseling service, a physician, a psychologist, or member of the clergy, an attorney or other person in connection with a home study or preliminary home study as part of an adoption or surrender or parental consent proceeding or as part of the evaluation of prospective adoptive parents, other than those studies that are expressly included in a report to the court by such entities or persons. Information relating to the counseling of a biological mother regarding crisis pregnancy counseling shall not be included in the adoption record for purposes of release pursuant to this part without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138;

     (7)  “Adoptive parent(s)” means the person(s) who have been made the legal parents of a child by the entry of an order of adoption under this part or under the provisions of the laws of any state, territory or foreign country;

     (8)  “Adult” means any person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older. An adult may be adopted as provided in this part;

     (9)  “Aggravated circumstances” means abandonment, abandonment of an infant, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated child abuse and neglect, aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, aggravated rape, rape, rape of a child, incest, or severe child abuse, as defined at § 37-1-102;

     (10)  “Biological parents” means the woman and man who physically or genetically conceived the child who is the subject of the adoption or termination proceedings or who conceived the child who has made a request for information pursuant to this part;

     (11)  “Biological relative” means:

          (A)  For adopted persons for whom any adoption records, sealed adoption records, sealed records, or post-adoption records are maintained: the biological parents or child of an adopted person or person for whom any adoption record, sealed record, sealed adoption record or post-adoption record is maintained, the brothers or sisters of the whole or half blood, the blood grandparents of any degree, the blood aunts or uncles, or the blood cousins of the first degree, of such persons; and

          (B)  For persons about whom any background information is sought as part of the surrender or parental consent process: the biological parents of the child, the brothers or sisters of the whole or half blood, the blood grandparents of any degree, or the blood aunts or uncles;

     (12)  “Chartered child-placing agency” means an agency that had received a charter from the state of Tennessee through legislative action or by incorporation for the operation of an entity or a program of any type that engaged in the placement of children for foster care or residential care as part of a plan or program for which those children were or could have been made available for adoptive placement and that may have, at sometime during its existence, become subject to any licensing requirements by the department or its predecessors;

     (13)  “Child” or “children” means any person or persons under eighteen (18) years of age;

     (14)  “Child caring agency” means any agency authorized by law to care for children outside their own homes for twenty-four (24) hours per day;

     (15)  “Consent” means:

          (A)  The written authorization to relinquish a child for adoption, which is given by an agency such as the department or a public child care agency of another state or country or licensed child-placing agency of this or another state, which agency has the authority, by court order or by surrender or by operation of law or by any combination of these, to place a child for adoption and to give permission for the adoption of that child by other persons;

          (B)  The written permission of a parent pursuant to § 36-1-117(f) to permit the adoption of that parent's child by that parent's relative or by the parent's spouse who is the child's stepparent;

          (C)  The process as described in § 36-1-117(g) by which a parent co-signs an adoption petition, with the prospective adoptive parents, for the purpose of agreeing to make the child available for adoption by the co-petitioning prospective adoptive parents, and that permits the court to enter an order of guardianship to give the adoptive parents custody and supervision of the child pending the completion or dismissal of the adoption proceedings or pending revocation of the consent by the parent. This process shall be called a “parental consent”;

          (D)  The permission of a child fourteen (14) years of age or older given to the court, in chambers, before the entry of an order of adoption of such child;

          (E)  The permission of a guardian ad litem for a disabled child or an adult permitting the adoption of those persons pursuant to the procedures of § 36-1-117(i) and (j);

          (F)  The sworn, written permission of an adult person filed with the court where the adoption petition is filed that seeks the adoption of the adult; or

          (G)  The agreement for contact by the parties to the post-adoption records search procedures that may be required in §§ 36-1-127 36-1-141;

     (16)  (A)  “Court” means the chancery or circuit court; provided, that “court” includes the juvenile court for purposes of the authority to accept the surrender or revocation of surrenders of a child and to issue any orders of reference, orders of guardianship, or other orders resulting from a surrender or revocation that it accepts and for purposes of authorizing the termination of parental rights pursuant to § 36-1-113; title 37, chapter 1, part 1; and title 37, chapter 2, part 4;

          (B)  All appeals of any orders relative to the juvenile court's actions in taking a surrender or revocation or in terminating parental rights shall be made to the court of appeals as provided by law; or

          (C)  A juvenile court magistrate, appointed by the juvenile judge pursuant to the provisions of title 37, shall have authority to take a surrender of a child and to take a revocation of such surrender, and no order of confirmation by the juvenile judge of the orders concerning surrenders and revocations shall be required; provided, that the magistrate's order recommending termination of parental rights shall require an order of confirmation by the juvenile judge;

     (17)  “Court report” means the report to the adoption or surrender court in response to an order of reference that describes to the court the status of the child and the prospective adoptive parents or the persons to whom the child is surrendered. Such a report may be preliminary, supplementary, or final in nature. The court report shall not include the home study or preliminary home study, but instead shall include a summary of such study;

     (18)  “Department” means the department of children's services or any of its divisions or units;

     (19)  “Eligible person” means, for purposes of §§ 36-1-125 36-1-141, a person who is verified by the department as being in the class of individuals who is permitted by this part to receive access to records;

     (20)  “Final court report” means a written document completed by the department or a licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker after submission of any prior court reports in response to the court's order of reference. It gives information concerning the status of the child in the home of the prospective adoptive parents and gives a full explanation to the court of the suitability of the prospective adoptive parent(s) to adopt the child who is the subject of the adoption petition. The final court report is designed to bring the status of the proposed adoptive home and the child up to date immediately prior to finalization of the adoption and should be the last report the court receives before finalization of the adoption by entry of an order of adoption;

     (21)  “Financially able” means that the petitioners for adoption of a child are able, by use of any and all income and economic resources of the petitioners, including, but not limited to, assistance from public or private sources, to ensure that any physical, emotional, or special needs of the child are met;

     (22)  “Foster care” has the meaning given to that term in § 37-1-102; provided, that no plan or permanency plan, as defined in § 37-2-402, shall be required in the case of foster care provided by or in any agency, institution or home in connection with an adoption of a child, so long as a petition for the adoption of that child by an individual or individuals to whom care of that child has been given is filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within six (6) months of the time that child first comes into the care of the agency, institution or home;

     (23)  “Foster parent” has the meaning given to that term in § 37-1-102;

     (24)  (A)  “Guardian(s)” or “co-guardian(s)” means a person or persons or an entity, other than the parent of a child, appointed by a court or defined by law specifically as “guardian” or “co-guardian” or “conservator” to provide supervision, protection for and care for the person or property, or both, of a child or adult;

          (B)  “Guardian” or “co-guardian” also means a person or entity appointed as guardian(s) as the result of a surrender, parental consent, or termination of parental rights;

          (C)  The rights of the individual guardian or co-guardian or conservator of the person of a minor child or of an adult must be terminated by a surrender or court action before an order of adoption can be entered; provided, that an individual or individuals who receive(s) guardianship pursuant to a surrender, parental consent, or termination of parental rights pursuant to this part or title 37 need not give consent to the adoption when that individual is the petitioner in an adoption;

          (D)  When the department, a licensed child-placing agency, or a child-caring agency is the guardian of the child, its rights must be terminated by court action or it must provide consent as defined in subdivision (15)(A) before an adoption can be ordered;

     (25)  (A)  “Guardianship” or “co-guardianship” means, for purposes of subdivision (24), a person or entity having the status of being a guardian or co-guardian who or which is responsible for the provision of supervision, protection, and assistance to the person of a child under this part or under other provisions of the law of this or any other jurisdiction;

          (B)  Guardianship as a result of a surrender, consent, or termination of parental rights pursuant to this part or title 37 or the law of any other jurisdiction may be “complete” or “partial”;

          (C)  (i)  A person or entity has “complete” guardianship for the purpose of permitting a court to order an adoption when all necessary parental or guardianship rights have been terminated by surrender, by consent, by waiver of interest, or by involuntary termination of parental rights proceedings by a court or otherwise, and the court(s) with jurisdiction to do so enters an order or orders granting guardianship status to the person or entity;

                (ii)  Complete guardianship pursuant to a surrender or consent under this part or pursuant to the termination of the rights of a parent or guardian of a child under this part or under title 37, and pursuant to the entry of an order of guardianship as provided in this part, shall entitle the person or entity to the right to care for the child as provided under § 37-1-140 or as otherwise provided by the court order, and shall permit the entity to place the child for adoption and to consent to the adoption, or shall permit the individual to be granted an adoption of the child, and shall authorize the court to proceed with and grant an adoption, without further termination of parental or guardian rights;

          (D)  (i)  A person or entity has “partial guardianship” when a surrender or consent has been received from at least one (1), but not all, parents or guardians of the child, or when a court-ordered termination of parental or guardianship rights has been obtained against at least one (1), but not all, parents or guardians of the child, and the court has entered an order granting guardianship of the child to the petitioning person or entity, and the remaining parent or guardian of the child has not executed a surrender or consent or the child's parental or guardianship rights have not been terminated by waiver of interest pursuant to this part, court order, or otherwise;

                (ii)  Partial guardianship obtained pursuant to a surrender or consent or pursuant to an order terminating less than all parental rights, and an order of partial guardianship pursuant to this part or pursuant to title 37 shall entitle the person or entity to provide care, supervision, and protection of the child pursuant to the provisions of § 37-1-140, or to the extent permitted by the court order granting partial guardianship, but it shall not be effective to allow full consent to an adoption by an entity without termination by surrender or court order or otherwise of the remaining parental or guardianship rights of other parents or guardians, and shall not authorize the court to grant an adoption to an individual until all remaining parental or guardianship rights have been surrendered, terminated, or otherwise ended; provided, that the department or licensed child-placing entity may place a child for adoption with prospective adoptive parents and may consent to the adoption of the child by those prospective adoptive parents when the department or the licensed child-placing agency has partial guardianship, and the prospective adoptive parents then shall be required to obtain complete guardianship of the child by surrender, termination of parental rights, waiver of interest, or parental consent to effect the adoption of the child;

     (26)  “Home study” means the product of a preparation process in which individuals or families are assessed by themselves and the department or licensed child-placing agency, or a licensed clinical social worker as to their suitability for adoption and their desires with regard to the child they wish to adopt. The home study shall conform to the requirements set forth in the rules of the department and it becomes a written document that is used in the decision to approve or deny a particular home for adoptive placement. The home study may be the basis on which the court report recommends approval or denial to the court of the family as adoptive parents. A court report based upon any home study conducted by a licensed child-placing agency, licensed clinical social worker or the department that has been completed or updated within one (1) year prior to the date of the surrender or order of reference shall be accepted by the court for purposes of §§ 36-1-111 and 36-1-116. The home study shall be confidential, and at the conclusion of the adoption proceeding shall be forwarded to the department to be kept under seal pursuant to § 36-1-126, and shall be subject to disclosure only upon order entered pursuant to § 36-1-138;

     (27)  “Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)” means the provisions of §§ 37-4-201 37-4-207 relating to the placement of a child between states for the purposes of foster care or adoption. The ICPC is administered in Tennessee by the department through its state office in Nashville;

     (28)  “Legal parent” means:

          (A)  The biological mother of a child;

          (B)  A man who is or has been married to the biological mother of the child if the child was born during the marriage or within three hundred (300) days after the marriage was terminated for any reason, or if the child was born after a decree of separation was entered by a court;

          (C)  A man who attempted to marry the biological mother of the child before the child's birth by a marriage apparently in compliance with the law, even if the marriage is declared invalid, if the child was born during the attempted marriage or within three hundred (300) days after the termination of the attempted marriage for any reason;

          (D)  A man who has been adjudicated to be the legal father of the child by any court or administrative body of this state or any other state or territory or foreign country or who has signed, pursuant to §§ 24-7-113, 68-3-203(g), 68-3-302 or 68-3-305(b), an unrevoked and sworn acknowledgment of paternity under the provisions of Tennessee law, or who has signed such a sworn acknowledgment pursuant to the law of any other state, territory, or foreign country; or

          (E)  An adoptive parent of a child or adult;

     (29)  “Legal relative” means the person who is included in the class of persons set forth in the definition of “biological relative” or “legal parent,” and who, at the time a request for search services or information is made pursuant to §§ 36-1-127 36-1-131, and 36-1-133 36-1-138, is related to the adopted person by any legal relationship established by law, court order, or by marriage, but specifically includes, in addition, a stepparent;

     (30)  (A)  “Legal representative” means:

                (i)  The conservator, guardian, legal custodian, or other person or entity with legal authority to make decisions for an individual with a disability or an attorney-in-fact, an attorney at law representing a person for purposes of obtaining information pursuant to this part, or the legally appointed administrator, executor, or other legally appointed representative of a person's estate; or

                (ii)  Any person acting under any durable power of attorney for health care purposes or any person appointed to represent a person and acting pursuant to a living will;

          (B)  For purposes of this subdivision (30)(A), “disability” means that the individual is a minor pursuant to any state, territorial, or federal law, or the law of any foreign country, or that the individual has been determined by any such laws to be in need of a person or entity to care for the individual due to that individual's physical or mental incapacity or infirmity;

     (31)  “Licensed child-placing agency” means any agency operating under a license to place children for adoption issued by the department, or operating under a license from any governmental authority from any other state or territory or the District of Columbia, or any agency that operates under the authority of another country with the right to make placement of children for adoption and that has, in the department's sole determination, been authorized to place children for adoption in this state;

     (32)  “Licensed clinical social worker” means an individual who holds a license as an independent practitioner from the board of social worker certification and licensure pursuant to title 63, chapter 23, and, in addition, is licensed by the department to provide adoption placement services;

     (33)  “Lineal ancestor” means any degree of grandparent or great-grandparent, either by birth or adoption;

     (34)  “Lineal descendant” means a person who descended directly from another person who is the biological or adoptive ancestor of such person, such as the daughter of the daughter's mother or granddaughter of the granddaughter's grandmother;

     (35)  “Order of reference” means the order from the court where the surrender is executed or filed or where the adoption petition is filed that directs the department or a licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker to conduct a home study or preliminary home study or to complete a report of the status of the child who is or may be the subject of an adoption proceeding, and that seeks information as to the suitability of the prospective adoptive parents to adopt a child;

     (36)  “Parent(s)” means any biological, legal, adoptive parent(s) or, for purposes of §§ 36-1-127 36-1-141, stepparents;

     (37)  “Parental consent” means the consent described in subdivision (15)(C);

     (38)  “Parental rights” means the legally recognized rights and responsibilities to act as a parent, to care for, to name, and to claim custodial rights with respect to a child;

     (39)  “Post-adoption record” means:

          (A)  The record maintained in any medium by the department, separately from the sealed record or sealed adoption record and subsequent to the sealing of an adoption record or that is maintained about any sealed record or sealed adoption record. The post-adoption record contains information, including, but not limited to, adopted persons or the legal or biological relatives of adopted persons, or about persons for whom sealed records or sealed adoption records are maintained, or about persons who are seeking information about adopted persons, or persons on whom a sealed record or sealed adoption record is maintained. The post-adoption record contains information concerning, but not limited to, the contact veto registry established by this part, the written inquiries from persons requesting access to records, the search efforts of the department pursuant to the requirements of the contact veto process, the response to those search efforts by those persons sought, information that has been requested to be transmitted from or on behalf of any person entitled to access to records pursuant to this part, any updated medical information gathered pursuant to this part, court orders related to the opening of any sealed adoption records or sealed records, and personal identifying information concerning any persons subject to the provisions of this part;

          (B)  The limited record maintained by the licensed or chartered child-placing agency or a licensed clinical social worker pursuant to § 36-1-126(b)(2), that indicates the child's date of birth, the date the agency received the child for placement, from whom the child was received and such person's last known address, with whom the child was placed and such person's or entity's last known address, and the court in which the adoption proceeding was filed and the date the adoption order was entered or the adoption petition dismissed; and

          (C)  This record is confidential and shall be opened only as provided in this part;

     (40)  (A)  “Preliminary home study” means an initial home study conducted prior to or, in limited situations, immediately after, the placement of a child with prospective adoptive parents who have not previously been subject to a home study that was conducted or updated not less than six (6) months prior to the date a surrender is sought to be executed to the prospective adoptive parents or prior to the date of the filing of the adoption petition;

          (B)  The preliminary home study is designed to obtain an early and temporary initial assessment of the basic ability of prospective adoptive parents to provide adequate care for a child who is proposed to be adopted by those prospective adoptive parents, and is utilized only for the purpose of approval of surrenders or for purposes of responding to an order of reference pursuant to § 36-1-116(e)(2), or for purposes of entering a guardianship order under § 36-1-116(f)(3);

          (C)  The preliminary home study shall consist of a minimum of two (2) visits with the prospective adoptive parents, at least one (1) of which shall be in the home of the prospective adoptive parents, and the study shall support the conclusion that no apparent reason exists why the prospective adoptive parents would not be fit parents for the child who is the subject of the adoption. To be valid for use as the basis for a court report in connection with a surrender or a parental consent, the preliminary home study must have been completed or updated within thirty (30) days prior to the date the surrender is accepted or the parental consent is executed or confirmed or the guardianship order is entered. The home study shall be confidential, and, at the conclusion of the adoption proceeding, shall be forwarded to the department to be kept under seal pursuant to § 36-1-126, and shall be subject to disclosure only upon order entered pursuant to § 36-1-138;

     (41)  “Prospective adoptive parents” means a non-agency person or persons who are seeking to adopt a child and who have made application with a licensed child-placing agency or licensed clinical social worker or the department for approval, or who have been previously approved, to receive a child for adoption, or who have received or who expect to receive a surrender of a child, or who have filed a petition for termination or for adoption;

     (42)  “Related” means grandparents or any degree of great-grandparents, aunts or uncles, or any degree of great-aunts or great-uncles, or stepparent, or cousins of the first degree or any siblings of the whole or half-degree;

     (43)  (A)  “Sealed adoption record” means:

                (i)  The adoption record as it exists subsequent to its transmittal to the department, or subsequent to its sealing by the court, pursuant to the requirements of § 36-1-126; or

                (ii)  The limited record maintained by the licensed or chartered child-placing agency or a licensed clinical social worker pursuant to § 36-1-126(b)(2);

          (B)  This record is confidential and shall be opened only as provided in this part;

          (C)  The sealed adoption record shall not, for purposes of release of the records pursuant to §§ 36-1-127 36-1-141, be construed to permit access, without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138, to home studies or preliminary home studies or any information obtained by the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or other family counseling service, a physician, a psychologist, or member of the clergy, an attorney or other person in connection with a home study or preliminary home study as part of an adoption or surrender or parental consent proceeding or as part of the evaluation of prospective adoptive parents, other than those studies that are expressly included in a report to the court by such entities or persons. Information relating to the counseling of a biological mother regarding crisis pregnancy counseling shall not be included in the adoption record for purposes of release pursuant to this part without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138;

     (44)  (A)  “Sealed record” means:

                (i)  Any records, reports, or documents that are maintained at any time by a court, a court clerk, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, licensed clinical social worker, the department, the department of health, or any other information source concerning the foster care or agency care placement, or placement for adoption, of a person by any branch of the Tennessee children's home society authorized by Public Chapter 113 (1919); or

                (ii)  Any records, reports, or documents maintained by a judge, a court clerk, the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, the department of health, or any other information source that consist of adoption records or information about an adoption proceeding or a termination of parental rights proceeding about an adopted person, or that contain information about a person who was placed for adoption but for whom no adoption order was entered or for whom an adoption proceeding was dismissed or for whom an adoption was not otherwise completed, or that contain information concerning persons in the care of any person or agency, and which records have otherwise been treated and maintained by those persons or entities under prior law, practice, policy, or custom as confidential, nonpublic adoption records, sealed adoption records, or post-adoption records of the person, or that may be otherwise currently treated and maintained by those persons or entities as confidential, nonpublic adoption records, sealed adoption records or post-adoption records of the person; or

                (iii)  The limited record maintained by the licensed or chartered child-placing agency or a licensed clinical social worker pursuant to § 36-1-126(b)(2);

          (B)  This record is confidential and shall be opened only as provided in this part;

          (C)  The sealed record shall not, for purposes of release of the records pursuant to §§ 36-1-127 36-1-141, be construed to permit access, without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138, to home studies or preliminary home studies or any information obtained by the department, a licensed or chartered child-placing agency, a licensed clinical social worker, or other family counseling service, a physician, a psychologist, or member of the clergy, an attorney or other person in connection with a home study or preliminary home study as part of an adoption or surrender or parental consent proceeding or as part of the evaluation of prospective adoptive parents, other than those studies that are expressly included in a report to the court by such entities or persons. Information relating to the counseling of a biological mother regarding crisis pregnancy counseling shall not be included in the adoption record for purposes of release pursuant to this part without a court order pursuant to § 36-1-138;

     (45)  “Sibling” means anyone having a sibling relationship;

     (46)  “Sibling relationship” means the biological or legal relationship between persons who have a common biological or legal parent;

     (47)  “Surrender” means a document executed under the provisions of § 36-1-111, or under the laws of another state or territory or country, by the parent or guardian of a child, by which that parent or guardian relinquishes all parental or guardianship rights of that parent or guardian to a child, to another person or public child care agency or licensed child-placing agency for the purposes of making that child available for adoption; and

     (48)  (A)  “Surrogate birth” means:

                (i)  The union of the wife's egg and the husband's sperm, which are then placed in another woman, who carries the fetus to term and who, pursuant to a contract, then relinquishes all parental rights to the child to the biological parents pursuant to the terms of the contract; or

                (ii)  The insemination of a woman by the sperm of a man under a contract by which the parties state their intent that the woman who carries the fetus shall relinquish the child to the biological father and the biological father's wife to parent;

          (B)  No surrender pursuant to this part is necessary to terminate any parental rights of the woman who carried the child to term under the circumstances described in this subdivision (48) and no adoption of the child by the biological parent(s) is necessary;

          (C)  Nothing in this subdivision (48) shall be construed to expressly authorize the surrogate birth process in Tennessee unless otherwise approved by the courts or the general assembly.

[Acts 1951, ch. 202, §§ 2, 40 (Williams, §§ 9572.16, 9572.52); 1961, ch. 227, § 1; 1972, ch. 612, § 7; 1972, ch. 624, § 1; impl. am. Acts 1975, ch. 219, § 1; 1976, ch. 394, § 1; modified; Acts 1978, ch. 704, § 1; 1983, ch. 435, § 7; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 36-102; Acts 1990, ch. 988, § 1; 1993, ch. 124, §§ 5, 6; § 36-1-102; Acts 1995, ch. 532, § 1; 1996, ch. 1054, §§ 3-15, 104; 1996, ch. 1079, § 69; 1998, ch. 1097, §§ 2, 3; 2000, ch. 981, § 51; 2001, ch. 388, § 4; 2002, ch. 630, § 1; 2003, ch. 231, §§ 1-4; 2009, ch. 235, §  1; 2009, ch. 411, §§ 1-3.]