2021 Alaska Statutes
Title 47. Welfare, Social Services, and Institutions
Chapter 10. Children in Need of Aid
Article 1. Children's Proceedings.
Sec. 47.10.111. Petition for adoption or guardianship of a child in state custody.
(a) Except as provided under AS 13.26.137(b)(2) and AS 25.23.030(d)(2), if a person seeks adoption or appointment as legal guardian of a child in state custody under this chapter, the court shall hear the adoption or guardianship proceedings as part of the child-in-need-of-aid proceedings relating to the child. A person may initiate proceedings for the adoption or legal guardianship of a child in state custody under this chapter by filing with the court a petition
(1) for adoption that meets the requirements of AS 25.23.080; or
(2) to be appointed legal guardian that meets the requirements of AS 13.26.147.
(b) If a person files a petition for adoption or legal guardianship of a child under (a) of this section before the court approves adoption or legal guardianship as the permanent plan for the child under AS 47.10.080(l)(2), the court shall hold the petition in abeyance until after the court has approved adoption or legal guardianship as the permanent plan for the child under AS 47.10.080(l).
(c) If a person files a petition for adoption or legal guardianship of a child who is in out-of-home placement, and the child is not placed with the person who files the petition at the time the person files the petition, the department shall, not more than 60 days after the petition is filed, submit a permanent plan to the court. The court shall hold a hearing to review the permanent plan for the child under AS 47.10.080(l) not more than 90 days after the petition is filed.
(d) A person who files a petition for adoption or legal guardianship of a child under this section does not become a party to the child-in-need-of-aid proceedings. A person who files a petition for adoption or legal guardianship of a child under this section may only participate in proceedings under this chapter that concern the person's petition.
(e) A parent who has consented to adoption under AS 25.23.060, who has relinquished parental rights under AS 47.10.089, or whose parental rights have been terminated under AS 47.10.080(o) or 47.10.088, is not a party to the adoption or guardianship proceedings under this section.
(f) Except as provided in this section, the requirements of AS 25.23 apply to a petition for adoption filed under this section, and the requirements of AS 13.26.101 - 13.26.186 apply to a petition for legal guardianship filed under this section.
