A. Unless the petitioner agrees to be contacted or agrees to the release of the petitioner's identity to the parent and the parent agrees to be contacted or agrees to the release of the parent's identity to the petitioner, the attorneys, the court, the agency and the department shall maintain confidentiality regarding the names of the parties, unless the information is already otherwise known. After the petition is filed and prior to the entry of the decree, the records in adoption proceedings shall be open to inspection only by the attorney for the petitioner, the department or the agency, any attorney appointed as a guardian ad litem or attorney for the adoptee, any attorney retained by the adoptee or other persons upon order of the court for good cause shown.
B. All records, whether on file with the court, an agency, the department, an attorney or other provider of professional services in connection with an adoption, are confidential and may be disclosed only pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act. All information and documentation provided for the purpose of full disclosure is confidential. Documentation provided for the purpose of full disclosure shall remain the property of the person making full disclosure when a prospective adoptive parent decides not to accept a placement. Immediately upon refusal of the placement, the prospective adoptive parent shall return all full disclosure documentation to the person providing full disclosure. A prospective adoptive parent shall not disclose any confidential information received during the full disclosure process, except as necessary to make a placement decision or to provide information to a child's guardian ad litem or attorney or the court.
C. All hearings in adoption proceedings shall be confidential and shall be held in closed court without admittance of any person other than parties and their counsel.
D. A person who intentionally and unlawfully releases any information or records closed to the public pursuant to the Adoption Act or releases or makes other unlawful use of records in violation of that act is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
E. Prior to the entry of the decree of adoption, the parent consenting to the adoption or relinquishing parental rights to an agency or the department shall execute an affidavit stating whether the parent will permit contact or the disclosure of the parent's identity to the adoptee or the adoptee's prospective adoptive parents.
History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-5-8, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 135; 1995, ch. 206, § 29; 2005, ch. 189, § 60; 2009, ch. 239, § 53.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, in Subsection A, in the last sentence, after "guardian ad litem", added "or attorney".
Applicability. — Laws 2009, ch. 239, § 71, provided that the provisions of this act apply to all children who, on July 1, 2009, are on release or are otherwise eligible to be placed on release as if the Juvenile Public Safety Advisory Board Act had been in effect at the time they were placed on release or became eligible to be released.
The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, added Subsection D, which provided that any person who intentionally and unlawfully releases any information or records closed to the public or releases or makes other unlawful use of records is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, added all of the language in Subsection B following the first sentence and made a minor stylistic change in Subsection D.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — Restricting access to judicial records of concluded adoption proceedings, 103 A.L.R.5th 255.