Preplacement disclosure and training before high needs child adoption.
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(1) at a minimum, to the extent available, the following information:
(a) a social history of the high needs child to be adopted, including:
(i) a history of the high needs child's cultural, racial, religious, ethnic, linguistic, and educational background; and
(ii) any conditions in the high needs child's country of origin, if applicable, to which the child may have been exposed and that may have an impact on the child's physical or mental health; and
(b) a record, if available, of the high needs child's:
(i) physical health, mental health, behavioral issues, or exposure to trauma, including whether the child placing agency knows or suspects that the high needs child has been exposed to alcohol or drugs in utero; and
(ii) history of institutionalization or previous adoptive or foster placements and, if applicable, the reason a previous placement was terminated; and
(2) at a minimum, training on the following issues:
(a) the impact leaving familiar ties and surroundings may have on a high needs child, and the grief, loss, and identity issues that a high needs child may experience in adoption;
(b) the potential impact of an institutional setting on a high needs child;
(c) attachment disorders, trauma-related disorders, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and other emotional problems that a high needs child may suffer, particularly when the high needs child has been institutionalized, traumatized, or cared for by multiple caregivers;
(d) the general characteristics of a successful adoption placement, including information on the financial resources, time, and insurance coverage necessary for handling the adoptive family's and the high needs child's adjustment following placement;
(e) the medical, therapeutic, and educational needs a high needs child may require, including language acquisition training;
(f) how to access post-placement and post-adoption services that may assist the family to respond effectively to adjustment, behavioral, and other difficulties that may arise after the high needs child is placed or adopted;
(g) issues that may lead to the disruption of an adoptive placement or the dissolution of an adoption, including how an adoptive parent may access resources to avoid disruption or dissolution;
(h) the long-term implications for a family that becomes multicultural through adoption;
(i) for a prospective adoptive parent who is seeking to adopt two or more unrelated children, the differing needs of children based on their respective ages, backgrounds, length of time outside of family care, and the time management requirements and other challenges that may be presented in a multi-child adoption; and
(j) the prohibition against an unregulated custody transfer of a child.