Together in partnership with the court and Public Counsel, the Alliance led the work necessary to cut the red tape so that hundreds of delayed, uncontested adoptions could finalize without court appearance amidst this crisis—allowing prospective adoptive parents and child to appear telephonically or through other remote technology.
““Right now, there are 212 uncontested adoption cases on hold since the court transitioned to prioritizing emergency and time-sensitive matters during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Kevin C. Brazile, presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court in a news release in which he praised the the Alliance for our work to support this change. “With just one more step, these parents will be able to finalize their forever families without delay.”
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In addition, the Alliance advocated with Judge Greenberg to amend the court’s Emergency Order to categorize adoptions as “essential” matters and were met with success when the court agreed to carve out a limited number of adoption cases as “emergent,” specifically, cases with: (1) youth age 17 with an adoption plan, (2) families moving out of state, and (3) medical emergencies.
This is a wonderful outcome for families and children whose critically-needed legal permanency was directly impacted by the COVID emergency. Our adoption team continues to work closely with Judge Greenberg, Public Counsel, and the Judicial Council of California on expanding remote adoption hearings or adopting an emergency rule for the hundreds of adoption cases that are now awaiting finalization during this crisis.
