A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish the joint legislative study committee on adoption/post‑adoption services.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is created the Joint Legislative Study Committee on Adoption/Post‑Adoption Services (Committee). The Committee shall consist of 14 members appointed as follows:
(1)	Seven members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, to include:
a.	Three members of the Senate.
b.	One member who is an adoption provider who does not provide post‑adoption services.
c.	One member who is a representative of a nonprofit adoption advocacy organization.
d.	One member who has a bachelor's or master's degree in social work.
e.	The Director of the Division of Social Services or the Director's designee.
(2)	Seven members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to include:
a.	Three members of the House of Representatives.
b.	One member who is an adoption provider who uses private funding to provide post‑adoption services to families whose adoptions it facilitates.
c.	One member who is a post‑adoption services provider.
d.	One member who is an adoptive parent.
e.	One member who is a county director of social services or the director's designee.
The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each appoint a cochair for the Committee. Vacancies on the Committee shall be filled by the same appointing authority who made the initial appointment. The Committee may meet at any time upon the joint call of the cochairs. The Committee may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building. The Committee may contract for consultant services as provided by G.S. 120‑32.02.
SECTION 1.(b)  The Committee, while in the discharge of its official duties, may exercise all powers provided for under G.S. 120‑19 through G.S. 120‑19.4, including the power to request all officers, agents, agencies, and departments of the State to provide any information, data, or documents within their possession, ascertainable from their records, or otherwise available to them and the power to subpoena witnesses.
SECTION 1.(c)  The Legislative Services Commission, through the Legislative Services Officer, shall assign professional staff to assist the Committee in its work. The Senate and House of Representatives' Directors of Legislative Assistants shall assign clerical staff to the Committee, and the expenses relating to the clerical employees shall be borne by the Committee. Members of the Committee shall receive subsistence and travel expenses at the rates set forth in G.S. 120‑3.1, 138‑5, or 138‑6, as appropriate.
SECTION 2.  The Committee shall study the provision of adoption and post‑adoption services. In conducting the study, the Committee shall consider issues related to the following:
(1)	The State's current laws, rules, or policies regarding adoption and post‑adoption services, including what constitutes the provision of post‑adoption services.
(2)	What post‑adoption services are available in this State, the need for those services, who is providing those services, and how those services are being provided.
(3)	Whether adoption and post‑adoption services as provided in this State are evidence‑based or based on best practices.
(4)	Whether there is an established protocol for the delivery of post‑adoption services or whether the need for or nature of services is best determined on a case‑by‑case basis.
(5)	How to standardize adoption and post‑adoption services statewide, given that resources vary greatly by county.
(6)	The benefits of providing both pre‑adoption services as well as post‑adoption services, given that post‑adoption services' providers do not receive funding until the decree of adoption is finalized.
(7)	The need for this State to track adoption dissolutions and disruptions.
(8)	Any funding needs, including whether there is adequate funding related to adoption and post‑adoption services.
(9)	The need for marketing to ensure awareness of the availability and scope of post‑adoption services.
(10)	How other states are addressing issues relating to the provision of post‑adoption services.
(11)	Any other matter the Committee deems relevant to the study.
SECTION 3.  The Committee shall report to the 2016 Regular Session of the 2015 General Assembly. The report shall include findings, recommendations, and legislative proposals. The Committee shall terminate upon filing its report.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.