Page 6 – AAA PIA Policies and Procedures for Adoption

If resolution is not reached within two weeks after the applicant meets with the Supervisor, the nature of the grievances shall be presented, in writing, to the Executive Director by the applicant. The Adoption Supervisor and the Caseworker will also report, in writing, the results of their findings to the Executive Director. The Director will arrange a meeting, within two weeks, with the applicant, the Caseworker, and the Adoption Supervisor. The

Executive Director will render a decision, in writing, to the applicant, the Adoption Services Supervisor, and the Caseworker, usually within two weeks after the conference. The decision of the Executive Director is final.

If this procedure does not result in an agreeable resolution, the applicants may choose to participate in an objective, professional mediation service and abide by the recommended resolution. The adoptive applicants will pay for these mediation services.

ESTABLISHING, MAINTAINING, AND STORAGE OF RECORDS AND FILES:

AAA PIA shall maintain adoption records pertaining to each child and family. All finalized or closed files and all legal documents will be housed in the administrative office of AAA PIA until the adoption is finalized and/or case closed. These records are to be maintained in fireproof, locked file cabinets. Once the adoption is finalized and/or case closed, the adoption records will be converted to a non-paper format. From that time hence, AAA PIA will not retrieve these documents for adoptive families. Adoptive applicants must keep copies of all their documents.

Documents provided to AAA PIA by the adoptive family become an official part of the AAA PIA adoption record and are the sole property of AAA PIA.

CLIENT'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR KEEPING DOCUMENTS CURRENT:

 Supporting home study documents may be current for only one year from the date on the individual documents (e.g., medicals, CPS forms, GBI reports, reference letters, pet vaccinations, sewage and water approval, employment letters), depending upon the requirements of individual placement agencies, states, or countries.

 Even though the home study may not have expired at the time of a referral for the placement of a child, the supporting documents may in fact have expired and will need to be resubmitted to the placement agency.

Important: There is no feasible way for AAA PIA to know the following:

•  When a referral from a placement agency will be made

•  If at the time of referral, client's documents are current

•  Changes in document requirements of placement agency, another state or another country

It is the sole responsibly of the adoptive applicant to contact their placement agency prior to the one-year anniversary of the documents to determine whether or not updated documents need to be submitted by the adoptive applicant to the placement agency in order to meet the requirements of the placement agency, the state, or country from which the adoptive applicants are adopting. The adoptive applicant may access AAA PIA's medical and CPS forms to be updated from AAA PIA's website. GBI cards may be obtained from the Caseworker. (Exception: Applicants adopting through a Texas Placement Agency must have certain documents updated every six months.)

 CRIMINAL HISTORY FOR ADOPTIVE CLIENTS:

 All adoptive applicants must be forthcoming and honest about a criminal charge. If an applicant has ever been fingerprinted (except for a job, a hunting license, or gun permit), the GCIC report will show this as an arrest. It is understood by the adoptive applicants, that no matter what they have been told by a police officer or an attorney, if they were ever fingerprinted in a law enforcement matter, this information will show up on a GBI or FBI check. This includes charges made by the applicant when underage, expunged records, and dropped charges.

Adoptive applicants will be charged a fee of $200 by AAA PIA for an addendum to the home study should an undisclosed charge surface.

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