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 Oklahoma Statutes (Last Updated: September 18, 2014)
 Title 10. CHILDREN

  § 10-7505-1.1. Confidential character of hearings and records – Release - Exceptions - Misdemeanor.  

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  • A.  Unless otherwise ordered by the district court exercising jurisdiction over the adoption proceeding, all hearings held in proceedings pursuant to the Oklahoma Adoption Code shall be confidential and shall be held in closed court without admittance of any person other than interested parties and their counsel.

    B.  All papers, records, and books of proceedings in adoption cases and any papers, records, and books relating to such proceedings:

    1.  Shall be kept as a permanent record of the court and maintained in a separate file by the court clerk; and

    2.  Shall be confidential and shall not be open to inspection or copy except as authorized in Sections 7504-1.2, 7505-3.2, 7505-6.6, 7508-1.2 and 7508-1.3 of this title or upon order of a court of record for good cause shown.

    C.  Upon application and notice to the person or agency in whose possession the records being sought are held, and for good cause being shown, any court of record may, by written order reciting its findings, permit the necessary information to be released, or may restrict the purposes for which it shall be used.  The findings shall include the reasons the information being sought cannot be obtained through the methods authorized by Sections 7504-1.2, 7505-3.2, 7505-6.6, 7508-1.2 and 7508-1.3 of this title.

    D.  The provisions of this section shall not prohibit persons employed by the court, the Department of Human Services, a child-placing agency, an attorney participating or assisting in a direct placement adoption or any physician, minister or other person or entity assisting or participating in an adoption from providing partial or complete identifying information between a biological parent and prospective adoptive or adoptive parent if a biological parent and a prospective adoptive or adoptive parent mutually agree to share specific identifying information and each gives written, signed notice of their agreement to the court, the Department of Human Services, the child-placing agency, or any attorney participating or assisting in the direct placement adoption pursuant to the Oklahoma Adoption Code.

    E.  Any person in charge of adoption records or having access to adoption records or information who discloses any information, including, but not limited to, all records and reports relevant to the case and any records and reports of examination of the minor's parent or other custodian pertaining to an adoption proceeding, contrary to the provisions of this section, upon conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Added by Laws 1957, p. 25, § 17.  Amended by Laws 1984, c. 24, § 2, operative July 1, 1984; Laws 1990, c. 27, § 2, emerg. eff. April 3, 1990; Laws 1993, c. 253, § 3, emerg. eff. May 26, 1993; Laws 1996, c. 297, § 7, emerg. eff. June 10, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 366, § 19, eff. Nov. 1, 1997.  Renumbered from Title 10, § 60.17 by Laws 1997, c. 366, § 58, eff. Nov. 1, 1997.  Amended by Laws 2000, c. 385, § 10, eff. Nov. 1, 2000; Laws 2011, c. 371, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2011.