{"data":{"id":"us-mt/42-3-202","jurisdiction":"us-mt","citation":"42-3-202","heading":"Initiation of preplacement evaluation -- who conducts evaluation -- payment of fees.","body":"(1) A prospective adoptive parent who wishes to adopt a child may initiate the process by:\n(a) establishing a client relationship with the department or a licensed child-placing agency; or\n(b) requesting a preplacement evaluation from the department, a licensed social worker, or a licensed child-placing agency.\n(2) In a direct parental placement adoption, the preplacement evaluation must be conducted by either a licensed social worker or a licensed child-placing agency.\n(3) The prospective adoptive parent and the home of the prospective adoptive parent must be studied and evaluated according to the provisions of this part.\n(4) A department or agency from which an individual is seeking to adopt a child may require the individual to be evaluated by its own qualified employee or independent contractor even if the individual has received a favorable preplacement evaluation from another evaluator.\n(5) Fees for the study and report are set by the entity completing them and must be paid for by the prospective adoptive parent.","path":["TITLE 42. ADOPTION","CHAPTER 3. REQUIREMENTS OF PARTIES IN ADOPTION","Part 2. Requirements of Prospective Adoptive Parents"],"source_url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0420/chapter_0030/part_0020/section_0020/0420-0030-0020-0020.html","current_through":"Montana Code Annotated 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:55:17Z","sha256":"5c77e147dff6c8a144efb5917114d3198e5ab440618fdee74600b98a4ceddd85","source_id":"us-mt","stale":false,"prev":"us-mt/42-3-201","next":"us-mt/42-3-203"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}