MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                        315

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
July 1, 1969.

Approved April 9, 1969.

CHAPTER 135
(Senate Bill 567)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 67 of
Article 16 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1966 Replacement
Volume), title "Chancery," subtitle "Adoption," providing for the
courts, in passing on a petition for adoption, to give due considera-
tion to the fact that the State Department of Social Services will
provide or contribute funds for support and maintenance for the
adoptive child.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 67 of Article 16 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1966 Replacement Volume), title "Chancery," subtitle "Adoption,"
be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to
read as follows:

67.

The General Assembly hereby declares its conviction that the
policies and procedures for adoption contained in this subtitle are
socially necessary and desirable, having as their purpose the three-
fold protection of (1) the adoptive child, from unnecessary separation
from his natural parents and from adoption by persons unfit to have
such responsibility, and (except in Garrett and Washington counties),
whenever practicable, from adoption by persons of a different re-
ligious belief than that of the minor or his parents, unless the natural
parent or parents specifically indicate or consent to a different choice;
(2) the natural parents, from hurried and abrupt decisions to give
up the child; and (3) the adopting parents, by providing them in-
formation about the child and his background, and protecting them
from subsequent disturbance of their relationships with the child by
natural parents. A court, in passing on a petition for adoption, shall
give due consideration to any assurance by the State Department of
Social Services that it will provide or contribute funds for necessary
support and maintenance for the adoptive child.

The General Assembly further declares that this subtitle is related
to the subtitle on "Child Care" of Article 88A, Sections 19-32, of this
Code, and should be read in relation thereto.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
July 1, 1969.

Approved April 9, 1969,