Delaware Code
Subchapter I. Minors
§ 904. Placement and supervision for adoption.

(a) No petition for adoption shall be presented unless prior to the filing of the petition the child sought to be adopted has been placed for adoption by the Department, a licensed agency or an authorized agency, and the placement has been supervised by the Department or a licensed agency, but no such placement or supervision shall be necessary in the case of:

(1) A child sought to be adopted by a stepparent;
(2) A child sought to be adopted by a blood relative, except as provided in § 926 of this title;
(3) A child sought to be adopted by a guardian or permanent guardian so long as guardianship or permanent guardianship has been granted for at least 6 months prior to filing the adoption petition.
(b) No placement for an identified adoption in which an intermediary has been involved shall be approved or permitted by the Department or a licensed agency.
(c) No child shall be placed for adoption in this State pursuant to § 926 of this title unless the placement is approved and supervised by the Department or a licensed agency.
(d) When the prospective adoptive parents are legal residents of the State, but live elsewhere, the approval and supervision required by this section shall be provided by an authorized agency located in close proximity to the family, as will the social report required by § 912 of this title.
(e) An adoptive placement shall not be made until a preplacement evaluation that complies with the Delaware Requirements for Child Placing Agencies has been completed by the Department or licensed agency.

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