Missouri § 192.016 - Putative father registry — fund created.

§ 192.016. Putative father registry — fund created.

1.  The department of health and senior services shall establish a putative father registry which shall record the names and addresses of:

(1)  Any person adjudicated by a court of this state to be the father of a child born out of wedlock;

(2)  Any person who has filed with the registry before or after the birth of a child out of wedlock, a notice of intent to claim paternity of the child;

(3)  Any person adjudicated by a court of another state or territory of the United States to be the father of an out-of-wedlock child, where a certified copy of the court order has been filed with the registry by such person or any other person.

2.  A person filing a notice of intent to claim paternity of a child or an acknowledgment of paternity shall file the acknowledgment affidavit form developed by the state registrar which shall include the minimum requirements prescribed by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 652(a)(7).

3.  A person filing a notice of intent to claim paternity of a child shall notify the registry of any change of address.

4.  A person who has filed a notice of intent to claim paternity may at any time revoke a notice of intent to claim paternity previously filed therewith and, upon receipt of such notification by the registry, the revoked notice of intent to claim paternity shall be deemed a nullity nunc pro tunc.

5.  An unrevoked notice of intent to claim paternity of a child may be introduced in evidence by any party, other than the person who filed such notice, in any proceeding in which such fact may be relevant.

6.  Lack of knowledge of the pregnancy does not excuse failure to timely file pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of section 453.030.

7.  Failure to timely file pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection 3 of section 453.030 shall waive a man's right to withhold consent to an adoption proceeding unless:

(1)  The person was led to believe through the mother's misrepresentation or fraud that:

(a)  The mother was not pregnant when in fact she was; or

(b)  The pregnancy was terminated when in fact the baby was born; or

(c)  After the birth, the child died when in fact the child is alive; and

(2)  The person upon the discovery of the misrepresentation or fraud satisfied the requirements of paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection 3 of section 453.030 within fifteen days of that discovery.

8.  The department shall, upon request and within two business days of such request, provide the names and addresses of persons listed with the registry to any court or authorized agency, or entity or person named in section 453.014, and such information shall not be divulged to any other person, except upon order of a court for good cause shown.

9.  The department of health and senior services shall:

(1)  Prepare forms for registration of paternity and an application for search of the putative father registry;

(2)  Produce and distribute a pamphlet or publication informing the public about the putative father registry, including the procedures for voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, the consequences of acknowledgment and failure to acknowledge paternity pursuant to section 453.010, a copy of a statement informing the public about the putative father registry, including to whom and under what circumstances it applies, the time limits and responsibilities for filing, protection of paternal rights and associated responsibilities, and other provisions of this section, and a detachable form meeting the requirements of subsection 2 of this section addressed to the putative father registry.  Such pamphlet or publication shall be made available for distribution at all offices of the department of health and senior services.  The department shall also provide such pamphlets or publications to the department of social services, hospitals, libraries, medical clinics, schools, universities, and other providers of child-related services upon request;

(3)  Provide information to the public at large by way of general public service announcements, or other ways to deliver information to the public about the putative father registry and its services.

10.  Pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection 9 of this section, a statement prepared by the department of health and senior services shall be contained in any pamphlet or publication informing the public about the putative father registry.

11.  There is hereby created in the state treasury the "Putative Father Registry Fund", which shall consist of moneys collected under section 453.020.  Upon appropriation, moneys in the fund shall be used solely for the administration of the putative father registry.  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, moneys in the fund shall not revert to the credit of general revenue at the end of the biennium, but shall be used upon appropriations by the general assembly for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter.

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(L. 1988 H.B. 1272, et al. § 9, A.L. 1997 H.B. 343, A.L. 1998 S.B. 674, A.L. 2002 H.B. 1443 merged with S.B. 923, et al., A.L. 2004 H.B. 1453, A.L. 2005 S.B. 21)