DE SB37

Creates a right to free legal counsel for relatives seeking to adopt a child who is in custody of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families after parental rights have been terminated

Eligible relatives include siblings, half-siblings, grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, aunts, grandaunts, granduncles, first cousins, first cousins once removed, stepparents, stepsiblings, stepaunts, stepuncles, and stepgrandparents

Free counsel is provided regardless of the petitioner's indigency status and covers all stages of adoption proceedings, including appeals to the Supreme Court

Relatives appealing a decision by the Department or a licensed agency to refuse placement or terminate a placement are also entitled to free legal counsel under the same eligibility criteria

Petitioners may waive the appointment of counsel, which must be documented in the Court's order