Committee advances HB164 to allow foster parents to complete adoption process following a child’s death

The Senate Standing Committee on Families and Children voted 9‑0 to forward House Bill 164 after Representative Bill Wesley described the measure as a narrow change to provide legal closure to foster parents when a child dies during an adoption proceeding.

Representative Bill Wesley, who represents the 90th District, told the committee the bill would allow families to continue certain adoption‑related processes if a child dies during the adoption process so that foster parents can have closure and the child is not “left behind.” Wesley said the measure does not create inheritance rights or change insurance payments; rather, it would allow judges and courts to recognize the intended parental relationship for administrative and emotional closure. Wesley said a judge in a particular family’s case had already allowed the foster parents to sign a death certificate, but that no statute explicitly authorized that practice.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about whether the bill explicitly allows courts to complete adoption paperwork after a child’s death; Wesley said the measure codifies that authority. Senator Mace Bledsoe moved the motion to report HB164 favorably; Senator Wise seconded. The committee recorded a vote of 9‑0 in favor.

Chair Carroll thanked the foster parents in attendance and said the measure would move to the Senate floor. Committee members, including the chair, noted their personal experiences with medically fragile children in care and expressed support for the bill’s aim to give grieving foster parents legal closure.