Child Care Act, 1983 (Act No. 74 of 1983)Chapter 4 : Adoptions19A. Notice of consent to adoption |
| 1) | If only one parent has given consent in terms of section 18(5), where the other parent is not available to give consent or where such parent’s consent is not required in terms of section 19, the commissioner concerned shall, after attesting such consent and in the prescribed manner, cause a notice to be served on the other parent within a period of 14 days, informing him or her of the consent that has been given and affording him or her the opportunity to - |
| a) | also give or withhold his or her consent, or |
| b) | advance reasons why his or her consent should not in terms of section 19 be dispensed with; or |
| c) | in the case of a natural father of a child born out of wedlock, apply in terms of section 18 for the adoption of the child. |
| 2) | A notice contemplated in subsection (1) shall, in the case of a natural father of a child born out of wedlock, not be required unless - |
| a) | he has acknowledged himself in writing to be the father of the child and has entered the particulars regarding himself in the registration of birth of the child in terms of section 10(1)(b) or section 11(4) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992), and ensures that the particulars so entered are correct at all times; or |
| b) | the mother of the child, at the time of giving her consent - |
| i) | confirms in writing that he has acknowledged himself to be the father of the child; and |
| ii) | furnishes particulars regarding his identity and his whereabouts: or |
| c) | a social worker, within the period of 60 days after the mother has given her consent or at any stage before the order of adoption is granted by the children's court, submits a report to the commissioner who has attested the mother’s consent or to the children’s court to which the application for the adoption has been made, as the case may be, confirming the identity and whereabouts of the father. |
| 3) | A social worker referred to in subsection (2)(c) shall, in the event where he or she has obtained information of the identity and whereabouts of the natural father of the child concerned, submit a report to the children’s court of such information. |
| 4) | For the purposes of this section, the commissioner for child welfare who is responsible for giving notice to the natural father of a child born out of wedlock may require that the Director-General: Home Affairs furnish him or her with any information contained in the registration of birth of the child, including information regarding the identity and other particulars of a person who has acknowledged himself as the father of the child born out of wedlock in terms of section 10 or 11 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992). |
| 5) | The notice referred to in subsection (1) shall not be required if the whereabouts of the parent to whom the notice is to be served, are unknown. |
| 6) | A parent who has given consent in terms of section 18(5) and who wishes to have the other parent’s consent dispensed with in terms of section 19, shall inform the commissioner upon attestation of his or her consent, accordingly. |
| 7) | The commissioner referred to in subsection (6) shall forthwith issue the father of the child concerned with the notice contemplated in subsection (1), and such father may, if he wishes, acknowledge himself as the father of the child in terms of section 10 or 11 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992). |
| 8) | A father of a child born out of wedlock contemplated in subsection (2)(b) or (c) shall, within a period of 14 days of notification contemplated in subsection (1), cause an amendment to be effected to the registration of birth of his child in terms of section 11(4) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992), if the mother of the child has consented to such amendment. |
| 9) | Where, in the case of a pending adoption, the mother of the child has withheld her consent to an amendment to be effected to the registration of birth of her child in terms of section 11(4) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992), the person who wishes to acknowledge himself as the father of such child shall apply to the children’s court concerned for a declaratory order which confirms his paternity of the child and dispenses with the requirement of consent of the mother. |