Rule 46.4 Reports

When a family is going through an adoption case, the Department of Social Services prepares a confidential report for the judge to review. This report needs to be turned in a reasonable amount of time before the adoption hearing takes place.

The reason for this timing is simple: it gives the judge enough time to actually read and consider the report before making a decision. If the report showed up right before the hearing, the judge might not have a fair chance to look it over carefully. Because the report is confidential, it's handled separately from other court documents and is meant only for the judge's review, not for public access.