In Re the Adoption of SCD

Tom Glaze, Justice.

In this adoption case, we are called upon ice. under what circumstances it is necessary to obtain the consent of a putative father before a child can be adopted pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-206 (Repl. 2002). The record has been filed under seal, and we refer to the parties by their initials: IT is the mother of the child placed for adoption; the KDs, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, are married and are seeking to adopt the baby; and TF is the putative father, who, prior to the baby’s birth, registered as the baby’s father under the Arkansas Putative Father Registry on May…