Sponsors (12)
The bill strengthens protections and federal enforcement to curb commercialized or coercive adoption practices and steer placements toward licensed actors, but does so at the risk of reducing access and imposing criminal penalties, costs, and legal uncertainty that may particularly burden informal facilitators, small providers, and families in underserved areas.
Children and prospective adoptive families will be better protected from commercialized, coercive, or exploitative adoption practices through criminal restrictions on paid intermediary solicitation and caps/limits on pre-placement payments, reducing inducements and the risk of commodification.
People seeking private interstate adoption will have clearer, safer pathways by promoting use of licensed, regulated providers and by exempting public/state agencies, accredited intercountry providers, and attorneys—improving transparency and legal oversight of placements.
Federal enforcement authority over interstate adoption-related conduct (ads, payments, travel, communications) is strengthened, enabling cross‑state prosecution of illegal intermediary activity and supporting enforcement of national standards.
Prospective adoptive parents—especially those in rural/underserved areas or relying on informal networks—may face reduced access to placement options and longer delays if unlicensed intermediaries are restricted and licensed alternatives are unavailable locally.
Individuals who used online or paid communications to connect placing and adoptive parents (including small facilitators or helpers) could face severe criminal penalties—fines up to $50,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment per violation—potentially criminalizing previously common activities.
Licensed adoption providers and related nonprofits may incur new regulatory and compliance costs to meet standards and oversight, which could raise operating expenses and ultimately increase fees for adoptive families.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal crime banning unlicensed adoption intermediary services and certain adoption advertising/payment practices in private interstate adoptions, with defined terms.
Introduced November 20, 2025 by Robert Aderholt · Last progress November 20, 2025
Creates a new federal crime that targets unlicensed adoption intermediaries and certain types of adoption advertising and payments in private domestic interstate adoptions, defines key terms used in that prohibition, and sets the law to take effect 120 days after enactment. The measure aims to protect placing parents and prospective adoptive parents from exploitation and to ensure adoption services are provided by licensed, regulated providers. The law establishes definitions for “adoption advertising,” “adoption intermediary services,” “placing parent,” and types of child-placing agencies, and makes knowingly providing adoption intermediary services (as defined) a federal offense. It does not specify penalties in the provided text and applies to private domestic interstate adoptions starting 120 days after enactment.