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Adds a new federal definition and response requirements for “unregulated custody transfers” and moves the prior statutory text to a new section. It directs the Secretary (working with other federal agencies and the Secretary of State) to improve public awareness, update federal resources, and deliver a report to specified Congressional committees within two years with findings and recommended responses.
Redesignate existing section 205 of Title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5111 et seq.) as section 206.
Insert a new section 205 titled 'Sense of Congress, technical assistance, and report on unregulated custody transfers' into Title II. This new section includes findings (the 'sense of Congress'), a definition of 'unregulated custody transfer,' requirements for technical assistance and public awareness, and a required report to Congress.
Sense of Congress findings (explicitly listed): (1) some families may seek unregulated transfers without formal supervision; (2) such transfers can increase trauma and instability for adopted children; (3) unregulated transfers may lack safety measures like background checks; (4) child welfare agencies and courts may be unaware of these placements; (5) lack of assessments may place children in unsafe homes; (6) caregivers in unregulated transfers may have no legal responsibility or complete records; (7) intercountry adopted children risk not acquiring U.S. citizenship if transfers occur before finalization; (8) unregulated custody transfers pose significant challenges for affected children.
Defines 'unregulated custody transfer' to mean the abandonment of a child by their parent or legal guardian (or a person/entity acting with their consent) by placing the child with a person who is not: (i) the child’s parent, stepparent, grandparent, adult sibling, legal guardian, or other adult relative; (ii) an adult friend of the family with whom the child is familiar; or (iii) a member of the federally recognized Indian Tribe of which the child is or may be a member — where the placement is made with the intent of severing the relationship between the child and the parent/guardian and without (i) reasonably ensuring the child’s safety and permanency (including an official home study, background check, and supervision) and (ii) transferring legal rights and responsibilities of parenthood or guardianship under applicable Federal and State law. The definition explicitly excludes surrendering an infant to a State safe-haven consistent with that State’s safe-haven law.
The Secretary, in coordination with heads of other relevant Federal agencies, must improve public awareness about preventing adoption disruption and dissolution, including preventing unregulated custody transfers of adopted children.
Primary effects fall on children involved in informal or private custody arrangements and the families or caregivers who execute those transfers: the law aims to raise awareness of risks and legal implications and to improve federal guidance. Federal agencies (notably the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State) are required to devote staff time and coordination resources to update materials, run outreach, and prepare the two-year report. State and local child welfare systems, courts, and service providers may be indirectly affected because the federal report and updated guidance could lead to future federal recommendations or model practices that states and local agencies might adopt. The provision does not itself change state custody law or mandate state actions, nor does it appropriate dedicated funding in the text provided; implementation therefore may rely on existing agency resources and priorities.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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Introduced February 13, 2025 by Amy Klobuchar · Last progress February 13, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate