Provisions From Blunt, Klobuchar Legislation To Protect Adopted Children Pass Help Committee, Head To Senate Floor

Press Release

U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, announced that provisions from their legislation to protect adopted children have passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee as part of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Reauthorization Act.

"Rehoming is an unacceptable practice that puts children at increased risk of abuse and exploitation," said Blunt. "By classifying rehoming as child abuse, child welfare authorities will have an important tool to keep kids safe."

"We must do everything we can to protect adopted children and ensure they are placed in safe, loving homes," said Klobuchar. "With strong bipartisan support, provisions from our bill to prevent unregulated custody transfers have moved out of committee and onto the floor, bringing us one step closer to stopping this harmful practice and improving the adoption process for families and children."

The following provisions from the Safe Home Act, introduced by Blunt and Klobuchar in February, are included in the CAPTA Reauthorization Act:

* Providing a definition of unregulated custody transfers

* Requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to:

o Report to Congress on unregulated custody transfers (UCTs);

o Issue technical assistance to states on preventing, identifying, and responding to UCTs; and

o Provide information to families on pre-adoption training and post-legal adoption services.

Unregulated custody transfers occur when parents transfer custody of their adopted children outside of the child welfare system -- without background checks, home studies, and supervision -- increasing the likelihood that the child will experience neglect, exploitation, or physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.

For years, Blunt and Klobuchar have worked to improve the adoption process for Americans.

* This Congress, they reintroduced the Intercountry Adoption Advisory Committee Act to provide the Secretary of State with authority to establish an Intercountry Adoption Advisory Committee to focus on coordinating the development, refinement, and implementation of policy and programs on intercountry adoption.

* In a bipartisan letter, Blunt and Klobuchar led 48 colleagues in calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to engage in efforts to resume intercountry adoptions with China, which have been indefinitely paused due to the coronavirus pandemic.

* In November 2020, during National Adoption Month, they encouraged the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services to raise awareness for National Adoption Month and for the importance of domestic and intercountry adoption.

* In October 2020, they sent a letter urging the Department of State to prioritize policies to promote intercountry adoption and to look specifically at the fee schedule for prospective accrediting entities to ensure they do not impose undue financial burdens on families seeking to adopt internationally.

* In response to the coronavirus pandemic, they sent a letter in April 2020 asking the Department of State to use all available resources to ensure that intercountry adoptions proceed in a safe and timely manner during the coronavirus pandemic and that American families stranded abroad while completing these adoptions return home safely.

* In May 2019, they reintroduced the Supporting Adoptive Families Act to help provide pre- and post-adoption support services, including mental health treatment, to help adoptive families stay strong.

* They previously sent a letter in June 2018 urging the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the Department of State to ensure continued dialogue between the Department of State, Congress, and the Adoption Service Providers in efforts to develop and implement policies that advance affordable and sustainable intercountry adoption.

* Blunt and Klobuchar also partnered on the Accuracy for Adoptees Act, which became law in early 2014. This legislation cuts red tape for adoptive families and ensures that corrections made to adoptees' state vital records would be recognized by the federal government.

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