,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #addf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #ad1      
#bjai,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself and   
,mr4 ,blunt7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,health1           
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend the ,child ,abuse     
,prevention and ,treatment ,act to      
include an act of unregulated custody   
transfer in the definition of child     
abuse and neglect1 and for other        
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,safe ,home ,act of 
#bjai4  #b4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is  
the sense of ,congress that3 7#a7       
,adopted children may be most at risk of
 experiencing an unregulated custody    
transfer because the challenges         
associated with adoptions1 including the
 child's mental health needs and the    
difficulties many families face in      
acquiring support services1 may lead    
families to seek out unregulated custody

 transfers4  7#b7 ,many adopted children
 experience trauma1 and the disruption  
and placement in another home by        
unregulated custody transfer creates    
additional trauma and instability for   
the child4  7#c7 ,children who          
experience an unregulated custody       
transfer may be placed with families who
 have not completed required child      
welfare or criminal background checks or
 clearances4  7#d7 ,social services     
agencies and courts are often unaware of
 the placement of children through      
unregulated custody transfer and        
therefore do not conduct assessments on 
the child's safety and well-being in    
such placements4  7#e7 ,such lack of    
placement oversight places a child at   
risk for future abuse and increases the 
likelihood that the child may           
experience-- 7,a7 physical1 sexual1 or  
emotional abuse or neglect2  7,b7       
contact with unsafe adults or youth2 and
  7,c7 exposure to unsafe or isolated   
environments4  7#f7 ,the caregivers with

 whom a child is placed through         
unregulated custody transfer often have 
no legal responsibility with respect to 
such child1 placing the child at risk   
for additional unregulated custody      
transfers4  7#g7 ,such caregivers also  
may not have complete records1 including
 birth1 medical1 or immigration records4
  7#h7 ,a child adopted through         
intercountry adoption may be at risk of 
not acquiring ,united ,states           
citizenship if an unregulated custody   
transfer occurs before the adoptive     
parents complete all necessary steps to 
finalize the adoption of such child4    
7#i7 ,engaging in1 or offering to engage
 in1 unregulated custody transfer is a  
form of child abuse4  #c4 ,treatment of 
unregulated custody transfer  7a7 ,in   
general ,section #c of the ,child ,abuse
 ,prevention and ,treatment ,act 7#db   
,u4,s4,c4 #eaja note7 is amended-- 7#a7 
in paragraph 7#b7-- 7,a7 by striking or 
an act or failure and inserting an act  
or failure2 and  7,b7 by inserting 1 or 

an unregulated custody transfer after   
serious harm2  7#b7 in paragraph 7#g71  
by striking 2 and and inserting a       
semicolon2  7#c7 in paragraph 7#h71 by  
striking the period at the end and      
inserting 2 and2 and  7#d7 by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph3    
7#i7 the term unregulated custody       
transfer means the abandonment of a     
child by the child's parent1 legal      
guardian1 or a person or entity acting  
on behalf1 and with the consent1 of such
 parent or guardian-- 7,a7 by placing a 
child with a person who is not-- 7i7 the
 child's parent1 step-parent1           
grandparent1 adult sibling1 adult uncle 
or aunt1 legal guardian1 or other adult 
relative2  7ii7 a friend of the family  
who is an adult and with whom the child 
is familiar2 or  7iii7 a member of the  
federally recognized ,indian tribe of   
which the child is also a member2  7,b7 
with the intent of severing the         
relationship between the child and the  
parent or guardian of such child2 and   

7,c7 without-- 7i7 reasonably ensuring  
the safety of the child and permanency  
of the placement of the child1 including
 by conducting an official home study1  
background check1 and supervision2 and  
7ii7 transferring the legal rights and  
responsibilities of parenthood or       
guardianship under applicable ,federal  
and ,state law to a person described in 
subparagraph 7,a74  4  7b7 ,technical   
amendment ,paragraph 7#e7 of section #c 
of the ,child ,abuse ,prevention and    
,treatment ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eaja    
note7 is amended by striking #dej;b and 
inserting #ecjd4  7c7 ,effective date   
,the amendments made by this section    
shall take effect on the date that is #a
 year after the date of the enactment of
 this section4  #d4 ,report and guidance
 on unregulated custody transfers       
,section #bjd of the ,child ,abuse      
,prevention and ,treatment and ,adoption
 ,reform ,act of #aigh 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#eaad7 is amended to read as follows3   
#bjd4 ,report and guidance on           

unregulated custody transfers  7a7      
,report to ,congress  7#a7 ,in general  
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of the enactment of this section1 the  
,secretary1 in consultation with the    
,secretary of ,state1 shall provide to  
the ,committee on ,education and ,labor 
of the ,house of ,representatives1 the  
,committee on ,ways and ,means of the   
,house of ,representatives1 and the     
,committee on ,health1 ,education1      
,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate a  
report on unregulated custody transfers 
of children1 including of adopted       
children4  7#b7 ,elements ,the report   
required under paragraph 7#a7 shall     
include-- 7,a7 the causes1 methods1 and 
characteristics of unregulated custody  
transfers1 including the use of social  
media and the internet2  7,b7 the       
effects of unregulated custody transfer 
on children1 including the lack of      
assessment of a child's safety and      
well-being by social services agencies  
and courts due to such unregulated      

custody transfer2  7,c7 the prevalence  
of unregulated custody transfers within 
each ,state and across all ,states2 and 
7,d7 recommended policies for           
preventing1 identifying1 and responding 
to unregulated custody transfers1       
including of adopted children1 that     
include-- 7i7 amendments to ,federal and
 ,state law to address unregulated      
custody transfers2  7ii7 amendments to  
child protection practices to address   
unregulated custody transfers2 and      
7iii7 methods of providing the public   
information regarding adoption and child
 protection4  7b7 ,guidance to ,states  
7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year
 after the date of the enactment of this
 section1 the ,secretary1 in            
consultation with the ,secretary of     
,state1 shall issue guidance and        
technical assistance to ,states related 
to preventing1 identifying1 and         
responding to unregulated custody       
transfers1 including of adopted         
children4  7#b7 ,elements ,the guidance 

required under paragraph 7#a7 shall     
include-- 7,a7 education and training   
materials related to preventing1        
identifying1 and responding to          
unregulated custody transfers for       
employees of ,state1 local1 and ,tribal 
agencies that provide child welfare     
services2  7,b7 model ,state laws with  
respect to unregulated custody          
transfers2 and  7,c7 guidance on        
appropriate pre-adoption training and   
post-adoption services for domestic and 
international adoptive families to      
promote child permanency4  7c7          
,definition ,in this section1 the term  
,state means each of the several        
,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 and
 any commonwealth1 territory1 or        
possession of the ,united ,states4  4