,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #fjd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #ac1      
#bjbe,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself and   
,mr4 ,cramer7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,health1           
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend the adoption          
opportunities program to define         
unregulated custody transfers of        
children and to improve awareness and   
prevention of such transfers1 and for   
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,safe ,home    
,act of #bjbe4  #b ,unregulated custody 
transfers  7a7 ,in general ,title ,,ii  
of the ,child ,abuse ,prevention and    
,treatment and ,adoption ,reform ,act of
 #aigh 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eaaa et seq47 is 
amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating section 
#bje 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eaae7 as section   
#bjf2 and  7#b7 by inserting after      
section #bjd the following3  #bje4      
,sense of ,congress1 technical          

assistance1 and report on unregulated   
custody transfers  7a7 ,sense of        
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that-- 7#a7 there are challenges        
associated with some adoptions          
7including the child's mental health    
needs and the difficulties many families
 face in accessing support services7 and
 some families may seek out an          
unregulated transfer of physical custody
 of an adoptive child without any formal
 supervision by child welfare agencies  
or courts2  7#b7 some adopted children  
experience trauma1 and the disruption   
and placement in another home due to    
such a transfer may contribute to       
additional trauma and instability for   
such children2  7#c7 unregulated custody
 transfers may not include certain      
safety measures that are required as    
part of formal adoption proceedings1    
such as required child welfare or       
criminal background checks or           
clearances2  7#d7 child welfare agencies
 and courts may be unaware of the       

placement of children through           
unregulated custody transfers and1 as a 
result1 may not conduct assessments on  
children's safety and well-being in such
 subsequent placements2  7#e7 the lack  
of such assessments may result in the   
placement of children in homes in which 
the children may be exposed to unsafe   
environments2  7#f7 the caregivers with 
whom a child is placed through an       
unregulated custody transfer may have no
 legal responsibility with respect to   
such child and may not have complete    
records1 including the child's birth1   
medical1 or other records1 with respect 
to such child2  7#g7 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 child2 and
  7#h7 unregulated custody transfers    
pose significant challenges for children
 who experience such transfers4  7b7    

,definition ,for the purpose of this    
section1 the term unregulated custody   
transfer-- 7#a7 means the abandonment of
 a child1 by the child's parent or legal
 guardian1 or a person or entity acting 
on behalf1 and with the consent1 of such
 parent or guardian-- 7,a7 by placing   
the child with a person who is not-- 7i7
 the child's parent1 stepparent1        
grandparent1 adult sibling1 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 member or eligible to be
 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 clause 7i71 7ii71 or
 7iii7 of subparagraph 7,a72 and  7#b7  
does not include the surrender of an    
infant to a safe haven by the parent or 
guardian of such infant1 if such        
surrender is consistent with the safe   
haven law of the applicable ,state4  7c7
 ,technical assistance and public       
awareness ,the ,secretary1 in           
coordination with the heads of other    
relevant ,federal agencies-- 7#a7 shall 
improve public awareness related to     
preventing adoption disruption and      
dissolution1 including preventing       
unregulated custody transfers of adopted
 children2 and  7#b7 in carrying out    
paragraph 7#a71 shall update ,federal   
resources1 including internet websites1 
to provide-- 7,a7 employees of ,state1  
local1 and ,tribal agencies that provide
 child welfare services with education  
materials related to preventing1        

identifying1 and responding to          
unregulated custody transfers1 including
 such materials containing information  
on adoption support and stability       
services for adoptive families and      
prospective adoptive families2 and  7,b7
 prospective adoptive families with     
information on accessing pre-adoption   
education and post-adoption services    
from ,state1 local1 and private         
resources to promote child permanency4  
7d7 ,report to ,congress  7#a7 ,in      
general ,not later than #b years after  
the date of enactment of the ,safe ,home
 ,act of #bjbe1 the ,secretary1 in      
consultation with the ,secretary of     
,state1 shall prepare and submit to the 
,committee on ,health1 ,education1      
,labor1 and ,pensions and the ,committee
 on ,finance of the ,senate and the     
,committee on ,education and ,workforce 
and the ,committee on ,ways and ,means  
of the ,house of ,representatives 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 information on the       
causes1 methods1 and characteristics of 
unregulated custody transfers1 including
 the use of social media and the        
internet2  7,b7 information on the      
effects of unregulated custody transfer 
on children1 including the effects of   
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 data
 on the prevalence of unregulated       
custody transfers within each ,state and
 across all ,states2  7,d7 recommended  
policies for preventing1 identifying1   
and responding to unregulated custody   
transfers1 including of adopted         
children1 that include-- 7i7 suggested  
changes or updates to ,federal and      
,state law to address unregulated       
custody transfers2  7ii7 suggested      
changes or updates to child protection  
practices to address unregulated custody

 transfers2 and  7iii7 methods of       
providing to the public information     
regarding adoption and child protection2
 and  7,e7 a description of the         
activities carried out under subsection 
7c74  4  7b7 ,conforming amendment      
,section #bjc7;d77#c77;,a7 of the ,child
 ,abuse ,prevention and ,treatment and  
,adoption ,reform ,act of #aigh 7#db    
,u4,s4,c4 #eaac7;d77#c77;,a77 is amended
 by striking section #bje7;a7 and       
inserting section #bjf7;a74