“A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize unlawful adoption practices.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states the purposes of the Act as (1) protecting individuals and families impacted by private domestic interstate adoption from exploitation by unlicensed adoption intermediaries; (2) ensuring that individuals seeking assistance with private domestic interstate adoption have ready access to licensed and regulated adoption providers in their communities; and (3) preventing the commodification of children who are the subjects of private domestic interstate adoptions.
This section establishes a new federal criminal offense in 18 U.S.C. §228A prohibiting unlawful adoption practices when the defendant, placing parent, or prospective adoptive parent travels in interstate or foreign commerce, or uses a means or instrumentality thereof, in furtherance of the adoption. Specifically, the section (1) prohibits knowingly providing adoption intermediary services (i.e., soliciting placing or prospective adoptive parents or linking them for child placement, for compensation), except by public child-placing agencies, certain nonprofits under public contract, private licensed child-placing agencies, state-licensed attorneys, or accredited intercountry adoption providers; (2) prohibits knowingly placing adoption advertisements (i.e., paid solicitations for adoptive parents or placing parents, or offers to cover placing parent expenses), except by the foregoing entities licensed in the relevant state or accredited intercountry providers; and (3) prohibits knowingly providing payments or things of value exceeding $2,500 to or for a placing parent in connection with a child's birth and adoption prior to the placing parent's consultation with a private licensed child-placing agency or state-licensed attorney where the placing parent resides, except for payments by such licensed entities or public agencies (including entitlements or public assistance).