S. 604 — Safe Home Act of 2025

This section inserts a new section 205 into Title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (i.e., Adoption Opportunities program, which coordinates federal adoption and foster care activities) on unregulated custody transfers—defined as a parent or guardian abandoning a child to a non-relative, non-friend, or non-Tribal member without safety checks or legal transfer of parental rights (excluding safe haven surrenders)—and redesignates current section 205 as section 206. New section 205 (1) expresses the sense of Congress on risks of such transfers, including additional child trauma, unsafe placements, and citizenship issues for intercountry adoptees; (2) requires the HHS Secretary, with other agencies, to improve public awareness of preventing adoption disruptions and to update federal resources with education for child welfare agencies and information on adoption services for prospective families; and (3) directs the HHS Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to submit a report to specified congressional committees not later than two years after enactment of the Safe Home Act of 2025 examining causes, effects, prevalence, and recommended policies to address unregulated custody transfers.