[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1247 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1247
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to include an act
of unregulated custody transfer in the definition of child abuse and
neglect, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 23, 2021
Mr. Langevin (for himself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
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
neglect, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Home Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that:
(1) Adopted children may be most at risk of experiencing an
unregulated custody transfer because the challenges associated
with adoptions, including the child's mental health needs and
the difficulties many families face in acquiring support
services, may lead families to seek out unregulated custody
transfers.
(2) Many adopted children experience trauma, and the
disruption and placement in another home by unregulated custody
transfer creates additional trauma and instability for the
child.
(3) Children who experience an unregulated custody transfer
may be placed with families who have not completed required
child welfare or criminal background checks or clearances.
(4) 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 placements.
(5) Such lack of placement oversight places a child at risk
for future abuse and increases the likelihood that the child
may experience--
(A) physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or
neglect;
(B) contact with unsafe adults or youth; and
(C) exposure to unsafe or isolated environments.
(6) The caregivers with whom a child is placed through
unregulated custody transfer often have no legal responsibility
with respect to such child, placing the child at risk for
additional unregulated custody transfers.
(7) Such caregivers also may not have complete records,
including birth, medical, or immigration records.
(8) 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
child.
(9) Engaging in, or offering to engage in, unregulated
custody transfer is a form of child abuse.
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFER.
(a) In General.--Section 3 of the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``or an act or failure'' and
inserting ``an act or failure''; and
(B) by inserting ``, or an unregulated custody
transfer'' after ``serious harm'';
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(9) the term `unregulated custody transfer' means the
abandonment of a child by the child's parent, legal guardian,
or a person or entity acting on behalf, and with the consent,
of such parent or guardian--
``(A) by placing a child with a person who is not--
``(i) the child's parent, step-parent,
grandparent, adult sibling, adult uncle or
aunt, legal guardian, or other adult relative;
``(ii) a friend of the family who is an
adult and with whom the child is familiar; or
``(iii) a member of the federally
recognized Indian tribe of which the child is
also a member;
``(B) with the intent of severing the relationship
between the child and the parent or guardian of such
child; and
``(C) without--
``(i) reasonably ensuring the safety of the
child and permanency of the placement of the
child, including by conducting an official home
study, background check, and supervision; and
``(ii) transferring the legal rights and
responsibilities of parenthood or guardianship
under applicable Federal and State law to a
person described in subparagraph (A).''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--Paragraph (5) of section 3 of the Child
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended by
striking ``450b'' and inserting ``5304''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this section.
SEC. 4. REPORT AND GUIDANCE ON UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFERS.
Section 204 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and
Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5114) is amended to read as
follows:
``SEC. 204. REPORT AND GUIDANCE ON UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFERS.
``(a) Report to Congress.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, shall provide to the
Committee on Education and Labor of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House
of Representatives, and the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions of the Senate a report on unregulated
custody transfers of children, including of adopted children.
``(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include--
``(A) the causes, methods, and characteristics of
unregulated custody transfers, including the use of
social media and the internet;
``(B) the effects of unregulated custody transfer
on children, including the lack of assessment of a
child's safety and well-being by social services
agencies and courts due to such unregulated custody
transfer;
``(C) the prevalence of unregulated custody
transfers within each State and across all States; and
``(D) recommended policies for preventing,
identifying, and responding to unregulated custody
transfers, including of adopted children, that
include--
``(i) amendments to Federal and State law
to address unregulated custody transfers;
``(ii) amendments to child protection
practices to address unregulated custody
transfers; and
``(iii) methods of providing the public
information regarding adoption and child
protection.
``(b) Guidance to States.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, shall issue guidance and technical
assistance to States related to preventing, identifying, and
responding to unregulated custody transfers, including of
adopted children.
``(2) Elements.--The guidance required under paragraph (1)
shall include--
``(A) education and training materials related to
preventing, identifying, and responding to unregulated
custody transfers for employees of State, local, and
Tribal agencies that provide child welfare services;
``(B) model State laws with respect to unregulated
custody transfers; and
``(C) guidance on appropriate pre-adoption training
and post-adoption services for domestic and
international adoptive families to promote child
permanency.
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) State.--The term `State' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth,
territory, or possession of the United States.
``(2) Unregulated custody transfer.--The term `unregulated
custody transfer' has the meaning given the term in section 3
of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101
note).''.
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