[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3332 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3332

   To amend the adoption opportunities program to define unregulated 
 custody transfers of children and to improve awareness and prevention 
               of such transfers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 15, 2023

  Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Cramer) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, 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 transfers, 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 2023''.

SEC. 2 UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFERS.

    (a) In General.--Title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5111 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 205 (42 U.S.C. 5115) as 
        section 206; and
            (2) by inserting after section 204 the following:

``SEC. 205. SENSE OF CONGRESS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND REPORT ON 
              UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFERS.

    ``(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            ``(1) there are challenges associated with some adoptions 
        (including the child's mental health needs and the difficulties 
        many families face in accessing support services) 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 courts;
            ``(2) some adopted children experience trauma, and the 
        disruption and placement in another home due to such a transfer 
        may contribute to additional trauma and instability for such 
        children;
            ``(3) unregulated custody transfers may not include certain 
        safety measures that are required as part of formal adoption 
        proceedings, such as required child welfare or criminal 
        background checks or clearances;
            ``(4) child welfare agencies and courts may be unaware of 
        the placement of children through unregulated custody transfers 
        and, as a result, may not conduct assessments on children's 
        safety and well-being in such subsequent placements;
            ``(5) the lack of such assessments may result in the 
        placement of children in homes in which the children may be 
        exposed to unsafe environments;
            ``(6) 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 records, 
        including the child's birth, medical, or other records, with 
        respect to such child;
            ``(7) 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; and
            ``(8) unregulated custody transfers pose significant 
        challenges for children who experience such transfers.
    ``(b) Definition.--For the purpose of this section, the term 
`unregulated custody transfer'--
            ``(1) means the abandonment of a child, by the child's 
        parent or legal guardian, or a person or entity acting on 
        behalf, and with the consent, of such parent or guardian--
                    ``(A) by placing the child with a person who is 
                not--
                            ``(i) the child's parent, stepparent, 
                        grandparent, adult sibling, 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 or eligible to be 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 clause (i), (ii), or (iii) 
                        of subparagraph (A); and
            ``(2) does not include the surrender of an infant to a safe 
        haven by the parent or guardian of such infant, if such 
        surrender is consistent with the safe haven law of the 
        applicable State.
    ``(c) Technical Assistance and Public Awareness.--The Secretary, in 
coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies--
            ``(1) shall improve public awareness related to preventing 
        adoption disruption and dissolution, including preventing 
        unregulated custody transfers of adopted children; and
            ``(2) in carrying out paragraph (1), shall update Federal 
        resources, including internet websites, to provide--
                    ``(A) employees of State, local, and Tribal 
                agencies that provide child welfare services with 
                education materials related to preventing, identifying, 
                and responding to unregulated custody transfers, 
                including such materials containing information on 
                adoption support and stability services for adoptive 
                families and prospective adoptive families; and
                    ``(B) prospective adoptive families with 
                information on accessing pre-adoption education and 
                post-adoption services from State, local, and private 
                resources to promote child permanency.
    ``(d) Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of the Safe Home Act of 2023, the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of State, shall prepare and 
        submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
        Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, 
        the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
        Representatives, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
        House of Representatives, a report on unregulated custody 
        transfers of children, including of adopted children.
            ``(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) information on the causes, methods, and 
                characteristics of unregulated custody transfers, 
                including the use of social media and the internet;
                    ``(B) information on the effects of unregulated 
                custody transfer on children, 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 transfer;
                    ``(C) data on the prevalence of unregulated custody 
                transfers within each State and across all States;
                    ``(D) recommended policies for preventing, 
                identifying, and responding to unregulated custody 
                transfers, including of adopted children, that 
                include--
                            ``(i) suggested changes or updates to 
                        Federal and State law to address unregulated 
                        custody transfers;
                            ``(ii) suggested changes or updates to 
                        child protection practices to address 
                        unregulated custody transfers; and
                            ``(iii) methods of providing to the public 
                        information regarding adoption and child 
                        protection; and
                    ``(E) a description of the activities carried out 
                under subsection (c).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 203(d)(3)(A) of the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 
5113(d)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ``section 205(a)'' and inserting 
``section 206(a)''.
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