[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5677]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PROTECTING ADOPTED CHILDREN ACT

  (Mr. WITTMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WITTMAN. Madam Speaker, today, too many children are falling 
victim to a system of adoption that lacks necessary oversight.
  Horrifying stories have come to light about children being 
``rehomed'' into the custody of strangers through dubious or even 
illegal arrangements. As a child of adoption myself, I am personally 
invested in this issue.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Protecting Adopted 
Children Act today to reduce that risk and better help these children 
find stable, loving homes and to improve support services for adoptive 
parents.
  These support services--including counseling on potential parenting 
challenges, postadoption mental health services, and peer mentoring--
can play a critical role in providing a healthy environment for a child 
entering an adoptive home.
  These initiatives will also foster an ongoing dialogue between the 
families and adoption service agencies that should last during and 
beyond the adoption process.
  I would like to thank Representative Langevin for his leadership on 
this issue. We must do all we can to prevent adoptive children from 
being placed in dangerous situations. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor 
the Protecting Adopted Children Act.

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