Sec. 2. Sense of Congress

274 words·~1 min read·/bill/116/hr/1389/ih/section-2

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

It is the sense of Congress that: 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. 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.

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. 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. Such lack of placement oversight places a child at risk for future abuse and increases the likelihood that the child may experience— physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect; contact with unsafe adults or youth; and exposure to unsafe or isolated environments.

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. Such caregivers also may not have complete records, including birth, medical, or immigration records. 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.

Engaging in, or offering to engage in, unregulated custody transfer is a form of child abuse.