U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have introduced the bipartisan Adoption Deserves Oversight, Protection, and Transparency (ADOPT) Act in an effort to provide new protections for adoptive families, children, and expectant mothers. The proposed legislation seeks to address concerns about exploitation by unlicensed adoption intermediaries and to ensure that adoption providers and attorneys operate only within states where they are properly licensed.
Senator Britt stated, “I believe it is incumbent upon Congress to ensure loving parents pursuing adoption to grow their families, expectant mothers working with adoption providers, and children are protected from bad actors seeking to take advantage of the adoption process. This legislation does just that, establishing necessary oversight in the adoption process to promote transparency and uphold the integrity of adoption in our nation. I’ll always use my position on the federal level to fight for women, children, and families, and I’m proud to join my colleagues in this latest effort to defend those involved in the adoption process from exploitation.”
The ADOPT Act aims to prevent unlicensed entities from advertising or providing private adoption services for compensation. It also restricts payments made to expectant mothers so that such payments must go through a provider licensed in the state where the mother resides.
Senator Klobuchar commented on the issue: “Adoption changes lives — for kids and adoptive parents alike. Unfortunately, unlicensed ‘baby brokers’ prey on vulnerable mothers and families, hurting everyone in the process. That’s why Senator Britt and I are introducing the bipartisan ADOPT Act, which protects expecting mothers and adoptive families from exploitation by ensuring that parents pursuing private, domestic adoption are working with trusted, licensed professionals.”
Senator Britt has previously worked on pro-family legislation including introducing measures designed to protect access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) nationwide as well as supporting updated child care tax credits through recent Senate action.
In the House of Representatives, Representative Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) is leading efforts on companion legislation. The bill has received support from several major organizations involved in adoption including the National Council For Adoption, Ethical Family Building, and the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys.
Ryan Hanlon, president and CEO of National Council For Adoption said: “The ADOPT Act better ensures expectant mothers contemplating adoption have a trustworthy team around them, and that they have all the information and resources available to them before deciding whether to place their child for adoption. What’s more, the ADOPT Act will spare prospective adoptive families—many of whom consider adoption after a painful infertility journey—time, resources and the heartbreak that so often accompanies signing with a predatory, unlicensed adoption intermediary.”
Genie Miller Gillespie of AAAA added: “The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) applauds efforts to protect adoptive families and children during the adoption process, by ensuring they are served by licensed adoption professionals, with appropriate oversight and transparency. Welcoming a child into a family through adoption is a tremendous and joyous event; the legal process behind that adoption must match the magnitude of the event. Ensuring the guardrails of the legal process are maintained and that all parties to an adoption are protected will help ensure that families do not have their hopes exploited. The ADOPT Act is an important step in protecting families and children.”
Celeste Liversidge from Ethical Family Building stated: “The ADOPT ACT delivers long-overdue safeguards for vulnerable women, families, and children by combatting the exploitation carried out by unlicensed adoption intermediaries, and by ensuring that both expectant parents considering adoption and families hoping to adopt receive compassionate, qualified support. The Bill further reinforces essential protections for adopted children, whose long-term well-being must remain at the center of every adoption decision.”
