D R A F T FOR DISCUSSION ONLY UNREGULATED TRANSFERS OF ADOPTED CHILDREN ACT [Name change for consideration: UNIFORM TRANSFER OF CHILD CUSTODY ACT] NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS ON UNIFORM STATE LAWS Copyright © 2020 By NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS ON UNIFORM STATE LAWS The ideas and conclusions set forth in this draft, including the proposed statutory language and any comments or reporter’s notes, have not been passed upon by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws or the drafting committee. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference and its commissioners and the drafting committee and its members and reporter. Proposed statutory language may not be used to ascertain the intent or meaning of any promulgated final statutory proposal. October 28, 2020 UNREGULATED TRANSFERS OF ADOPTED CHILDREN ACT [Name change for consideration: Uniform Transfer of Child Custody Act] The Committee appointed by and representing the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in preparing this act consists of the following: DAVID D. BIKLEN Connecticut, Chair BARBARA ATWOOD Arizona VINCENT C. DeLIBERATO JR. Pennsylvania LYLE W. HILLYARD Utah DEBRA H. LEHRMANN Texas JAMES G. MANN Pennsylvania LAURA McCONNELL-CORBYN Oklahoma LOUISE ELLEN TEITZ Rhode Island STEPHANIE J. WILLBANKS Vermont CARL H. LISMAN Vermont, President THOMAS S. HEMMENDINGER Rhode Island, Division Chair OTHER PARTICIPANTS ARTHUR R. GAUDIO New Hampshire, Reporter ANN M. HARALAMBIE Arizona, American Bar Association Advisor MARK J. CUTRONA Delaware, Style Liaison TIM SCHNABEL Illinois, Executive Director Copies of this act may be obtained from: NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS ON UNIFORM STATE LAWS 111 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 1010 Chicago, IL 60602 312/450-6600 www.uniformlaws.org UNREGULATED TRANSFERS OF ADOPTED CHILDREN ACT [Name change for consideration: UNIFORM TRANSFER OF CHILD CUSTODY ACT] TABLE OF CONTENTS Prefatory Note ................................................................................................................................. 1 [ARTICLE] 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE. ................................................................................................... 4 SECTION 102. DEFINITIONS. .................................................................................................... 4 SECTION 103. LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY................................................................. 6 [ARTICLE] 2 PROHIBITED CUSTODY TRANSFER SECTION 201. APPLICABILITY. ............................................................................................... 6 SECTION 202. PROHIBITED TRANSFER OF CUSTODY. ...................................................... 7 SECTION 203. PROHIBITED ADVERTISING OR COMMUNICATION.............................. 11 [SECTION 204. ENFORCEMENT]. .......................................................................................... 12 [[ARTICLE] 3 INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE SECTION 301. DEFINITIONS. .................................................................................................. 15 SECTION 302. SCOPE. .............................................................................................................. 15 SECTION 303. GENERAL ADOPTION INFORMATION. ..................................................... 16 SECTION 304. INFORMATION ABOUT CHILD. ................................................................... 17 SECTION 305. GUIDANCE AND INSTRUCTION. ................................................................ 20 [SECTION 306. SUPPORT SERVICES].................................................................................... 23 SECTION 307. CHILD-PLACING AGENCY COMPLIANCE. ............................................... 24 SECTION 308. RULES. .............................................................................................................. 25 [ARTICLE] 4 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS SECTION 401. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. ....................... 26 SECTION 402. RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT. .................................................................................... 26 SECTION 403. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS. .................................................................... 26 [SECTION 404. SEVERABILITY]. ........................................................................................... 27 [SECTION 405. REPEALS; CONFORMING AMENDMENTS]. ............................................ 27 SECTION 406. EFFECTIVE DATE. .......................................................................................... 27 1 UNREGULATED TRANSFERS OF ADOPTED CHILDREN ACT 2 [Name change for consideration: 3 UNIFORM TRANSFER OF CHILD CUSTODY ACT] 4 Prefatory Note 5 Over a period of several years before the commencement of the drafting of this act, 6 public awareness began to focus on a situation that was developing in the parenting and custody 7 of some children {citations}. 8 9 In some cases, parents found that after the birth or adoption of their child they 10 experienced considerable difficulty or even an inability in caring for or effectively managing the 11 child’s behavior. In many cases this might have been due to their own inexperience or lack of 12 training or preparation in child-rearing, or a byproduct of the child’s physical or psychological 13 health challenges at the time of the adoption, or both. Perhaps, after some initial unsuccessful 14 attempts to obtain assistance and not knowing where else to turn, some of these parents 15 transferred custody of their child to another person – a person whom they found through friends 16 or acquaintances or, in some cases, a person they found through the Internet or other media. In 17 most cases, no evidence showed that the person to whom the custody of the child had been 18 transferred had the ability to care for the child. 19 20 The transfer of the child’s custody was usually done without the involvement or 21 supervision of the state’s department of child protection or the use of legal process. As a result, 22 state agencies whose duties included the provision of care and assistance to these children had no 23 knowledge of the transfer of custody of the child, the identity of the transferee, or whether the 24 transferee was qualified to care for the child. 25 26 In other cases, instigation for the transfers might have been more sinister. By means of 27 the Internet or other media potential child molesters or sex traffickers seeking children contacted 28 parents who were experiencing difficulties parenting a child. Thereafter custody of the child was 29 transferred to the previously unknown individual. 30 31 The Unregulated Transfers of Adopted Children Act [Uniform Child Transfer Regulation 32 Act] provides two different but related responses to the situation described above. 33 34 First, Article 2 prohibits, with limited exceptions, a parent’s transfer of a child’s custody 35 to another person if the parent intends to sever the parent’s rights and responsibilities with regard 36 to the child. The prohibition applies to a parent or guardian with custody of a child as well as to 37 an adoptive parent with whom a child has been placed for adoption. If the parent does not intend 38 to server the parent’s rights and responsibilities with regard to the child, the parent is allowed to 39 transfer custody to certain persons whom the parent believes are fit custodians of the child. The 40 article prohibits the use of advertising, including use of the Internet and social media, to solicit 41 the transfer of a child’s custody. The article also provides the state department of child 42 protection with the authority to investigate suspected violations of the act and the means to 43 enforce it. 1 1 Second, Article 3 deals with the situation of some children whose physical or 2 psychological health at the time of a proposed placement for adoption would predict that the 3 adoptive parents might have difficulty in caring for the child. This Article seeks to assure that 4 prospective adoptive parents are informed about, and given instruction on dealing with, these 5 health or behavioral issues should they arise and before they arise. It requires that the child- 6 placing agency through which an adoption is facilitated provide the prospective adoptive parents 7 with: (1) general information about adopting children with these health or behavioral issues; (2) 8 specific information about the physical and psychological health of their prospective adoptive 9 child; and (3) guidance and instruction on dealing with the challenges that may present 10 themselves in rearing the child placed with them. It also requires the [child-placing agency] 11 [state department of child protection] to provide certain post-placement and post-adoption 12 support services to the adoptive child and parent to help preserve the adoption. 13 14 Background 15 16 In 2013, after attention began to focus on unregulated custody transfers, a U.S. Working 17 Group was formed, consisting of representatives from several federal agencies, as well as state 18 child welfare organizations and the National Association of Attorneys General. The Working 19 Group produced a report specifying three issues that should be addressed in legislation: (1) a 20 clear provision stating that an unregulated custody transfer is a violation of state law; (2) 21 authorization for state protective services agencies to investigate and interdict instances of 22 unregulated